This is the second half of Farleg's bullet performance data gathered this year.
Hope all of you Hammerheads and bullet "geeks" enjoy!
GL
Prototype Hammer Bullet Performance Report
The initial exhaustive bullet tests were performed on Bennett’s Wallabies. Wallabies are a smaller kangaroo-looking animal (Marsupial), weighing typically 12-20 lbs., With a chest cavity approximately 4 ½” in diameter. The reason for choosing Bennett’s Wallabies for initial testing was for very specific reasons. Bennett’s Wallabies are very tough little animals. Without a CNS hit, you almost never get a “bang-flop”, regardless of caliber or bullet used. Hard to imagine, but their will to live and run is absolutely remarkable. Unless head or spine shot, they Will run!
The other prolific Wallaby shot was the Rufous Wallaby. These animals only give you wound damage information. You don’t get much of what the bullet is doing from an animal reaction perspective. Rufous Wallabies are very “soft” and typically just “bang-flop” or give up immediately regardless of pill size, style and impact speed. For that reason, few Rufous Wallabies were shot.
The Bennett’s Wallabies will show patterns of run distance in conjunction with wound damage. Different terminal damage results in different distances run which show as trends that are repeatable. In this way, Bennett’s Wallabies provide good consistent first step evaluation data to base these tests on.
Understand that both varieties of Wallabies are considered nuisance pests and are quite destructive to pastures/grazing. They are also quite prolific and found in large numbers in Tassie. (think “big” prairie dogs in the western US).
Also, they are light framed animals and offer low resistance to a bullet upon impact. If a bullet will upset well against the body mass of a wallaby, they should do quite well against an animal with greater resistance.
The initial tables on Hammer prototype performance were all largely involving Bennett’s Wallabies. Subsequent testing, for purposes of validating bullet performance and penetration, was performed on much larger animals. Initially some bush pigs were shot, then the testing moved to Fallow Deer. Fallow deer weighing from 70-250 lbs. were evaluated.
The Fallow deer were shot at varying distances and impact speeds. The animals were shot from multiple different angles to test penetration, bullet performance, wound cavity characteristics, straightness of travel, performance subsequent to severe bone impact and heavy contact with the paunch and intestines. This did include the ”Texas Heart Shot”.
Since so many variables were introduced into the shots, it was felt that a verbal description of the bullet damage and the animal’s reaction would serve to give better/more complete data than the previously used tables. These verbal descriptions are the observations of the hunter and his evaluation of each animal shot.
FALLOW DEER 163 PT (prototype tipped)
1. Broadside 4x4 to 4x2 (front shoulder shot). No spine involvement. Bang-Flop, 2850 impact, 13" total penetration, 1 1/2" exit on hide. Internal: Coke can diameter hole on rib cage, exit side. 180lb. animal.
2. Slight quartering to shot, impact in crease between neck and shoulder, in front of knuckle, exited behind far front leg. Bang-flop, 2520 impact velocity, 16 1/2" penetration, 1 1/2" exit on hide, no tapering down in wound path (consistent), 200 lb. animal.
3. Hard quartering away shot, clipped paunch, bullet exited through front leg, animal 4x4 to 4x3, bang-flop, broke opposite side leg bone, 2075 impact velocity. 22" penetration, wound started to taper down (lessen diameter) at 18-19". 3/4" exit hole in hide and petals made it into lungs. 1 petal found flattened against scapula where it made a dent. Deer weighed 120 lbs.
4. Broadside, high shoulder shot, not a lot of data available as 2" of spine gone (CNS shot), bang-flop, 2070 impact velocity.
5. Broadside/behind shoulder shot, popped lung back out of entry hole (blowback), bullet exited behind off side shoulder. 12" penetration, 3" exit hole, 2 1/2" below spine (no CNS involvement), 3200 impact velocity, animal weight 140 lbs.
6. Quartering to shot, bullet entered just behind near shoulder, just above 1/2 way up body, exited in front of paunch. Animal ran 8 yards. 3050 impact velocity, 13" penetration, animal weight 60 lbs.
7. Quartering to shot, bullet entry middle of shoulder, exited at liver, 6" diameter exit wound (big coke can!), bang-flop, 3450 impact velocity, 14" penetration, 70 lb. animal.
8. Broadside shoulder shot, (4x4 to 4x2), bang-flop, 2600 impact velocity, 12" penetration, 1 1/2" exit, internal rib cage wound coke can sized, 150 lb. animal.
