08-20-2011, 05:22 PM
The core separating from the rest of the bullet should be no surprise.
They need to do that so the harder material can do its thing.
It's too early to generalize about the value of mass. While mass and the KE associated with it makes exciting splashes, one needs the bullet to get through in order to get on the table for effects. The lighter M855 core penetrated as far as anything else and was a lot lighter. Hence one could also draw the conclusion that there's no substitute for steel, since the M855 was the only round with a steel core.
They need to do that so the harder material can do its thing.
It's too early to generalize about the value of mass. While mass and the KE associated with it makes exciting splashes, one needs the bullet to get through in order to get on the table for effects. The lighter M855 core penetrated as far as anything else and was a lot lighter. Hence one could also draw the conclusion that there's no substitute for steel, since the M855 was the only round with a steel core.