For those of you that have not read the October "Guns & Ammo", thought a couple exerpts from the article "Proving the Power Factor" by Col. Craig Boddington might be of interest.
"Over the years, I've shot a lot of bears with larger, slower cartridges--and others with fast cartridges from .270 to .30. Either way, provided a good bullet is placed in the right spot, the result is a dead bear. However, I am convinced there is a difference. Most of the bears I have shot in the vitals with cartridges from .270 to .308 have taken fatal bullets and run with them. Most of the bears I have taken with bigger, slower cartridges have dropped...and most of them have stayed put. "
"I can't prove it, and there is not formula to properly explain it. But I know, absolutely know, that any of my .35's producing as much as 1,000 ft-lbs. less, would have caused a more dramatic reaction."
"Dead is dead, and that Vancover Island bear wasn't going snywhere. Still, the issue is this: That bear received a bullet in the chest cavity that was carrying pretty close to 3,500 ft-lbs. on impact. There was very little reaction to all that power. I've seen many bears of similar size bowled over with similar shot placement from larger calibers carrying less energy."
Dan
"Over the years, I've shot a lot of bears with larger, slower cartridges--and others with fast cartridges from .270 to .30. Either way, provided a good bullet is placed in the right spot, the result is a dead bear. However, I am convinced there is a difference. Most of the bears I have shot in the vitals with cartridges from .270 to .308 have taken fatal bullets and run with them. Most of the bears I have taken with bigger, slower cartridges have dropped...and most of them have stayed put. "
"I can't prove it, and there is not formula to properly explain it. But I know, absolutely know, that any of my .35's producing as much as 1,000 ft-lbs. less, would have caused a more dramatic reaction."
"Dead is dead, and that Vancover Island bear wasn't going snywhere. Still, the issue is this: That bear received a bullet in the chest cavity that was carrying pretty close to 3,500 ft-lbs. on impact. There was very little reaction to all that power. I've seen many bears of similar size bowled over with similar shot placement from larger calibers carrying less energy."
Dan