Thanks for your test results and the good photos!
To make better sense of the expansion we get to see on the photos: You said you shot with about 45J —
is that muzzle energy or impact energy? The expansion of hollow points depends very strongly on their velocity when they impact quarry.... — so this is important....
If you didn't measure the impact velocity maybe you could provide us with
the range that you shot the test — then we could calculate the impact velocity....
I also would think that the muzzle energy between 21gr and 30gr slugs would be quite significant, but maybe not in your gun!
The ballistic medium is very important to the amount of expansion. Plasticine play-dough, clay, soap, water, etc.
are pretty dense materials and therefore will help hollow points to expand well — but
they are much denser than the flesh of our quarry....
➔
Ballistic gel (home-made or bought) would provide less optimistic results —
more realistic to real life (and real death of the critters we hunt).
Thanks again!
Matthias