Thread: Knockdown power

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

I think that the point I wished to make has been lost, I'll try explaining in more detail. Bullets dont 'knock down' game. Sudden collapse ( unless a brain or spine shot) is caused by a disruption to the CNS - A shockwave or a bullet striking a rib and transferring disruptive shock to the spinal cord. Bullet deceleration from high velocity causes this. Big slow bullets can be high in momentum, cause great penetration and permanent wound channel but dont drop animals on the spot because there is no shockwave and temporary wound channel to 'stun' the nervous system. So still having 1000 fpe retained at some great long range but low velocity ( under 2000 - 2500fps depending on cal) will likely result in a slow kill. Answer = big bullet going fast

I agree to an extent. A bullet is not designed to ' knock down' no matter what calibre , weight etc . It's designed to enter/penetrate and inflict internal damage . You want to knock something down use a softball bat .
But not sure I agree with your last line . The last fallow I shot with the 308 bushpig short barrel , which on paper should be around 2500 fps at muzzle , 150 gr soft points , did extreme damage and completely blew the animals chest out . It was dead before it hit the ground .
Medium bullet at lower speeds is still capable of big resultant damage . Also the mighty 45/70 is not a fast bullet but as mentioned above , does the job more than enough , as the tree will testify .