Tested by reloading bullets to .308″ Winchester. If muzzle velocity is 3068 fps – 935 m/s, the slower velocity of 2477 fps – 755 m/s simulates the impact at the distance of 224 yards – 205 meters.
IMPACT VELOCITY
MAX WIDTH
RETAINED WEIGHT
3068 fps – 935 m/s
0,62″ – 15,72mm
129,44gr – 99,4%
2477 fps – 755 m/s
0,54″ – 13,75mm
129,18gr – 99,2%
WOUND CHANNELS & PENETRATION
Test targets were the wet newspapers.
IMPACT VELOCITY
PENETRATION
3068 fps – 935 m/s
17,72″ – 45cm
2477 fps – 755 m/s
21,65″ – 55cm
SUMMA SUMMARUM
Light 30cal bullet, that is made for high velocity impacts!
Every now and then you see light 30cal bullets that are made for small 30cal cartridges and for their slow impact velocities. Usually those kind of bullets cannot handle the higher velocity impacts, without breaking up. Barnes Tipped-TSX .308″ 130gr bullets are not like those!
If you have a 308win or 30-06 Springfield rifle and you want to achieve really high velocities with the non-lead hunting bullet, for example to establish the shorter leads for the shooting, at the fast situations of the driven hunting. This bullet might be a really good choice for that!
This small 130 grain bullet handled the higher velocity impact (3068 fps – 935 m/s) without losing a single petal, but it still opened nicely with the lower (2477 fps – 755 m/s) velocity! With the higher impact velocity, the bullet opened almost to the end of the expansion chamber and it might be able handle even little higher impact velocity than what we had on this test. The overall lenght of the expanded bullet is reasonable short compared to the width, which will give the good directional stability for the bullet during the penetration.
A great bullet choice for example to a white-tailed deer driven hunting or a hunting where you need that extra punch to drop your target down with the high velocity impact.
Test gun was a Blaser R8 rifle with the 480mm – 18,9″ barrel. Faster velocity was measured ca. 5 meters from the muzzle, by using the Sako 9,3×62 factory cartridges. The slower velocity was achieved by reloading. If muzzle velocity is 2533 fps – 772 m/s, the slower velocity of 2119 fps – 646 m/s simulates the impact at the distance of 169 yards – 154 meters.
IMPACT VELOCITY
MAX WIDTH
RETAINED WEIGHT
2533 fps – 772 m/s
0,76″ – 19,37mm
229,12gr – 99,4%
2119 fps – 646 m/s
0,65″ – 16,56mm
229,08gr – 99,4%
WOUND CHANNELS & PENETRATION
Test targets were the wet newspapers.
IMPACT VELOCITY
PENETRATION
2533 fps – 772 m/s
18,11″ – 46cm
2119 fps – 646 m/s
22,83″ – 58cm
REAL LIFE TEST – MOOSE
We had luck to shoot three mooses with the new Sako Powerhead Blade 230gr 9,3×62 factory cartridges during the hunting season 2020. Two moose calfs and one young bull. All mooses were running with quite good speed, when shot. In every three case, the bullets penetrated the whole moose, so no expanded bullets to show. In the real life test, the gun was same Blaser R8 with the 480mm – 18,9″ barrel as on the controlled tests above.
Shooting distance for the first calf was 20 meters and for the second 30-35 meters. Both calfs ran circa 20-25 meters after the lung shots, before felling permanently to the ground.
Some photos of the calf carcasses on the below. On the first photo, the bullet penetrated both sides of the calf, without breaking the ribs. Liver and lungs also took the hit.
First calf – Entrance and the exit wound.
On the second calf, the bullet penetrated the left side with breaking the rib and then went through the lungs and the front part of the right shoulder, without hitting to the bones. This can be seen on the photos below.
Second calf – Entrance.Second calf – exit wound.
There is no photos of the last young bull. But the shooting distance was 45-50 meters and the moose was running fast! Bullet penetrated the right side and went through the heart and then trough the left shoulder without hitting to the bones. Moose ran about 20 meters after the hit, before fell permanently to the ground.
