Going for the right bullet for the job at hand, the author handloads his .30-06 with 170-grain softnose bullets at .30-30 velocity for close-range brush hunting for whitetail.

In the early days of television the screen was about the size of your navel, and even in the hot desert of Yuma, Arizona, where I lived in my high school days, it was always "snowing" on TV. But it was all we had, so we watched enthusiastically, even the local programming.

I remember one local show that featured an archer pitting his bow against a rifle. He shot into a bucket of sand at point-blank range with a .30-06, dimming studio lights to blackout level. The bullet stopped less than halfway through the metal pail, while an arrow launched from a 50-pound bow punched a broadhead clear through, "proving" the authority of the bow over the rifle. A 500-grain arrow at 200 fps develops only 44 ft-lbs of energy--about half that of a .22 Short. Meanwhile, a .30-06 180-grain missile traveling at 2,700 fps works up more than 2,900 ft-lbs.

Regardless, bullets do not penetrate well in sand (or water). It's a matter of physics. So are the many pitfalls attending the design and construction of the world's best big-game bullet.

I'd like to have a seven-passenger hunting vehicle capable of making it over rugged terrain without a hitch while at the same time offering a Cadillac ride on the highway and getting 45 miles to the gallon. The comparison ultimate big-game bullet would be one that is highly accurate. It enjoys integrity in the bore at any velocity while upsetting (mushrooming) perfectly on thin-skinned game such as antelope at any range. At the same time it is capable of penetrating deeply in the largest wild animal on the continent with bone-crunching authority. It also enjoys a high ballistic coefficient for superb terminal velocity and energy. My dream bullet gives up most of its energy in the game while retaining just enough horsepower to create an exit hole on the offside of the target.

I look at a bullet as an object created to do work, not so much in the scientific sense of mass vs. gravity but simply labor performed. A bullet is, after all, an instrument of energy delivery. It is intended to do work, which it does in basically two ways: energy delivery and change of medium (tissue and bone disruption).

Medical doctor Alexander C. Johnson, writing in a 1949 American Rifleman, divided big-game-bullet lethality into "wound factors" and "ballistic factors." Under the first banner, he listed anatomy of the animal along with physiology. Bullet caliber, weight and sectional density fell under ballistic factors, along with velocity, linear and rotational, plus projectile shape and construction.

Today we have the finest big-game bullets the world has ever known, yet perfection remains elusive. Consider the demands. Add to the doctor's list that construction must match bullet torture through the bore at high forward and rotational velocity, although not so much heat (even an open-base jacketed bullet does not melt its lead core). A frail projectile can fail before reaching the target. At the same time, the bullet must upset to impart energy (except FMJ) while hanging together to create a wound channel.

Sometimes penetration and bone damage are paramount. As some may recall from an earlier article ("Happy Birthday, .30-06", May/June), I had official permission to go for a Cape buffalo with a .30-06. A come-apart bullet would be a disaster in this instance. I chose a 220-grain solid cranked up to 2,615 fps from the 26-inch barrel of my rifle. The bullet entered the right temple, stopping under the hide of the left shoulder after more than 40 inches of travel.