For as long as firearms have been around people have wanted to make longer, more accurate, and more lethal shots. It seems that the key to these desires is increasing the velocity at which the projectile can be fired. However, if velocity is increased it narrows the margin of error that is allowable for an accurate shot. In other words, the faster a bullet goes the more perfect everything about it has to be. Because of this demand for perfection created by such intense velocities, many bullet manufacturers have been limited, by their own design and manufacturing processes, in what they could achieve with regards to accuracy, distance, and lethality. There are many advantages to increasing velocity, but there are also some downfalls. Let?s look at some of the negative and positive things that come from increasing the velocity of a projectile.

          One of the biggest problems that can arise from increasing velocity is bullet disintegration. When velocity is increased, the energy acting on the tip of the bullet is also increased. An increase in velocity, to around 3300 fps, will cause most frontal lead bullets to begin melting. The disintegration of the tip causes a loss in aerodynamics that limits the performance of the bullet. Another manner of bullet disintegration is caused by very high twist rates, which are necessary to stabilize a bullet at high velocity. Very high twist rates cause such centrifugal force on the jacket of a bullet that the jacket will actually separate from the core. Once this separation has occurred, the aerodynamic integrity of the bullet is lost and it is no longer effective. One other problem with bullets at high velocities is there inability to penetrate game. Jacketed bullets will fragment so thoroughly with high velocity impacts, that the bullet may leave a very shallow wound channel losing all potential lethality.

          Some other problems with increasing the velocity are; difficulty in preparing an accurate load and the increased wear that is seen on the rifle. It is difficult to prepare an accurate load because higher velocities mean greater pressure within the barrel and cartridge. As pressure within the firing system increases many things occur. Greater stresses are put on the system because of the increased pressure, and these greater stresses cause exaggerated barrel harmonics. This in turn can limit the accuracy of the rifle due to ?dancing? of the barrel. Greater velocities can also wear a rifle down faster because of increased heat transfer from the bullet. Though there seems to be a few things that would make high velocities undesirable, these potential problems can be limited by proper gun-smithing. So really, the biggest problem with increased speed is having a bullet that can hold up to the forces, because everything else can be tuned to work properly.

          Energy equals one half mass times velocity squared; this equation is key to understanding why velocity is so significant. According to this equation, a small increase in velocity will greatly effect the energy produced. If a bullet can hold together through the target, a small increase in velocity will greatly improve the lethality of a bullet. For example, by increasing the velocity from 2800 fps to 3300 fps, a 500 fps difference in velocity is created. This 500 fps transforms into an additional 1250 foot-pounds of energy that can be transferred to the target upon impact. For example a 0.308 180 gr bullet at 2800 fps gives 3133 f/p of energy at the muzzle and 1179 f/p of energy at 1000 yards while the same bullet at 3300 gives 4352 f/p of energy at the muzzle and 1752 f/p at 1000 yards. The problem in the past has been finding a bullet that does not disintegrate at very high velocities or upon impact of the target.

          Another huge advantage to increased velocity is the decreased flight time of the bullet. Decreasing the flight time of the bullet has many advantages. Lowering the amount of time the bullet is in the air limits the effects of gravity and drag. By decreasing the effects of these two factors on the flight of a bullet, immediate results are seen in bullet performance. For example, the bullet will drop considerably less, relative to the distance traveled. Because, for the amount of distance traveled by similar bullets at different velocities, the one traveling the fastest covers more distance as the constant force of gravity acts upon both bullets to pull them to the ground. The same principle applies to wind-drift and drag. The less time the bullet spends in flight the less time the forces have to act upon the bullet. Example the same 0.308 180 gr. Bullet will have a total drop of 310.41 inches at a 1000 yards while at 3300 the total drop will only be 218.38 inches. Obviously increasing the velocity of a bullet has huge advantages that are only limited by the integrity of the bullet.

          At Lost River Ballistics we understand the importance of velocity, so we decided to make bullets that can hold up to the forces presented at very high velocities. As we discussed previously, jacketed bullets cannot hold up to the forces created at high velocity. As a result, we don?t make jacketed bullets. Our bullets are a solid alloy that can easily withstand the forces created at high velocities. By having a bullet that can travel, and withstand the forces at high velocity we have made an inherently more accurate bullet. The reason for this accuracy and performance is that our bullets are less effected by gravity and drag, not only because of superior design, but also because they can travel at higher velocities without falling apart. Though velocity is extremely important, we also recognize the importance of expansion, and so made our hunting bullets ductile in order to maximize the amount of energy being transferred to the target. The product is a bullet with superior flight performance and maximum lethality. To summarize; velocity is good, jacketed bullets are bad, and our bullets are the best.

Matthew Mosdell

At Lost River Ballistic.