In all three cases, the runs after the hits was quite short. All carcasses was also very clean as the photos above shows, and there was no need to clean blood from the muscle membranes. Entrance and exit holes of the bullets on the carcasses was good in size and clearly shows that the Sako Powerhead Blade bullets opened immediatedly after hit.
SUMMA SUMMARUM
Premium copper bullet for different medium and big game hunting situations.
The expanding style of the bullet is samekind as on the .30cal Sako Powerhead Blade bullets. The bullet opens fast after the impact and over doubles it’s width. When bullet expands near to the maximum, the overall lenght of the expanded bullet is reasonable short compared to the width, which will give the good directional stability for the bullet during the penetration.
The stopping power of the new Blade bullet is really good. Like we mentioned above, the mooses didn’t ran much after the impacts. Even if the killing power is good, the carcasses was pretty clean and there was no excessive amounts of blood between the muscle membranes.
It can be seen, that this bullet can take even more beating, than what our testing velocities gave to it. The impact velocity of 800m/s – 2624fps will not be the problem, so you can reload it with even greater velocities. It must be noted, that the factory cartridges gave pretty good velocities even if our test rifle had a quite short 480mm – 18,9″ barrel!
This bullet should be in the stores in 2021 for reloading purposes, and it will be a tough competitor for many bullets! Factory cartridges for 9,3×62 is already available!
Tested by reloading bullets to .308″ Winchester. If muzzle velocity is 2625 fps – 800 m/s, the slower velocity of 2001 fps – 610 m/s simulates the impact at the distance of 403 yards – 369 meters.
IMPACT VELOCITY
MAX WIDTH
RETAINED WEIGHT
2625 fps – 800 m/s
0,66″ – 16,76mm
167,88gr – 95,7%
2001 fps – 610 m/s
0,87″ – 22,10mm
173,30gr – 98,8%
WOUND CHANNELS & PENETRATION
Test targets were the wet newspapers.
IMPACT VELOCITY
PENETRATION
2625 fps – 800 m/s
19,69″ – 50cm
2001 fps – 610 m/s
18,50″ – 47cm
SUMMA SUMMARUM
Bonded lead bullet with good ballistic coefficient. Made for “all-range” hunting.
We have seen other tests, where this bullet is tested even slower impact velocities than what we have on this test. This really is a true long range bullet, what comes to expanding on low velocities. But it is remarkable, that even it has a good long range expanding capabilities, it also works really good with the higher impact velocities! Over 95% retained weight with the impact velocity of 2625 fps – 800 m/s is really good for the “long range” lead bullet!
Bullet expanded quite good with our higher impact speed, but the retained weight still remained good, so we believe you can reload this bullet to even higher velocities without the fear of breakdown. Will work beautifully also on calibers like: 30-06 Springfield, 300wsm and 300 Winchester Magnum.
Really good lead bullet choice, if your shooting distances can variate greatly during your hunting day.
We want to thank you the R-Optic Oy for possibility to test this Federal Edge TLR -bullet in our Hard-Hitting Shooting Lab. You can found these and many more bullets on their online shop at www.r-optic.fi
The .458″ Rhino bullet test this time! The Rhino Solid Shank!
Rhino bullets are designed in South Africa. They wanted to design a “no-nonsense bullet” which would be suited to the harsh African conditions. By the manufacturer, the Rhino Bullets have been designed and constructed to stand up to anything you throw at them, and yet retain the accuracy required by a benchrest shooter. More information about the Rhino bullets, you can found on their homapage: https://rhinobullets.co.za
We want to thank you the P&H EsVo Group Oy for possibility to test the Rhino bullets in our Hard-Hitting Shooting Lab. You can found Rhino bullets on their online shop at https://www.esvo.fi
But to the results!
Rhino Solid Shank .458″ 300gr bullet.
