Another FX Hybrid Slug Recovered After Passthrough

[N2 Shooter]

These things are giving everything they got! The innovative design is priceless! Shot out of a FX Maverick VP .30cal at a groundhog 44 yards 66 yards away. In the video, you can see the slug exit to the right of the groundhog. I retrieved it a few hours later.

From Left to Right: The .30cal FX Hybrid Slug, the recovered .30cal FX Hybrid Slug, and the .357cal FX Hybrid Slug for comparison.

 

[Ezana4CE]

@estarkey7 Waiting to see a recovered .357 Hybrid slug. What did that pictured .30 Hybrid hit inside of the animal and after the pass through? Do you think it expanded that wide inside or after exiting?

 

[N2 Shooter]

@estarkey7 Waiting to see a recovered .357 Hybrid slug. What did that pictured .30 Hybrid hit inside of the animal and after the pass through? Do you think it expanded that wide inside or after exiting?

I think that was inside! It hit the spinal column clean and low, then popped out the chest high and was flying much slower. This video edit shows all the details!

I also recovered another slug after I saw where it landed after shooting the Peter The Apple Eater.

 

[JungleShooter]

Gorgeous expansion!

Wow, the .30cal keeps tempting me with that kind of expansion — though I have made a long list of all the reasons why a .30cal makes no sense.
I just don't seem to come to my senses on this caliber....

Matthias

 

[Ezana4CE]

…— though I have made a long list of all the reasons why a .30cal makes no sense.
I just don't seem to come to my senses on this caliber....

Matthias

@JungleShooter I don’t know, I but may have an idea or two concerning the popularity of the caliber. Allow me to preface this post by saying that this is conjecture based upon what I’ve retained from reading. The 7.62/.30 has been a popular round in the United States for over 100 years. The 30-06 was used militarily and in the civilian sectors. .30 speaks to the caliber and I believe that “-06” corresponds to 1906, the year the 30-06 cartridge was introduced. It remained popular militarily, for hunting, protection, etc up until the years between World War I and World War II. During this time the .308 cartridge was adopted and replaced the 30-06 with improved range. Again after military adoption I assume that when soldiers transition into civilian life their weapon familiarity stays with them consequently the .308 became a popular round from similar reasons as the 30-06 did.

Based upon the aforementioned information it is easy to understand why bullets, reloading equipment, molds, etc are widely available. Inalso think that hunting regulations may have been shaped around the proven efficacy of this caliber. I think this is where the PB world and airgun world may intersect. I don’t know much about ballistics so other members with better knowledge of ballistics and ballistic coefficients can speak to that regarding this caliber. These are purely ideas and suspicions that I formulated based upon info I recall reading after reading your post. I didn’t Google anything before posting this. Wherever I’m incorrect I’m sure members won’t hesitate to correct me. However, considering these things it does seem plausible why the .30 caliber has a place in the airgun world. For airgunners it creates a bigger hole than .22, .25 calibers. If you can produce enough fpe with it some states allow you to hunt certain animals with a .30 air rifle. If we can get expansion like the above photo shows, even better. It should lead to a swifter death after hitting vital organs, veins, and arteries.

@estarkey7 I hope you don’t mind me posting this in your thread.

 

[N2 Shooter]

Gorgeous expansion!

Wow, the .30cal keeps tempting me with that kind of expansion — though I have made a long list of all the reasons why a .30cal makes no sense.
I just don't seem to come to my senses on this caliber....

Matthias

.30 cal opens up more possibilities for bodyshots, and this works well when an animal keeps his head constantly moving.

 

[cmatera]

Any idea what velocity you were shooting those .30 Hybrids at? I am shooting 44.75gr pellets out of my Wildcat BT at 960. Wondering if I'll have enough velocity to shoot the Hybrids.

 

[N2 Shooter]

Any idea what velocity you were shooting those .30 Hybrids at? I am shooting 44.75gr pellets out of my Wildcat BT at 960. Wondering if I'll have enough velocity to shoot the Hybrids.

I sling the FX Hybrid Slugs at 930 fps. If you look closely at the reticle overlay, you'll see the ammo used, velocity of the ammo, distance to target and scope magnification used. I did make an error on the range though, as it was 66 yards, not 44 yards.

 

[N2 Shooter]

@JungleShooter I don’t know, I but may have an idea or two concerning the popularity of the caliber. Allow me to preface this post by saying that this is conjecture based upon what I’ve retained from reading. The 7.62/.30 has been a popular round in the United States for over 100 years. The 30-06 was used militarily and in the civilian sectors. .30 speaks to the caliber and I believe that “-06” corresponds to 1906, the year the 30-06 cartridge was introduced. It remained popular militarily, for hunting, protection, etc up until the years between World War I and World War II. During this time the .308 cartridge was adopted and replaced the 30-06 with improved range. Again after military adoption I assume that when soldiers transition into civilian life their weapon familiarity stays with them consequently the .308 became a popular round from similar reasons as the 30-06 did.

Based upon the aforementioned information it is easy to understand why bullets, reloading equipment, molds, etc are widely available. Inalso think that hunting regulations may have been shaped around the proven efficacy of this caliber. I think this is where the PB world and airgun world may intersect. I don’t know much about ballistics so other members with better knowledge of ballistics and ballistic coefficients can speak to that regarding this caliber. These are purely ideas and suspicions that I formulated based upon info I recall reading after reading your post. I didn’t Google anything before posting this. Wherever I’m incorrect I’m sure members won’t hesitate to correct me. However, considering these things it does seem plausible why the .30 caliber has a place in the airgun world. For airgunners it creates a bigger hole than .22, .25 calibers. If you can produce enough fpe with it some states allow you to hunt certain animals with a .30 air rifle. If we can get expansion like the above photo shows, even better. It should lead to a swifter death after hitting vital organs, veins, and arteries.

@estarkey7 I hope you don’t mind me posting this in your thread.

Absolutely not! Anyone who has info to add or dispute, is certainly welcome to comment!

 

[Babaganoush]

The .35 are tempting me, but I doubt I can keep them subsonic even with the spring on my Texan under minimum tension.
The 81gr pellets are at about 1050fps.

 

[N2 Shooter]

The .35 are tempting me, but I doubt I can keep them subsonic even with the spring on my Texan under minimum tension.
The 81gr pellets are at about 1050fps.

I got up to around 1022 fps out of my Benjamin Bulldog .357 with the Hybrids, so I think the Texan will sling those things well into 1200-1250 fps territory.

 

[Vetmx]

If you’re not extracting bullets directly from the carcass, how much additional expansion are you getting from the dirt that you’re retrieving your bullets from? I’m not disputing the expansion of certain slugs over others, just the factors tainting the results.

 

[N2 Shooter]

If you’re not extracting bullets directly from the carcass, how much additional expansion are you getting from the dirt that you’re retrieving your bullets from? I’m not disputing the expansion of certain slugs over others, just the factors tainting the results.

In both of these cases, video showed the rounds came to rest on the surface of the ground.

In this video, you can see the slug took a hop and landed 10 feet away.

In this case, I have identified the round in the video, and you can see it's trajectory changed significantly upon exit. It also had a big velocity reduction. After reviewing the video, I went back and picked it up off of the street that is closed for service.