
tridges used on big game has 
been discussed in American 
Sportsmen’s magazines for a number of 
years, and a glance through these mag- 
azines to-day shows that the discussion 
is still open. 
Killing power is of paramount im- 
portance in a game cartridge, and it 
eannot be measured by foot seconds ve- 
locity and foot pounds of energy alone. 
These are important, but penetration 
is the vital factor, for foot pounds of 
energy expended in an animal does not 
mean very much (gun catalogue au- 
thorities notwithstanding) if this en- 
ergy is not used in reaching and affect- 
ing a vital part. There are some who 
have been fortunate with the feather- 
weight high power. By “high power” I 
mean weapons of 2,500 foot seconds ve- 
locity and over. Perhaps after reading 
much about the shock of these bullets 
on elephants, etc., one may have killed 
big game with the little gun. Perhaps 
in every case where they have fired at 
big game it was at an angle where a 
vital part could easily be reached, and 
where the shocking affect of the little 
bullet could work to good advantage. 
When they knocked down some monarch 
of the forest with one shot from the 
little rifle they were loud in proclaim- 
ing the fact to the world that a small 
caliber, high power, high velocity rifle 
was the only real medicine for big game. 
On the other hand are those who have 
seen the little gun fail. They have seen 
big game trot right off with five or six 
of the little pills in them. In many 
cases where the animal was finally 
killed with an old “coal burner” that 
threw a hunk of lead clear through it, 
it was found that any one of the 
smaller bullets would have reached a 
vital spot if they had possessed suffi- 
cient penetration. Hunters who have 
had this experience are loud in their 
denunciation of the little high power 
claiming that a man hunting big game 
with one should be arrested. 
sh: killing power of different car- 
T is not the rifle I am condemning 
nor the ballistics of the cartridge, 
but until a high power bullet is brought 
out that will give sufficient penetration 
without breaking up to kill big game 
when shot from any angle, provided the 
bullet is headed in the right direction 
Page 725 
Penetration 
The Main Factor in the Killing Power of a 
Cartridge 
By ERNEST MILLER 
to reach a vital place, there will always 
be some hunters who will go back to 
the Model 1886 and 1894 Winchester 
and other rifles using the same type 
of cartridge for short range work, espe- 
cially in brush. Besides giving good 
penetration the chance for deflection in 
cartridges of 2,000 foot seconds velocity 
and under is very slight compared with 
that of the high power cartridges of 
to-day, especially those with short 
poorly balanced bullets. 
After what has been written on this 
subject by such an expert authority as 
Colonel Townsend Whelan it would 
seem unnecessary for one to go over 
practically the same ground which he 
has covered so thoroughly in chapter 
15 of his book, THE AMERICAN 
RIFLE. However after reading an 
article in a late issue of FOREST AND 
STREAM under the title of “‘Rifle Shots 
That Count,” in which there is a state- 
ment that it was difficult to kill big 
game with rifles that came out during 
the ’80s unless the game was struck in 
the head, heart or spine, I felt encour- 
aged to send in what my experience has 
been with the different big game car- 
tridges. 
HE greater part of my life has been 
spent where much big game was 
killed every season. In examining the 
carcasses of several hundred deer, elk, 
bear and other game found in the 
Northwest, some of which I killed but 
most of which were killed by others, I 
have found that the .45-.70, .40-.82, 
.38-.55 and many other cartridges of 
the same vintage came in for a large 
share of the credit, and the game they 
killed was not all struck in the vital 
spots mentioned above. In most cases 
where game was hit by these cartridges 
a hole was torn clear through them. 
To have a bullet that plows its way 
clear through an animal tearing a large 
hole where it comes out and giving one 
a bloody trail to follow means a whole 
lot especially in a grassy or mossy coun- 
try where tracks are hard to follow. In 
such places it would be difficult to find 
game after it was shot with a bullet 
that remained in the body, for while 
this might mortally wound the animal 
by internal bleeding there would be no 
tell-tale trail of blood. 
I have found that the cartridges 

brought out in the early ’90s were also 
good killers. The .30-.30 has perhaps 
killed more game than any other car- 
tridge since the days of the old 44. 
Winchester. This was due more to its 
popularity as one of the first light- 
weight, smokeless powder cartridges, 
than to any marked degree of superior- 
ity over other cartridges. 
T is very well-balanced, having a bul- 
let driven at a speed that will as- 
sure its mushrooming sufficiently to 
tear a large hole at average game-kill- 
ing ranges. It will go clear through 
deer or small bear, except at very diffi- 
cult angles, but cannot be depended on 
to go through elk or bigger game, al- 
though it has sufficient penetration to 
reach their vitals in most cases. 
The .30-.40-.220, known also as the 
.30 U. S. army, that made its appear- 
ance a few years after the .380-.30, is one 
of the best-killing cartridges of medium 
caliber, using the soft point, metal jack- 
eted ammunition. Although the .30 ’06 
has supplanted it to a large extent, I 
believe that the .30-.40 is a better killer 
at ranges up to 200 yards than the 
.30 ’06 with a 150 gr. bullet. The heav- 
ier 172, 180 and 220 gr. bullets and 
special loads have done much to in- 
crease the killing power of the ’06 car- 
tridges, and these special loads, par- 
ticularly the 180 gr. have been improved 
very much, but most of the improve- 
ment has been in the powder charge 
and shape of bullet. Until recently 
there has not been much improvement 
in the composition of the bullet. It 
seems to be a pretty difficult matter to 
make a bullet that will not go to pieces 
on striking game, when the rate of 
velocity at the time of striking is up- 
ward of 2,200 foot seconds. 
OR this reason better results are of- 
ten obtained when game is such at 
long range with a 256 Newton, .30 ’06 
and other high power cartridges than 
could be obtained at close range with 
the same cartridges. It has been my 
experience that at short and medium 
range—not over 200 yards—the .30-.40 
has a better average penetration in 
bone, muscle and animal tissue than 
any soft point, metal jacketed bullet I 
have seen used, and I have been very 
(Continued on page 759) 
