[Buffalobob]

The performance of the RVN M21 308 sniper round with the 173 grain FMJ BT on humans beyond the transonic zone is known and documented and in my case it was even witnessed. I never personally examined the wound channels as I had no interest in cutting open NVA soldiers and the whole question was of no concern to me being as the end result was satisfactory to me. The question of the performance of the new Berger 175 grain HPBT OTM“tactical” bullet which supposedly survives the transition from super-sonic to subsonic with acceptable accuracy has become interesting to me just as a matter of nostalgia and personal intellectual curiosity.

After testing the bullets for accuracy at 100 yds and finding it to be acceptable (see other thread), I loaded up 25 rounds and waited for deer season to begin in Maryland. On Monday, a large bodied buck appeared on the hill side at 275 yards. The rifle used was a Remington 40X with an 11.25 twist 28 inch barrel, a 5.5X22X-56mm Night Force scope and a tall Harris bipod ¾ extended and dial ups were made using Exbal and a 20 degree cosine angle. A single round was fired at the deer while it was stopped in a small opening between two trees. Impact velocity is calculated to be in excess of 2100 fps. Weight of the deer is unknown but is one of the largest I have killed in the area in the last 15 years and the bone structure was fully developed.

The bullet struck the right side shoulder at the ball joint between the upper leg bone and shoulder blade bone. The bullet shattered that bone and continued its upward angle (firing angle was at least 20 degrees up) striking the front of the sternum at the last rib connection. It then hit the bottom side of a neck vertebrae and bone fragments were found another two or three inches through the neck muscles. A sizeable mass remained of the bullet and it punched and irregular shaped hole through the thick neck hide and exited. Having a degree in physics and another in engineering, I have often made calculations of momentum and impulse for bullets and elk and it is clear that in order for a bullet to exit a thick hide there must be a significant mass left of the bullet and a significant velocity or else the hide will stretch and catch the bullet.

While I am not an expert on the specifics of “tactical” bullets (whatever they are), a combat sniper bullet must be capable of penetration through some amount of hard surface such as a pack or web gear before encountering soft tissue. Berger bullets are believed by most people including the company, to be thin jacketed and to disintegrate quickly; however, this has not been my experience when engaging targets with high sectional density bullets at long range. As I have described, this 175 OTM hit three bones with soft tissue in between them and still retained enough weight and velocity to exit through three inches of neck muscle and neck skin.

Pictures are as follows:
1. The rifle and the deer with the entrance wound showing.
2. The skinned shoulder at the entrance wound
3. The rib cage with the shoulder removed and the damage to the bones of the sternum visible
4. The wound channel showing the impact on the bottom of the neck vertebrae
5. The exit wound in the neck muscle and skin.