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Old February 2, 2010, 11:56 AM   #5
azredhawk44
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Join Date: September 28, 2005
Location: Mesa, AZ
Posts: 6,465
Remember there's more to a bullet than just a "hunk of lead moving REALLYREALLY fast."

Just like hollowpoint pistol bullets are little miracles of modern machinery engineering, modern rifle bullets are also expressly designed for certain purposes.

Looking at a flatnosed 170gr .30-30 bullet, it has more bearing surface against the rifling. It is designed to fly about 2100fps or so, and impact a target between 1500 and 2000 fps for best expansion and penetration for the game it is designed to put down.

Looking at a spirepoint 165gr .308 bullet, it has less bearing surface against the rifling (compared to the .30-30 bullet). It is designed to fly about 2600fps or so, and impact a target around 2300 fps for best expansion and penetration for the game it is designed to put down.

If you launch that 165gr bullet from a .30-30's barrel at only 2100fps, it won't get the right rate of spin to stabilize (the barrel was designed to have more bearing surface to engage), and the bullet won't get enough speed to do its designed job of mushrooming and expansion.

Same thing goes if you take a Remington PSP 165gr bullet intended for .308 Winchester loads, and stick it in a .300 Remington Ultra Magnum at 3300fps.
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