9. Tailpipe shot (Texas Heart Shot), no bone hit until ribs. Bullet exited shoulder with caliber sized hole. Total penetration 40". Penetration entry wound into lung 1 1/2", lung exit wound ~1" and starting to taper off. Really quick good wound for about 28". Impact velocity 3300 fps, bang-flop, 180 lb. animal.
10. Quartering away shot, high, CNS hit, no data. 1 1/2" of spine missing, 2025 impact velocity, 16" total penetration, 200 lb. animal.
11. Quartering away shot, impact behind shoulder, exited front of off shoulder, 1 1/4" away from spine. Consistent wound all the way through the animal, bang-flop, 2375 fps impact velocity, 14" penetration, animal weight 120 lbs.
12. Broadside shot, entry behind shoulder, exited ribs and pulled lung out of exit hole. Exit hole 3" diameter (coke can diameter). Impact velocity 3400 fps, 13" penetration, 120 lb. animal.
13. Broadside shoulder shot (4x4 to 4x2), 1/3 of the way up the leg, in line with leg, bang-flop. 3550 fps impact velocity. Wound not as violent in the denser meat compared to just ribs. Wound settled somewhat (more consistent with Hammer Hunter results at these impact speeds and resistances). 1 1/2" exit wound on hide, with a lot of bone and meat fragments blown beyond deer. Animal weight 250 lbs.
14. Broadside shot and impact, clipped bottom of spine (CNS), but good permanent wound channel. 1765 fps impact velocity, 120 lb. animal.
15. High broadside shot with petal lodging in spine and severed spinal cord. Deer had frothy blood at nose and I suspect death was not instantaneous. Deer was dead when I got to her. Impact velocity 1950 fps, 150 lb animal.
16. Tailpipe hit near rear leg bone. Great wounding till exited paunch (24"), then wound tapering. At impact on lung, entry wound 1 1/2”. On back side of lung, took rib out and rested (stopped) against shoulder blade. Upon impact with far shoulder blade, bullet turned slightly and caused slight fracture of shoulder blade. Deer immobilized instantly, but slight delay to death. 34" total penetration with impact velocity of 3050. 250 lb. animal.
17. Broadside gut shot. Deer moved just as shot was made. Deer was knocked to ground and lost sight of animal in tussocks. Found deer dead 18 yards from point of impact. Paunch ruptured and lots of blood in lung cavity. Liver shredded. Lungs basically intact but diaphram was split. Impact velocity 3480. 10" penetration. Animal weight 80 lbs.
18. Quartering away liver shot. Liver was split/pulverized, 1 1/2" hole in diaphram. Nice 4 petal pattern on inside of rib cage, 3 of 4 petals traveled into far shoulder, 1 petal caught in rib cage. Exit hole 1/2". Penetration 18-20". Bang-flop with 2450 impact. 150 lb. animal.
19. Broadside shoulder shot (4x4 to 4x2) 1/3 of the way up the leg/shoulder. Exit hole 1" dia. Bang-flop, 2650 impact velocity, 15" penetration, 220 lb. animal.
20. Quartering to shot, high neck/shoulder hit, CNS involvement. 17” penetration at 1950 impact velocity. Still achieved good wounding characteristics at this impact speed although better data is gained if no CNS involvement. Animal weight 220 lbs.
21. Quartering away shot, hit 1” back from diaphram. Bullet exited far leg, 2” below spine. Bang-flop at 2400 fps impact velocity. 18” penetration, 180 lb. Animal.
BUSH PIGS
1. Broadside shot, bullet entry mid shoulder, exit on far leg. Both leg bones shattered and resulted in bang-flop. Impact velocity 3650. No tapering off of bubble (wound channel) with 15” total penetration. Exit hole 1 ½” in diameter.
2. Head on shot. Entry in middle of left shoulder at crease between neck and shoulder. Exit rear left leg with no spine involvement. Bang-flop with 31” total penetration. Impact velocity 3000 fps. Caliber size exit hole on hide. First 19” of penetration had really good wound channel. - then the bullet hit the paunch. Paunch exit had 1” hole. Bullet traveled through paunch, (10”) , then through 2” more leg muscle before tapering off to roughly caliber size for last 4” or so. Overall, a good permanent wound channel for 27” total.
3. Hard quartering away shot, right side entry. Bullet entered ham, no leg bone hit. Ruptured a lot of intestines and put 2” hole in left lung. Bullet exited through left shoulder. Bullet slowed down to caliber diameter wound channel in last part of shoulder. Total penetration 29”. Impact velocity was 2850. Exit was caliber diameter in size through hide.
