HUNTING
42 | Best bullet for hunting rifle
sell very accurate bullets. Manufacturers
use their best technology to design and
manufacture such bullets. Target shooting
bullets are therefore the most accurate
bullets. However, they are designed to
shoot paper game and not the real thing.
These bullets are mostly manufactured
with a softer jacket than bullets used for
hunting purposes. Should you shoot a
buck with a target shooting bullet, it could
become a very long day in the veld. In
most instances soft jacket bullets will not
penetrate as well as hard jacket bullets.
They break up easier and could result in
a lot more damage to the meat as a result
of the softer jacket.
Bullets are also used for hunting pur-
poses. A number of different hunting bul-
lets are available. Hunters hunt in different
areas and different bullets are therefore
required. A hunter hoping for a head-shot
to a Springbok over a distance of 200 m,
needs a different type of bullet than the
hunter who wants to shoot a charging
buffalo over a distance of 30 paces. Let's
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SENWES SCENARIO | SUMMER 2018
look at the different types of bullets used
for hunting purposes.
Most manufacturers sell bullets made
from a solid piece of metal. Hunters who
wish to hunt big game, need a bullet
which can penetrate properly. They usu-
ally prefer using a solid bullet. The bullet
point is relatively expensive and is not the
most accurate hunting bullet available.
Some of the bullets do not mushroom and
the ones which do, do not cause a large
wound cavity. This type of bullet is mostly
used for close-up shots and for animals
with a large bone structure which needs
to be penetrated.
Hunting bullets made of lead and a
jacket, which mushroom and penetrate
well, are mostly what hunters want to use.
These bullets retain most of their weight
when they mushroom and penetrate right
through the target. They make a large
wound cavity and limit meat damage. The
jacket is normally much harder than the
jacket of a bullet used for target shooting.
Some manufacturers use a process by
which the lead and the jacket of the bullet
are attached to each other. For this rea-
son, the bullet can penetrate effectively
and retain its weight. The manufacturing
process of these bullets is more expen-
sive and the bullets are more expensive
as a result.
Some hunters also use bullets which
are not meant to penetrate and which are
meant to lose their weight when they hit
their target. The hunting of problem ani-
mals requires such bullets, which do not
penetrate well and which result in a lot of
meat damage. Bullets used for such pur-
poses are also available. This type of bul-
let usually has a softer jacket than other
hunting bullets and are more accurate
over longer distances.
Since different bullets are used for
different situations, a hunter's choice of
bullet is very important. Should a bullet
meant for target shooting purposes be
used to hunt a lion, it would not have
the desired effect. A solid hunting bullet
would also not have the desired effect
on a problem animal at 300m. Most
bullets are of a good quality if they are
used for the purpose for which they were
designed.