Yes the absolute volume of the wound is decided by how much the kinetic energy the projectile possesses. Kinetic energy does not decide the shape of a wound channel. It is a predictor of volume nothing else. Mass has it's advantages.
@FredH that's simply not correct. KE is involved in determining wound volume, but by itself it cannot predict it.
Remember, it takes one example of something not being true to prove it false. If that were true a FMJ bullet would create the exact same wound channel volume as the same-weight fragmenting bullet fired from the same gun at the same velocity. Same KE, but it did not predict the wound volume, for 3 reasons.
1) much of the energy in one passed through--whatever energy it carried out the other side did not contribute to wound size. IE the APPLICATION is what matters, not the AMOUNT of KE.
2) even if neither passed through, KE alone does not take into account the effect of impact force, which is determined by the rate of deceleration. This is in large part what creates a larger temporary cavity, and, becasue KE doesnt take into account the elasticity of tissue, it doesnt account for increased tearing of tissue on the periphery of a larger temp cavity.
3) It also doesnt take into account fragments tearing tissue that is just below its elastic threshhold, even further increasing wounding.
The reason I and others keep comparing different bullets is becasue when we directly compare different bullets it ilustrates that KE alone is not predictive of wound size. The ONLY time it tracks like that is when you eliminate the variables that ARE more predictive.
Back to your "wallop" analogy you are saying any varmint style bullet dumping it's total energy in the firs 4-5" of penetration has more wallop than a properly designed game bullet just because the latter may exit? That is ridiculous. There are other plusses to a pair of holes versus one. I consider the energy needed to make an exit hole well spent.
This was not directed at me, but it's precisely on point with my #2 here. It's not ridiculous, it's reality--a faster rate of deceleration creates a significantly higher impact force on the target, which carries some additional wounding mechanism. ie it's not energy per se doing 100% of the wounding, it's the RAPID application of that energy that creates a higher PEAK IMPACT FORCE. If you dont believe me, picture yourself bungee jumping...the bungee stretches, cushioning the impact becasue it spreads the application of force over a longer period of time. Now picture the exact same jump but onto a steel cable, ie a sudden stop. Stopping that suddenly has the potential to rupture internal organs, along with other unspeakables. Same amount of kinetic energy as the bungee drop, but vastly different impact transferred to your body. Get it? Note this is a separate topic than whether or not an exit is good.