Hope all of you Hammerheads and bullet "geeks" enjoy!
GL
Prototype Hammer Bullet Performance Report
The initial exhaustive bullet tests were performed on Bennett’s Wallabies. Wallabies are a smaller kangaroo-looking animal (Marsupial), weighing typically 12-20 lbs., With a chest cavity approximately 4 ½” in diameter. The reason for choosing Bennett’s Wallabies for initial testing was for very specific reasons. Bennett’s Wallabies are very tough little animals. Without a CNS hit, you almost never get a “bang-flop”, regardless of caliber or bullet used. Hard to imagine, but their will to live and run is absolutely remarkable. Unless head or spine shot, they Will run!
The other prolific Wallaby shot was the Rufous Wallaby. These animals only give you wound damage information. You don’t get much of what the bullet is doing from an animal reaction perspective. Rufous Wallabies are very “soft” and typically just “bang-flop” or give up immediately regardless of pill size, style and impact speed. For that reason, few Rufous Wallabies were shot.
The Bennett’s Wallabies will show patterns of run distance in conjunction with wound damage. Different terminal damage results in different distances run which show as trends that are repeatable. In this way, Bennett’s Wallabies provide good consistent first step evaluation data to base these tests on.
Understand that both varieties of Wallabies are considered nuisance pests and are quite destructive to pastures/grazing. They are also quite prolific and found in large numbers in Tassie. (think “big” prairie dogs in the western US).
Also, they are light framed animals and offer low resistance to a bullet upon impact. If a bullet will upset well against the body mass of a wallaby, they should do quite well against an animal with greater resistance.
The initial tables on Hammer prototype performance were all largely involving Bennett’s Wallabies. Subsequent testing, for purposes of validating bullet performance and penetration, was performed on much larger animals. Initially some bush pigs were shot, then the testing moved to Fallow Deer. Fallow deer weighing from 70-250 lbs. were evaluated.
The Fallow deer were shot at varying distances and impact speeds. The animals were shot from multiple different angles to test penetration, bullet performance, wound cavity characteristics, straightness of travel, performance subsequent to severe bone impact and heavy contact with the paunch and intestines. This did include the ”Texas Heart Shot”.
Since so many variables were introduced into the shots, it was felt that a verbal description of the bullet damage and the animal’s reaction would serve to give better/more complete data than the previously used tables. These verbal descriptions are the observations of the hunter and his evaluation of each animal shot.
FALLOW DEER 163 PT (prototype tipped)
1. Broadside 4x4 to 4x2 (front shoulder shot). No spine involvement. Bang-Flop, 2850 impact, 13" total penetration, 1 1/2" exit on hide. Internal: Coke can diameter hole on rib cage, exit side. 180lb. animal.
2. Slight quartering to shot, impact in crease between neck and shoulder, in front of knuckle, exited behind far front leg. Bang-flop, 2520 impact velocity, 16 1/2" penetration, 1 1/2" exit on hide, no tapering down in wound path (consistent), 200 lb. animal.
3. Hard quartering away shot, clipped paunch, bullet exited through front leg, animal 4x4 to 4x3, bang-flop, broke opposite side leg bone, 2075 impact velocity. 22" penetration, wound started to taper down (lessen diameter) at 18-19". 3/4" exit hole in hide and petals made it into lungs. 1 petal found flattened against scapula where it made a dent. Deer weighed 120 lbs.
4. Broadside, high shoulder shot, not a lot of data available as 2" of spine gone (CNS shot), bang-flop, 2070 impact velocity.
5. Broadside/behind shoulder shot, popped lung back out of entry hole (blowback), bullet exited behind off side shoulder. 12" penetration, 3" exit hole, 2 1/2" below spine (no CNS involvement), 3200 impact velocity, animal weight 140 lbs.
6. Quartering to shot, bullet entered just behind near shoulder, just above 1/2 way up body, exited in front of paunch. Animal ran 8 yards. 3050 impact velocity, 13" penetration, animal weight 60 lbs.
7. Quartering to shot, bullet entry middle of shoulder, exited at liver, 6" diameter exit wound (big coke can!), bang-flop, 3450 impact velocity, 14" penetration, 70 lb. animal.
8. Broadside shoulder shot, (4x4 to 4x2), bang-flop, 2600 impact velocity, 12" penetration, 1 1/2" exit, internal rib cage wound coke can sized, 150 lb. animal.
