Comparing Garret Cartridges Hammerheads with various dangerous game 458 Magnum and 458 Lott loads, it seems that the heaviest bullets available are somewhere around 500 gr.
This article (http://www.garrettcartridges.com/penetration.asp) claims that for a given weight (around 500gr) penetration actually reduces with extra speed. Here is a quote:
Is this true? If so, it may mean that a Marlin 45-70 lever rifle with the Garret's 540gr 1550 fps load is a better choice with milder recoil than the comparable 458 calibers. Is this basically the best combination of penetration without the need for expansion that one can achieve... short of a much heavier bullet with insane recoil? Seems to be a much cheaper route, too. What am I missing here?
Perhaps this is only true if the test is limited to a homogeneous medium (such as wet newspapers) and does not involve penetration through solids, such as bone?
This article (http://www.garrettcartridges.com/penetration.asp) claims that for a given weight (around 500gr) penetration actually reduces with extra speed. Here is a quote:
Very interestingly, if one takes the Hornady 500-grain .458 diameter solid bullet and compares the penetration that results from impact speeds varying from about 1500-fps to 2500-fps, one finds that the higher impact speeds produce the least penetration. When driven to about 1500-fps (as the 45-70 will do) one finds that such solids produce nearly 6-feet of penetration in wet newspapers. When the same bullet is driven to about 2100-fps (as is characteristic of the 458 Winchester Magnum) one finds that the penetration is reduced to about 4 to 4 and 1/2 feet. When one tests the same bullet at 2300-2400 fps (as is characteristic of the 458 Lott) one finds that the penetration comes up nearly 20% short of that produced by the 458 Winchester. And when one tests the same bullet at the blistering speeds characteristic of the mighty 460 Weatherby Magnum, one finds that the penetration achieved is the most shallow produced by the various 458s.
Is this true? If so, it may mean that a Marlin 45-70 lever rifle with the Garret's 540gr 1550 fps load is a better choice with milder recoil than the comparable 458 calibers. Is this basically the best combination of penetration without the need for expansion that one can achieve... short of a much heavier bullet with insane recoil? Seems to be a much cheaper route, too. What am I missing here?
Perhaps this is only true if the test is limited to a homogeneous medium (such as wet newspapers) and does not involve penetration through solids, such as bone?