TESTING
This bullet is one of the so called “Scandinavian edition”-bullets. Testing was made by reloading the bullets to the .458 Winchester Magnum & .458 SOCOM cartridges. We measured the impact velocities ca. 5m from the muzzle. The fastest impact velocity was 724m/s (2375fps), the second fastest was 617m/s (2024fps) and the lowest impact velocity was 574m/s (1883fps).
In addition to these three impact velocities, we also tested this bullet with the velocity of 538m/s (1765fps). The bullet fully penetrated the 120cm (47,2″) of wet paper, a big water jug and a two inch thick wood. The hole at the wood was the size of the caliber, so the bullet did not expand at all. Unluckily, we did not find the bullet at the rear terrain.
We do not know the ballistic coefficient of this bullet, but it MIGHT be somewhere around 0,225 (G1). So if the velocity at the muzzle is 724m/s (2375fps), the impact velocity of 617m/s (2024fps) simulates the impact at the distance of 88 meters (96 yards). The impact velocity of 574m/s (1883fps) simulates the impact at the distance of 126 meters (137 yards).
The impact velocity of 538m/s (1765fps) simulates the impact at the distance of 160 meters (174 yards). At this distance, the bullet would not have expanded at all.
THE BULLET
Rhino Solid Shank is specifically designed for hunting. It has a copper jacket with lead core. The lead is bonded to the copper jacket and the bottom half of the bullet is solid copper. It is designed to form four mushroom petals that produce a large but controlled wound channel.
This bullet is made for the .45-70Gov caliber, so we wanted to test it with little wider velocity range, because there is also older trapdoor- and lever action rifles available for this caliber.
This bullet will start expanding somewhere between 538m/s (1765fps) and 574m/s (1883fps) like the test is showing. This is little tougher bullet than some of the competitors, and that is good to keep in mind, if someone is reloading this bullet for trapdoor- or lever action rifles. We believe that this bullet can take even more beating, than what we pushed it on this test. With the impact speed of 724m/s (2375fps), the retained weight was still almost 100%, even if the expansion was quite extreme.
The amount of expanding on the tested bullets was at the good level. Width of the all three expanded bullets are on the same level (1,8x), even though the impact velocities varies almost 150m/s (492fps).
Retained weights of the bullets was almost 100% and of course at the excellent level.
WOUND CHANNELS
Test targets were wet newspapers. The bullets penetrated as follows:
With impact velocity of 724m/s (2375fps), penetration 63cm (24,8″).
With impact velocity of 617m/s (2024fps), penetration 45cm (17,7″).
With impact velocity of 574m/s (1883fps), penetration 46cm (18,1″).
The wound channels can be seen below. The harder impact of faster bullet can easily be seen from the cavitation. At this case, the fastest bullet penetrated the most.
SUMMA SUMMARUM
The bullet that I could use at the moose hunting in Finland with a modern 45-70gov, .450 Marlin or .458winmag rifle. Those would definetely do the job with this bullet. You can expect nice expansion and exellent retained weights when the velocity range is ok.
Like we wrote previously, this is little tougher 300gr bullet, than some of the competitors. Our opinion is, that you should keep in mind the impact velocity range, when reloading this bullet. How much velocity you can achieve with trapdoor rifle for example? What will be the working distance area of the bullet?
Barnes Bullets is a copper bullet manufacturer from USA and is one of the biggest and oldest copper bullet manufacturers. Their history starts from the year 1932. You can found their homepage here: https://www.barnesbullets.com
We want to give our thanks to our reader who sent these .375″ Barnes TSX 270gr bullets for us to test in our Hard-Hitting Shooting Lab.
Testing was made by reloading the bullets to the 375 H&H Magnum cartridges. We measured the impact velocities ca. 5 meters from the muzzle. Harder impact velocity was 766m/s (2513fps) and the lower impact velocity was 619m/s (2031fps).
The ballistic coefficient of this bullet is 0,326 (G1). So If the velocity at the muzzle is 766m/s (2513fps), the lower impact velocity of 619m/s (2031fps) simulates the impact at the distance of 172 meters (188 yards).