9. Tailpipe shot (Texas Heart Shot), no bone hit until ribs. Bullet exited shoulder with caliber sized hole. Total penetration 40". Penetration entry wound into lung 1 1/2", lung exit wound ~1" and starting to taper off. Really quick good wound for about 28". Impact velocity 3300 fps, bang-flop, 180 lb. animal.
10. Quartering away shot, high, CNS hit, no data. 1 1/2" of spine missing, 2025 impact velocity, 16" total penetration, 200 lb. animal.
11. Quartering away shot, impact behind shoulder, exited front of off shoulder, 1 1/4" away from spine. Consistent wound all the way through the animal, bang-flop, 2375 fps impact velocity, 14" penetration, animal weight 120 lbs.
12. Broadside shot, entry behind shoulder, exited ribs and pulled lung out of exit hole. Exit hole 3" diameter (coke can diameter). Impact velocity 3400 fps, 13" penetration, 120 lb. animal.
13. Broadside shoulder shot (4x4 to 4x2), 1/3 of the way up the leg, in line with leg, bang-flop. 3550 fps impact velocity. Wound not as violent in the denser meat compared to just ribs. Wound settled somewhat (more consistent with Hammer Hunter results at these impact speeds and resistances). 1 1/2" exit wound on hide, with a lot of bone and meat fragments blown beyond deer. Animal weight 250 lbs.
14. Broadside shot and impact, clipped bottom of spine (CNS), but good permanent wound channel. 1765 fps impact velocity, 120 lb. animal.
15. High broadside shot with petal lodging in spine and severed spinal cord. Deer had frothy blood at nose and I suspect death was not instantaneous. Deer was dead when I got to her. Impact velocity 1950 fps, 150 lb animal.
16. Tailpipe hit near rear leg bone. Great wounding till exited paunch (24"), then wound tapering. At impact on lung, entry wound 1 1/2”. On back side of lung, took rib out and rested (stopped) against shoulder blade. Upon impact with far shoulder blade, bullet turned slightly and caused slight fracture of shoulder blade. Deer immobilized instantly, but slight delay to death. 34" total penetration with impact velocity of 3050. 250 lb. animal.
17. Broadside gut shot. Deer moved just as shot was made. Deer was knocked to ground and lost sight of animal in tussocks. Found deer dead 18 yards from point of impact. Paunch ruptured and lots of blood in lung cavity. Liver shredded. Lungs basically intact but diaphram was split. Impact velocity 3480. 10" penetration. Animal weight 80 lbs.
18. Quartering away liver shot. Liver was split/pulverized, 1 1/2" hole in diaphram. Nice 4 petal pattern on inside of rib cage, 3 of 4 petals traveled into far shoulder, 1 petal caught in rib cage. Exit hole 1/2". Penetration 18-20". Bang-flop with 2450 impact. 150 lb. animal.
19. Broadside shoulder shot (4x4 to 4x2) 1/3 of the way up the leg/shoulder. Exit hole 1" dia. Bang-flop, 2650 impact velocity, 15" penetration, 220 lb. animal.
20. Quartering to shot, high neck/shoulder hit, CNS involvement. 17” penetration at 1950 impact velocity. Still achieved good wounding characteristics at this impact speed although better data is gained if no CNS involvement. Animal weight 220 lbs.
21. Quartering away shot, hit 1” back from diaphram. Bullet exited far leg, 2” below spine. Bang-flop at 2400 fps impact velocity. 18” penetration, 180 lb. Animal.
BUSH PIGS
1. Broadside shot, bullet entry mid shoulder, exit on far leg. Both leg bones shattered and resulted in bang-flop. Impact velocity 3650. No tapering off of bubble (wound channel) with 15” total penetration. Exit hole 1 ½” in diameter.
2. Head on shot. Entry in middle of left shoulder at crease between neck and shoulder. Exit rear left leg with no spine involvement. Bang-flop with 31” total penetration. Impact velocity 3000 fps. Caliber size exit hole on hide. First 19” of penetration had really good wound channel. - then the bullet hit the paunch. Paunch exit had 1” hole. Bullet traveled through paunch, (10”) , then through 2” more leg muscle before tapering off to roughly caliber size for last 4” or so. Overall, a good permanent wound channel for 27” total.
3. Hard quartering away shot, right side entry. Bullet entered ham, no leg bone hit. Ruptured a lot of intestines and put 2” hole in left lung. Bullet exited through left shoulder. Bullet slowed down to caliber diameter wound channel in last part of shoulder. Total penetration 29”. Impact velocity was 2850. Exit was caliber diameter in size through hide.
