Hard Cast or FMJ vs. expanding bullets for wildlife defence

[saturno_v]

My understanding is that it all depends of what kind of wildlife you are likely to encounter and the cartridge you use.
It seems to be a trade off....if you have more than enough power to get to the vitals, then an expanding bullet will create a bigger wound channel increasing the damage otherwise you should try to penetrate as much as you can...am I right?

In my particular case, the 2 dedicated wildlife protection handguns of my collection are a 10mm semi auto (a S&W 1006) and a 44 Mag revolver (S&W 29 with a 8 3/8 barrel)

I use Double Tap full power ammo for them.

Assuming my above theory is correct, an expanding bullet may work in 10mm against a cougar (where you would probably use FMJ or hard cast with a 9mm or a .40) but you should use hardcast or FMJ against a black bear.

For the 44 Mag, a heavy soft point may work on a small-medium size blackie but you would want all the penetration you could get (hardcast) against the bigger bears.

Are my assumptions correct??

Regards

 

[rcmodel]

Yep.

And a flat point SWC hardcast will penetrate deeper and straighter then a RN-FMJ.

rc

 

[saturno_v]

Yes, definitely flat nose....as far as hardcast or FMJ goes, I do not think there is anything other than FN available in 10mm, 357 Mag, 44 Mag and all the other big boys....no round nose that I know of.

 

[NG VI]

I mght be wrong, never encountered one that wasn't in an enclosure myself, but I don't think kitties are that hard to kill, expanding for either of those calibers should be fine. If I were going to carry an expanding load for possible anti-wildlife use, it would probably be something loaded hot with Hornady XTP bullets, they expand some but they penetrate beautifully.

 

[LeonCarr]

Lead Semi-Wadcutter or Lead Truncated Cone for maximum straight line penetration, whichever feeds best in your handgun. SWCs for the revolver, TCs for the auto.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[arizonaguide]

Saturno, your OP was pretty much right on target. Couldn't argue with anything you mentioned. I still like a substantial longgun (12ga up close, .300+ for medium range) for ANYTHING to do with Bears, but that's not always convenient. (ie: fishing pole in hands, backpacking, etc). I'm hearing good reports on Hardcasts though, as was mentioned.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

What kind of wildlife? You would want a deeply penetrating bullet for a big bear, an expanding bullet for a muscular but not thick-skinned or heavy-boned mountain lion. (Or, for that matter, a two-legged varmint.)