That same bullet flying through the chest region of a deer might see the animal run far enough into the woods or thicket to be rendered coyote feed. A basic argument has always been whether a bullet should exit or remain within the big-game animal. W.W. Greener, in his classic book, The Gun, 1910 9th edition, put it this way: "No bullet that goes through an animal can be of much use." Greener went on to say, "The object should be for the 'bullet to come to rest within the animal,' thus ensuring all its energy being used to the best effect."

In tune with the quest for a high-tech big-game bullet, Lost River Ballistic Technologies offers a special design in various calibers and weights. Shown is the .30-caliber 180-grain J36 hunting bullet in the Idaho firm's .30-06 ammunition.

I have seen this principal displayed when the .17 Remington meets a western marmot. The tough cousin to the eastern woodchuck stops in its tracks as if time ceased to exist. The tiny bullet delivers all its energy to the target to interrupt physical locomotion instantly from brain to tailbone. If a big-game bullet matched its quarry in the same way, the same thing would happen.

There stands a grizzly. A bullet matching the energy-to-weight ratio of the .17 Remington in the marmot strikes home. The bear instantly goes immobile.

What would it take? I have seen a 405-grain Remington double-cannelure bullet designed for the .45-70 Government literally explode the media in my bullet-testing box when driven at more than 2,400 fps. Would this projectile at .458 Winchester-plus velocity do to a bear what the 25-grain bullet arriving at perhaps 3,500 fps does to a rockchuck? Who has tried it?

The mad rush for the perfect big-game bullet began in the 1800s. There were numerous designs. Lead projectiles with expanding bases to explosive noses (1840) were tried. They worked well enough because a chunk of relatively pure lead at reasonable velocity is deadly, as proved when Cotton Oswell and others sought fortunes gathering ivory in Africa with muzzleloaders gulping huge black-powder charges behind ponderous lead bullets. Lead has high molecular cohesion, meaning a lead bullet is unlikely to fragment. I have collected round balls from antelope to elk and bison that are flat as tortillas with close to pre-fired weight.

Pure lead bullets were never intended for high velocity, although certain lead bullet alloys fly at considerable speed without failing. My 24-inch-barreled Marlin .30-30 pushes a 170-grain Laser-Cast bullet at more than 2,000 fps with accuracy. My Morrison .30-06 rifle, on the other hand, drives a 180-grain bullet at a chronographed (and witnessed) 3,000 fps from its 26-inch barrel. Lead bullets, even silver enriched, are not ideal for a three-times-a-thousand-fps tear through the barrel.

Lead cores do not melt because of the time factor; the bullet's ride in the bore is measured in milliseconds, like passing your hand swiftly through the flame of the campfire unburned. Regardless, lead required a protective jacket to survive 2,000-plus and 3,000 velocities. Barnes defies the "envelope" design with all-copper missiles that expand while hanging together for deep penetration.

I have had only one X-Bullet fragment, launched at 3,200 fps from a 7mm Remington Magnum with a heavy dose of IMR-7828. The bullet killed a bull moose in its bed at about 75 yards. The heavy animal did not so much as wiggle. The fellow I was with said, "Shoot again. You missed." I assured him that my Frank Wells rifle was right on and the bull was dead as King Tut. All other X-Bullets of my experience have behaved per advertisement. Likewise bonded missiles, such as Nosler's AccuBond.