Questions about the irrelevance of energy (ft-lbs)

[General RE LEE]

I like to think a .30 cal 178 grain ELDX hitting a deer at 1800 fps is going to cause more damage than a .243 cal 108 ELDM at 1800 FPS. Although velocity is the same, the 178 has a larger diameter and more momentum to drive through an animal.

 

[Bluefish]

I like to think a .30 cal 178 grain ELDX hitting a deer at 1800 fps is going to cause more damage than a .243 cal 108 ELDM at 1800 FPS. Although velocity is the same, the 178 has a larger diameter and more momentum to drive through an animal.

It also has more drag due to a larger frontal area. From the gel tests the difference is not much. Often the 103 6mm penetrates further than the 30 cal.

 

[Shortschaf]

Pretty sure you could just jab an expanding broad head in there and kill an elk. Would be an epic stalk though. But that's not true of bullets. A bit misleading response on a gun forum. There probably is some food out there trying to take an elk with an 80 ft lb firearm- that's the sad part.

We kill all our beef with .22's

 

[K9kodi]

Really? Exactly how much energy is necessary to kill a deer?

I’m confused on how energy, or ke, does not play a role. Short of fighting about it, how does energy not play a vital role.