THE BULLET
The Barnes TSX bullet was introduced in 2003 and they say it has become their most popular hunting bullet. Like they say on their homepage:
“Barnes’ TSX Bullet Features include all-copper construction, no fragmentation, rapid expansion, 28% deeper penetration than lead-core bullets, and maximum weight retention.”
“Barnes TSX, TTSX, and LRX share the same all-copper design resulting in virtually 100% weight retention. Four razor-sharp cutting petals expand to double the bullet’s original diameter to create a very long and wide wound channel. The TTSX differs from the TSX in that it features a re-engineered nose cavity that accommodates a polymer tip. The LRX also features a polymer tip along with a longer nose profile and a boattail design that delivers match grade accuracy at long range with an incredibly high B.C. without sacrificing terminal performance.”
At the higher velocity of 766m/s (2513fps) the expansion of the bullet was good. The bullet doubled (2,1x) its width, as the manufacturer advertices. The bullet expanded to the very end of the expansion chamber. It is possible, that this bullet can handle more velocity without breakdown, or not. By reloading you can push it even higher velocities and adjust desired impact velocity for example to the 50 meters.
Also at the slower velocity of 619m/s (2031fps) the expansion of the bullet was at the OK level (1,68x), considering that we are talking about the big-game rifle cartridge and bullet, and the impact at the 172 meters (188 yards).
Retained weights of the both bullets was almost 100% and of course at the excellent level.
WOUND CHANNELS
Test targets were the wet newspapers. The bullet with impact velocity of 766m/s (2513fps) penetrated 76cm (29,9″) of wet newspapers, and the bullet with impact velocity of 619m/s (2031fps) penetrated 74cm (29,1″). The amounts of penetrations was exellent.
The wound channels can be seen below. Lower impact velocity and lesser mushrooming of the bullet, can clearly be seen from the cavitation.
SUMMA SUMMARUM
Really good bullet choice to .375 H & H Magnum for the big-game hunting. You can expect good working at the wide velocity range and with exellent penetration. Quality big game bullet from the biggest copper bullet manufacturer.
Fox bullets is a bullet manufacturer from Slovenia. They are producing a lead-free hunting and training bullets which are made of copper- zinc alloy. You can found their homepage here: https://www.foxbullets.eu
We want to give our thanks to the Finnish importer Corenius for the possibility to test the Fox Bullets products in our Hard-Hitting Shooting Lab. Yes, we have quite good selection of Fox Bullet products for testing purposes, so there will be more tests! You can found Corenius’s homepage and the availability of Fox Bullets products here: https://www.corenius.fi
But to the results!
Fox Bullets Classic Hunter .366″ 250gr bullet results!
TESTING
Testing was made by reloading the bullets to the 9,3×62 cartridges. We measured the impact velocities ca. 5 meters from the muzzle. Harder impact velocity was 708m/s (2323fps) and the lower impact velocity was 646m/s (2119fps).
Note: This bullet is quite long for this weight class and it steals quite much powder capacity from the brass. Measured lenght is 38,00mm (1,49″).
The ballistic coefficient of this bullet is 0,332 (G1). So If the velocity at the muzzle is 708m/s (2323fps), the lower impact velocity of 646m/s (2119fps) simulates the impact at the distance of 74 meters (80 yards).
THE BULLET
Fox Bullets Classic Hunter bullets are designed for hunting. As they say on their homepage:
“The Fox Classic hunter are lead-free bullets designed for all hunting situations that an European hunter can experience, from a close distance shot on a wild boar on a driven hunt, to an extremely long shot on a gams in the high mountains. Bullets are lead-free and are made of copper- zinc alloy. The selected material provides an adequate deformation even at a lower impact velocities”.
“The grooves on the bullet reduce the contact surface between the bullet and the rifle barrel, which reduce the pressure and increase the speed. The degree of deformation is determined by the depth of the hole at the top of the bullet. The tip is made of thermo-stable plastic that increases the ballistics as well as the terminal effect.”
