Best 7mm bullet for penetration?

[Grey Morel]

I'm considering two different bullets and loads for the 7mm Rem Mag, with regards to the best penetration for dangerous or heavy boned game.

From the data i can gather, this is what I can do with commercial bullets and standard pressure loads:

1) 140gr Barnes Banded Solid Spitzer at about 3,200fps
2) 175gr A-Square round nose solid at about 2,800fps

The round nose bullet has traditionally been the default bullet for such an application, but the solid spitzers look promising. So what I'm asking is, what would penetrate better: a faster solid spitzer, or a heavier solid round nose?

 

[snuffy]

Whatcha huntin, T rex? Can I go along?

The heavier bullet would probably be my choice. The kinetic energy would be higher for the heavier bullet, and the round nose would deform less easily.

 

[rogn]

Cant tell too much but once did pop a 173gr milsurp 7-57 thru a 4' hickory tree. Thats 173 gr @ abt 2300fps. Left a long trench in the dirt after boring thru the tree.

 

[Grey Morel]

The kinetic energy would be higher for the heavier bullet, and the round nose would deform less easily.

Actually, for the two loads in question, the lighter weight bullet would have about 200 ftlb more energy than the heavier, both at the muzzle and at any projected range.

So what it comes down to is a spitzer with more energy verses a round nose with more momentum.

 

[Kernel]

Four feet of hickory!

rogn, did you cut down the tree to make sure it wasn't hollow?

 

[627PCFan]

I cant find it now but there is a mom and pop place online making 185 grain RN .284 bullets. Might also be an option for you if your google Fu is strong.

Round Noses are great at close ranges and for SHTF situations.

 

[Ol` Joe]

How much the bullet expands will have an effect on penitration. The larger the expansion the less the penitration. That`s the reason for the mono metal bullets like the TSX digging so deep for their wgt, they expand to a smaller fromal diameter, keep a longer shank to help keep them on a straight path hen most expanding bullets, and hit a normally higher velocity at the target then a round nose.
How much wood or dirt they penitrate isn`t a good representation of how much flesh and bone they`ll go through.

 

[ants]

Big and dangerous and close

I don't know what you're hunting, but let's just say big and dangerous and not too far away.

I'm shooting a heavier bullet if I have a choice. I believe they'll both do the same job. But if I have to pick up a rock and throw it at a close adversary, I'm picking up the biggest one I can throw hard. And 7mm RemMag can throw a 175 really hard. So in a 'big and dangerous and close' scenario I go with the bigger bullet.

On the other hand, if I'm throwing the rock at something far away and not too tough, I'm picking up the lighter rock and getting as much velocity as possible.

What do you think, Grey?

 

[Grey Morel]

I think that's a good analogy.

Too bad the round nose solids are 3X the cost of the Barnes solids.