I decided to try some 30-30 ammo on wet magazines for fun. The box of magazines were at 50 yards and they were moist, but not soaking wet. I tested the following ammo:
Remington 170gr Core-Lokt SP
Winchester 170gr Silvertip
Federal Power-Shok 170gr SPRN
The Federal had the greatest penetration at ~13.5"
The Silvertips were next, at about 12.5"
Last were the Core-Lokts at about 10"
The medium should have been more wet, but those were the results. The Silvertips and the Core-Lokts both suffered from jacket-core separation.
Interestingly, the Core-Lokts opened up into a rectangular mushroom. The measurements were .880" x .510" and .710" x .490". There was almost .300" of unmushroomed shank left on one bullet, and only .165" on the other.
The Silvertip opened in a more classic mushroom shape, with an approximate mean diameter of about .590", and about .710" at the widest point. There was about .185" of "unmushroomed" shank left.
The Federal Power-Shok looked like it held up the best, but the diameter was only about .46", although it was .59" at the widest point, were a piece of lead was jutting out. There was .265" of shank remaining, and there was no core-jacket separation.
It appears that the Remingtons open up quite fast and create lots of frontal area, causing it to transfer energy quite quickly. The Federal Power-Shock holds together very well and penetrates very well. The Silvertips are in between the two in performance.
From this admittedly weak test I'd hazard a guess that the Remingtons would perform very well on deer and other smaller game. The Federals may get the nod if you are after larger game such as moose.
I am going to reload some ammo, probably some Barnes X and maybe Nosler Partitions to see how they compare.
Remington 170gr Core-Lokt SP
Winchester 170gr Silvertip
Federal Power-Shok 170gr SPRN
The Federal had the greatest penetration at ~13.5"
The Silvertips were next, at about 12.5"
Last were the Core-Lokts at about 10"
The medium should have been more wet, but those were the results. The Silvertips and the Core-Lokts both suffered from jacket-core separation.
Interestingly, the Core-Lokts opened up into a rectangular mushroom. The measurements were .880" x .510" and .710" x .490". There was almost .300" of unmushroomed shank left on one bullet, and only .165" on the other.
The Silvertip opened in a more classic mushroom shape, with an approximate mean diameter of about .590", and about .710" at the widest point. There was about .185" of "unmushroomed" shank left.
The Federal Power-Shok looked like it held up the best, but the diameter was only about .46", although it was .59" at the widest point, were a piece of lead was jutting out. There was .265" of shank remaining, and there was no core-jacket separation.
It appears that the Remingtons open up quite fast and create lots of frontal area, causing it to transfer energy quite quickly. The Federal Power-Shock holds together very well and penetrates very well. The Silvertips are in between the two in performance.
From this admittedly weak test I'd hazard a guess that the Remingtons would perform very well on deer and other smaller game. The Federals may get the nod if you are after larger game such as moose.
I am going to reload some ammo, probably some Barnes X and maybe Nosler Partitions to see how they compare.
Oh and for what its worth I'd say stay with the same medium albeit a tough one.