“At the impact, the bullet deforms into a mushroom shape of a double off the diameter off the caliber. A controlled and rapid expansion enables an effective transfer of energy from the bullet to the body of the game. All this together provide an extraordinary stopping effect, while at the same time keeps the games meat undamaged.”
This 250gr bullet is quite long and the shape of the bullet is quite special. With the Blaser R8 rifle, you usually can reload 9,3×62 cartridges to quite long OAL. But with this bullet, the cartridge’s overall lenght became shorter than normally, because of the shape of the bullet.
So this bullet steals quite much powder capacity from the brass, and you cannot expect very high velocities with it. We would gladly push this 250gr Classic Hunter bullet to even higher velocities than what we archieved in this test, to ensure the good expansion at the target.
At the higher velocity of 708m/s (2323fps) the expansion of the bullet was good. With this velocity, the bullet did not expand to the very end of the expansion chamber. So this bullet can probably also handle little greater impact velocities and expand even little more.
At the slower speed of 646m/s (2119fps) the expansion of the bullet was too modest, concerning the caliber used on the test and the impact velocity of the bullet. Consequently the long lenght and the heavier tail of the bullet resulted bullet to turn sideways inside the target after the expansion.
Retained weights of the both bullets were over 99% and of course at the excellent level.
WOUND CHANNELS
Test targets were the wet newspapers. The bullet with impact speed of 708m/s (2323fps) penetrated 71cm (28″) of wet newspapers, and the bullet with impact speed of 646m/s (2119fps) penetrated 69cm (27,2″). The amounts of penetrations was really good. The slower speed bullet traveled completely sideways and it can be seen from the wound channel. It tumbled quite fast after the expansion.
SUMMA SUMMARUM
Copper alloy bullets usually likes quite high velocities, because the material is harder than it is on the bullets that are made from the pure copper. And it can be seen on this bullet test. Density of the copper alloy is also usually little lower, which can be seen on the bigger size of the bullets, compared to pure copper bullets.
Our opinion is, that this bullet is not for the slow velocity reloading. You have to push it hard, to get the good results at the greater shooting distances. But with this bullet, the size and the special shape of the bullet will not help you on that mission!
At the short distances, the bullet will expand ok, and you can expect really good penetration!
The North Fork .458″ 300gr FP (flat point) will be the first bullet for our .458″ bullet test section!
Manufacturing of North Fork bullets were formerly located in Oregon USA, but in the year 2020, the production were sold and moved to Sweden. For us, the Finnish hunters, this is of course the great thing.
As they say on their homepage: “Over a decade ago, North Fork Bullets began with the goal of creating the best hunting bullets in the world while providing exceptional service to its customers.“. What they want to offer are the bullets that are extremely accurate, bore friendly and devasting.
We want to give our thanks to the new Swedish manufacturer of North Fork bullets for the possibility to test the North Fork bullets in our Hard-Hitting Shooting Lab. You can found North Fork bullets on their homepages : https://www.northforkbullets.com & https://www.jbhunting.se
But to the results!
North Fork .458″ 300gr FP bullet results!
TESTING
Testing was made by reloading the bullets to the .458 Winchester Magnum cartridges. We measured the impact velocities ca. 5m from the muzzle. Harder impact velocity was 759m/s (2490fps) and the lower impact velocity was 618m/s (2028fps).
We do not know the ballistic coefficient of this bullet, but it MIGHT be somewhere around 0,225 (G1). If the velocity at the muzzle is 759m/s (2490fps), the lower impact velocity of 618m/s (2028fps) would simulate the impact at the distance of 113 meters (123 yards). Note: There might be error of guessing the ballistic coefficient!
