Hydrostatic Shock

[Jcol6268]

I think you get caught up on the energy too much.  Sure you want to transfer energy into the animal but its not an infinite straight rise in the more energy you transfer the more damage you do.  Energy over damage does not equal more lethality at a constant.  Eventually energy begins to flatten out on a lethality curve.  

 

You want a bullet that expands, transfers energy, and exits the animal.  It doesnt matter what weapon you are using, two holes in an animal is always better than one.  Sure if you have a bullet that isnt expanding, and penetrates with two pin holes, that bullet isnt doing its job and transferring energy.  But when you have a bullet that pin holes on the extra, and BLOWS out the exit, you have a bullet that has expanded, and transferred energy.  

 

I LOVE muzzleloading, its pretty much the only gun hunting I do.  And I love testing bullets, playing with different powders.  It doesnt matter how good my load is, its just fun to toy around.  Of all of the loads, bullets, sabots, coming at all different velocities, the best, most lethal set ups are the ones that expand, and put two holes in an animal.  

[Jcol6268]

5 hours ago, Trophy8 said:

It's the amount of energy and tissue damage put into the vitals quickly that puts them down. Shooting into guts is not vitals, basically its shooting into a wet bale of hay.

There are plenty of arteries right in there.  If shock was so devastating it would damage those arteries and drop em.  However, it doesnt create that damage because the shock wave moves those arteries, and displaces them, but the energy dissipates and the arteries return to their original state, still in tact.   The argument against shock is that we know it moves organs, but we do not know what damage it creates. 

Now take a bullet, that is cutting muscles, followed by a transfer of energy that is pushing through those muscles and organs continuing the cutting and damage, already created by the bullet that has just passed through creating that wound channel. NOW we have damage.  Thats what you get with an expanded projectile.  The more it moves through, the more it tears, and the more you have a transfer of energy (following behind), to continue that damage.  Sure the more energy you have is nice, but at muzzleloader velocities (even centerfire velocities) that extra energy doesn't mean a profound difference in damage already created.  

[MGHunter66]

Just shoot good bullets like Nosler or Barnes and you’ll get shock, passthrough and animal that drops or stumbles and drops. You simply can’t know the angle of shot, muscle mass of bone you’ll encounter so just choose a well constructed bullet and don’t overthink things guys

[Trophy8]

59 minutes ago, Jcol6268 said:

There are plenty of arteries right in there.  If shock was so devastating it would damage those arteries and drop em.  However, it doesnt create that damage because the shock wave moves those arteries, and displaces them, but the energy dissipates and the arteries return to their original state, still in tact.   The argument against shock is that we know it moves organs, but we do not know what damage it creates. 

Now take a bullet, that is cutting muscles, followed by a transfer of energy that is pushing through those muscles and organs continuing the cutting and damage, already created by the bullet that has just passed through creating that wound channel. NOW we have damage.  Thats what you get with an expanded projectile.  The more it moves through, the more it tears, and the more you have a transfer of energy (following behind), to continue that damage.  Sure the more energy you have is nice, but at muzzleloader velocities (even centerfire velocities) that extra energy doesn't mean a profound difference in damage already created.  

Have to disagree, there are not plenty of arteries in the gut. Vitals, lung/heart are soft tissue compared to the gut. 

[Jcol6268]

35 minutes ago, Trophy8 said:

Have to disagree, there are not plenty of arteries in the gut. Vitals, lung/heart are soft tissue compared to the gut. 

How do you think blood gets from the front to the back lol that's not the point though. 

Edited November 30, 2023 by Jcol6268

[Trophy8]

7 hours ago, Jcol6268 said:

How do you think blood gets from the front to the back lol that's not the point though. 

Through arteries that run along the spine, not thru the stomach 

[Silkcitymedic]

Hit something that's important and bleeds a lot or cuts of communication and its over. Heart, lungs, aorta, vena cava, pulmonary vessels, lungs, spinal chord, brain. Hydrostatic shock as I have heard of it is the theory that a shock wave will transmit through blood and vessels from the impact destroying the vessel and or end organs. How much pressure that takes or if it occurs IDK. Kinda seems hard to achieve, ie needs to meet that energy threshold and transmit as well as destroy. In the end shot placement, shot placement, shot placement, and there is no void.