Bullets( kinda long )

[thewalleyeguy]

During the last weekend of rifle season we shot at a rotted wood spool at 500 yds. One of my uncles friends shot a 30.06 and only penetrated about 3/4 of an inch. I told that to a friend at school and he said he shot at a piece of 1/2 inch steel with an .06 at 550 yards and it went through. Could there be that much difference in penetration. And does faster speeds increase penetration at longer ranges.

[Whoaru99]

Wow, 1/2 inch of steel at 500 yds. Must be shooting armor piercing ammo. Heck, I'm not even sure that AP ammo would penetrate 1/2 steel at 500 yds.

Penetrating only 3/4 inch of wood at 500 yds seems a little weak, but probably depends on the ammo. Light bullets can be stopped pretty easily if they come apart, conversely a really heavy bullet just might not have much steam left at that distance.

[Rost]

I checked the Federal Premium ballistic chart for the 30-06. I typed in an average bullet (Trophy Bonded Bear Claw).

First, your pretty good just to hit the wire spool! According to the chart, your bullet drop is 52 inches at 500 yrds. Secondly, your energy in foot pounds at 500 yrds is 935 and is still traveling at 1650 fps. So, I'd think it should have penetrated a bit further than 1/2 inch. The type of bullet can make a huge difference though.