THE BULLET
They say that the bullets are : “Engineered to give you the utmost in expansion and unfailing reliability over the widest Range of velocities possible whether shooting a high velocity magnum or a standard Cartridge. North Fork bullets produce the “perfect mushroom” every time. The benefits, Whether the game is up close or at a longer range, are predictable expansion and high Retained weight providing deep penetration. With the lead core in front of the bullet and the Solid copper shank in the rear, impact results in a “perfect mushroom” over a large range of Velocities. At impact, the front lead core expands until it reaches the solid copper shank Stopping the mushroom at its maximum diameter.“
The jacket of the bullets are made of pure copper, and gilded metals or copper alloys are not used. Lead core is bonded to the jacket to produce a bullet, which will have a high retained weight and which will not break and separate under the impact.
We believe this bullet is made for a .45-70 government cartridges, so the higher impact velocity of 759m/s (2490fps) was little bit out of the specifications! But we wanted to try it! The bullet held up the abusing really well, and did not break! Width of the mushroom narrowed little bit because of the high impact velocity, but the retained weight is still at the acceptable level (83%).
At the slower velocity of 618m/s (2028fps) bullet expanded well. Retained weight is also at the exellent level (ca. 99%). You don’t need to reload this bullet to the 760m/s muzzle velocity, because this bullet will also work on the lower velocities! But if you want, you definetely can!
It would have been great to test this bullet with even slower velocities for the .45-70gov users, but we run out of bullets. If we have possibilities to test lower velocities on the future, we will update the results to this article! We believe, this bullet probably will expand at the impact speed of 550m/s (1804fps).
WOUND CHANNELS
Test targets were wet newspapers. The bullet with impact speed of 759m/s (2490fps) penetrated 57cm (22,4″) of wet newspapers, and the bullet with impact speed of 618m/s (2028fps) penetrated 56cm (22″). The amount of expansion of the bullet was really good for the weight of it, and it leaded also to the good penetration.
The wound channels can be seen below. The harder impact of faster bullet can easily be seen from the cavitation.
SUMMA SUMMARUM
Really good bullet choice, for a many different type of guns! The lowest velocities are still untested, but we would easily recommend this to the .45-70gov caliber. With the muzzle velocity of over 700m/s (2300fps) this bullet is really good choice for moose or bear hunting. Good penetration, nice velocity for moving subjects and really manageable recoil. Like Doug Marcaida would say; it will kill.
At april we had a “Sako Shooting Day” at the Hard-Hitting Shooting Lab! We tested the Sako Gamehead Varmint RX 308win factory cartridge at the same day, when we tested the new Sako Powerhead Blade 308win cartridge. Sako Powerhead Blade test you can find here -> LINK
Before we go to the test results, we still want to give our big thanks to Sako Oy, who handed these brand new Sako cartridges for us to test! Really great gesture for the enthusiasts, because there are a lot of people who are intersted about these new Sako cartridges!
But, to the results!
Sako Gamehead Varmint RX 308win cartridge with 130gr varmint bullet!
TESTING
Tests were shot with the Tikka T3x Tactical rifle with the 600mm barrel. We measured the velocity ca. 5m from the muzzle and got a 942m/s (3090fps) impact velocity. Manufacturer promises the velocity of 940m/s (3084fps) at the muzzle, so it was spot on!
THE BULLET
The optimal working style of the varmint bullet is to explode to pieces! This Sako Gamehead Varmint RX, is the hollow point, boat tail bullet for the varmints! Developed by Sako Oy. With the weight of 130gr it is little heavier than the other manufacturer’s varmint bullets in 308win. Maybe it will have same kind of trajectory than the normal hunting bullets, because of the weight? The possibility to use also the varmint bullet without the need of re-adjusting the rifle scope? I do not have answer to that yet, but I am eager to see it.
First target was 70cm of wetted newspapers and after that a 5-liter water jug. Our idea was to secure also the end part of the bullet, if the bullet would not explode completely. I can tell, the first shot was a blast! The water jug fell off the table, though it was on the other end of it! There was a huge crater emerged on the newspaper pile! The hole on the external surface of the paper, was almost 10cm (3,9″) wide! After our laugh little settled down, we noticed that there is a huge wound cavity inside the newspapers! It was 24cm (9,4″) deep and it was getting even wider inside. We measured the width of the cavity to be a 16-17cm (6,5″) wide inside of the crater!
