Field Guide
Quarry terminal thresholds.
The minimum bar a candidate load must clear at the target to be considered
ethical on each animal. A load is ranked only if it passes all four gates below — anything
short is rejected before it reaches your results.
- Energy
- Retained kinetic energy at impact / ft·lb.
- Impact velocity
- Speed at the target / fps — drives expansion.
- Momentum
- Mass × velocity / lb·s — drives penetration.
- Sectional density
- Bullet mass per frontal area — drives depth.
Plates ranked 01–08 by terminal demand; class derived from the energy gate.
Bar length is each gate relative to the most demanding quarry.
Min energy
2,100 ftlb
Impact velocity
2,500 fps
Momentum
1.60 lb·s
Sectional dens.
0.24 SD
Min energy
1,500 ftlb
Impact velocity
2,000 fps
Momentum
1.30 lb·s
Sectional dens.
0.22 SD
Min energy
1,500 ftlb
Impact velocity
1,800 fps
Momentum
1.20 lb·s
Sectional dens.
0.21 SD
Min energy
1,200 ftlb
Impact velocity
1,600 fps
Momentum
1.00 lb·s
Sectional dens.
0.18 SD
Min energy
1,000 ftlb
Impact velocity
1,200 fps
Momentum
0.90 lb·s
Sectional dens.
0.18 SD
Min energy
1,000 ftlb
Impact velocity
1,200 fps
Momentum
0.85 lb·s
Sectional dens.
0.18 SD
Min energy
200 ftlb
Impact velocity
1,000 fps
Momentum
0.15 lb·s
Sectional dens.
0.00 SD
Min energy
100 ftlb
Impact velocity
800 fps
Momentum
0.10 lb·s
Sectional dens.
0.00 SD