Mark Dille
Well-known member
Hello, everyone!
I thought since this past hunting season witnessed our first bullet launches, predominantly in 30 cal (all are released now), I'd share a few of the terminal performance pictures that were sent to me as the season progressed. The real-world results so far have aligned with our design philosophy and all of our testing that took place over the preceding two years. We couldn't be happier with what we're seeing and wanted to provide all of you with a little of that perspective. In summary, we focus on high trauma that starts early, straight wound channels, AND deep penetration.
Below is a coyote shot with a 153gr Afterburner prototype out of a 30-06 just prior to production launch at about 150 yards. This shows the ability to expand with low resistance (ribs only on a small animal and standard cartridge), and this particular prototype still didn't even meet our low velocity criteria in testing, but did well with light resistance in this example, nonetheless.
Entrance

Exit (notice multiple exit holes form the petals)

If I remember correctly, this is the longest kill to date that I'm aware of. This was a small female bear shot at 523 yards with a 300 RUM loaded with the 153gr Afterburner at 3520 fps. The shot angle came in through the top of the back crossways to the underside of the shoulder/neck, so the total length of tissue hit was very short, even though spine was hit. Expansion still proved to start very early, and the path was straight.
Entrance

Exit

One of the very fortunate things this past season was to get extensive feedback on terminal performance on large, heavy-bodied animals in quite high numbers both at shots less than 100 yards and out past 500 yards, all with the 300 WSM and the 144gr Afterburner at a mv of 3350 fps and somewhere in the .2 MOA range. It's something we didn't expect to get so quickly, so we are very grateful to this particular customer for providing such great detail and a lot of it. I won't post anywhere near all the pictures I've received as that number is extensive, but I will post some of the significant ones. Basically, these are free range cattle, and his efforts are to support the local food bank in his town. At this point, I'm unsure how many dozens of cattle have been taken with the 144gr, but I'd assume it's over three dozen or so. Here are some of the significant photos.
High shoulder, base of neck at 416 yards - exit

Slight quartering away, hence the oval shaped, fist sized exit at 235 yards

This next one is very interesting for several reasons. One, the skin was penetrated for a total of three times and at odd angles, accompanied by a skull hit both in and out at close range, 130 yards. After it exited the backside of the head, it reentered the shoulder and traversed the whole body and was somewhere in the guts. During this whole unorthodox situation, the bullet's path remained perfectly straight, something we really focus on.

This last one is a doe shot at 200 yards with a 308 Win and the 135gr Afterburner at a mild 3000 fps mv. The key here, was the shot was actually high. The deer was looking back over her shoulder, and the intent was a high shoulder. It hit above that only hitting neck, and slightly on the left side (traveling from the underside to the top side based on the angle the animal presented herself). Due to the significant early expansion, the spine luckily was hit, and major arteries severed, dropping the deer in her tracks. A pencil through on this shot would have resulted in a difficult situation. This is one of the many reasons we designed the Afterburner to expand violently so quickly.

I thought since this past hunting season witnessed our first bullet launches, predominantly in 30 cal (all are released now), I'd share a few of the terminal performance pictures that were sent to me as the season progressed. The real-world results so far have aligned with our design philosophy and all of our testing that took place over the preceding two years. We couldn't be happier with what we're seeing and wanted to provide all of you with a little of that perspective. In summary, we focus on high trauma that starts early, straight wound channels, AND deep penetration.
Below is a coyote shot with a 153gr Afterburner prototype out of a 30-06 just prior to production launch at about 150 yards. This shows the ability to expand with low resistance (ribs only on a small animal and standard cartridge), and this particular prototype still didn't even meet our low velocity criteria in testing, but did well with light resistance in this example, nonetheless.
Entrance

Exit (notice multiple exit holes form the petals)

If I remember correctly, this is the longest kill to date that I'm aware of. This was a small female bear shot at 523 yards with a 300 RUM loaded with the 153gr Afterburner at 3520 fps. The shot angle came in through the top of the back crossways to the underside of the shoulder/neck, so the total length of tissue hit was very short, even though spine was hit. Expansion still proved to start very early, and the path was straight.
Entrance

Exit

One of the very fortunate things this past season was to get extensive feedback on terminal performance on large, heavy-bodied animals in quite high numbers both at shots less than 100 yards and out past 500 yards, all with the 300 WSM and the 144gr Afterburner at a mv of 3350 fps and somewhere in the .2 MOA range. It's something we didn't expect to get so quickly, so we are very grateful to this particular customer for providing such great detail and a lot of it. I won't post anywhere near all the pictures I've received as that number is extensive, but I will post some of the significant ones. Basically, these are free range cattle, and his efforts are to support the local food bank in his town. At this point, I'm unsure how many dozens of cattle have been taken with the 144gr, but I'd assume it's over three dozen or so. Here are some of the significant photos.
High shoulder, base of neck at 416 yards - exit

Slight quartering away, hence the oval shaped, fist sized exit at 235 yards

This next one is very interesting for several reasons. One, the skin was penetrated for a total of three times and at odd angles, accompanied by a skull hit both in and out at close range, 130 yards. After it exited the backside of the head, it reentered the shoulder and traversed the whole body and was somewhere in the guts. During this whole unorthodox situation, the bullet's path remained perfectly straight, something we really focus on.

This last one is a doe shot at 200 yards with a 308 Win and the 135gr Afterburner at a mild 3000 fps mv. The key here, was the shot was actually high. The deer was looking back over her shoulder, and the intent was a high shoulder. It hit above that only hitting neck, and slightly on the left side (traveling from the underside to the top side based on the angle the animal presented herself). Due to the significant early expansion, the spine luckily was hit, and major arteries severed, dropping the deer in her tracks. A pencil through on this shot would have resulted in a difficult situation. This is one of the many reasons we designed the Afterburner to expand violently so quickly.