Below you can see the wound channel of the Gamehead Varmint RX.
Second target was 5-liter water jugs. Those exploded one after another. Yes, we could not stop after the first one. It was a great joy! =D What we noticed, was that if the backside of the water jug did not rip apart, there still were no exit holes of the bullet at the back wall of the jug. The bullets were completely exploded before the back wall. I would say that Sako Gamehead Varmint RX bullets works as good varmint bullets should work… they explode!
Below you can see the picture from the homepage of Sako Oy, it shows the structure of the Sako Gamehead Varmint RX bullet.
Image copyrights: Sako Oy
RELOADING
At the moment, this bullet is only available in factory cartridges.
SUMMA SUMMARUM
The Sako Gamehead Varmint RX bullet exploded almost completely, as you can see on the photos above. It is a true varmint bullet. When you are shooting a fox with the Gamehead Varmint RX the skin of that fox will be a quite tight at the short period of time! It would not take a single step after the impact. I am sure of it!
PS. This Sako Gamehead Varmint RX will also be available in 30-06spr caliber, which is really great, because the selection of 30-06 varmint cartridges in Finland, is completely zero at the moment. The velocity of the 30-06 is adverticed to be 975m/s (3199fps).
The first .375″ bullet test for our homepage! The Rhino Solid Shank!
Rhino bullets are designed in South Africa. They wanted to design a “no-nonsense bullet” which would be suited to the harsh African conditions. By the manufacturer, the Rhino Bullets have been designed and constructed to stand up to anything you throw at them, and yet retain the accuracy required by a benchrest shooter. More information about the Rhino bullets, you can found on their homapage: https://rhinobullets.co.za
We want to thank you the P&H EsVo Group Oy for possibility to test the Rhino bullets in our Hard-Hitting Shooting Lab. You can found Rhino bullets on their online shop at https://www.esvo.fi
But to the results!
Rhino Solid Shank .375″ 235gr bullet.
TESTING
Testing was made by reloading the bullets to the .375 H & H Magnum cartridges. We measured the impact velocities ca. 5m from the muzzle. Harder impact velocity was 845m/s (2772fps) and the lower impact velocity was 719m/s (2359fps).
If the velocity at the muzzle is 845m/s (2772fps), the lower impact velocity of 719m/s (2359fps) simulates the impact at the distance of 162 meters (177 yards).
THE BULLET
Rhino Solid Shank is specifically designed for hunting. It has a copper jacket with lead core. The lead is bonded to the copper jacket and the bottom half of the bullet is solid copper. It is designed to form four mushroom petals that produce a large but controlled wound channel.
On our tests the bullets performed exellent on both speeds. Retained weights were very good and the width of the mushroomed bullets were exellent. The bullet with the harder impact formed over 2,5x to the width of the caliber, and the bullet with lighter impact also formed almost to 2,5x width.
WOUND CHANNELS
The great expansion of the bullets can also be seen on the little shorter penetration. Test targets were wet newspapers. The bullet with impact speed of 845m/s (2772fps) penetrated 43cm (16,9″) of wet newspapers, and the bullet with impact speed of 719m/s (2359fps) penetrated 36cm (14,2″).
The wound channels can be seen below. The harder impact of faster bullet can easily be seen from the cavitation.
SUMMA SUMMARUM
The bullet that I would gladly use at the moose hunting in Finland. Little shorter penetration is desired feature when hunting moose with the dogs. When the bullet does not exit from the moose after the hit, there are always less threats to dogs to get the hits.
This Rhino Solid Shank bullet has really good capabilities to form to a really wide mushroom and with the 375H&H you can push it to really high speeds. I believe, you can definetely see the effect when this bullet hits to the moose!
