I have browsed this forum, and noticed some illustrations depicting OTM 5.56 rounds fragmenting and creating impressive permanent and temporary cavities after about three inches of penetration. They appear to create much larger permanent cavities than non-fragmenting 30 caliber rounds.
Regardless, conventional wisdom has it that 5.56 is marginal for deer and a poor choice for hogs.
Are rounds such as 75 grain TAP that demonstrate early and impressive fragmentation an exception to this rule, or is there something that I am missing such as intermediate boundary (bone) penetration or velocity/temporary cavity?
All things considered, is a top quality fragmenting 5.56 more or less effective in unobstructed self defense scenarios than non-fragmenting full powered rounds (such as .308 or 30-06)?
I don’t plan to hunt deer with 5.56; the question was merely hypothetical. Others have made statements to the effect that they tried to hunt hogs with 5.56 and it didn’t go so well, and I interpreted that to mean the round did not take the hogs down cleanly.
I guess the core of the question I am trying to ask is whether a fragmenting 5.56 OTM is more or less effective at bringing down an animal (or stopping an attacker) than a non-fragmenting full power .30 round- and why or why not.
I have read accounts/seen pictures of people killing very large hogs wiht the 5.56 using just M855 and the like and saying it went very well. Then I have heard of some failures as well. I would think that an expanding .308 round like the DPX would be superior, as it would guarantee penetration through several inches of gristle, etc. etc.
Wild pigs are VERY TOUGH.
As to deer and people and other “thin” skinned things, I don’t see why a 5.56 OTM wouldn’t do better than a .308 FMJ or soft-point or something that didn’t grag. But a .308 that fragged would be nastier, like the TAP stuff.