TKOF = Taylor Knock Out Factor...

[sabotloader]

OK so I admit I am easily entertained, but tonight I was going to pose a question to everyone about why do we always talk accuracy before Terminal Performance. In my tiny world I think I am doing the opposite... I know, well I think I know, that from any of my given ML's the SST's, SW, FTX (and especially the FTX) may the most accurate hunting bullet I can shoot. But me being me I go the other direction first - I am looking for the bullet with the best Terminal Performance then look for accuracy. As I have said many times I am not shooting the most accurate, I am shooting the deadliest accurate bullet I can.

With all that said i was doing some internet searching and some how got track on something called the 'Taylor Knock Out Factor.' many of you may have already heard about it and I think I remember the concept but never really looked at it...

So lets start here... before the ML bug bit me I shot a Winchester 300 Win Mag. My favorite bullet and elk killer was a .308/200 grain Nosler Partition Semi Round Nose. I would load with 72.8 grains of IMR-7828 - for a velocity of 2900 fps.

With this information I can calculate the TKOF...

So here is some info for you number people... Again this @ the muzzle... addition ballistic information is needed to compute the TKOF @ different ranges and that is where the bullet BC plays a big role. But since I am into ML's - 200 yards is my max so BC id a factor but not the huge factor it is in the longer range shooting.

Anyway...

Using the information listed above you should find this...
300 Win Mag = TKOF of 25.52

My elk gun for this year is a Knight 52 cal shooting a .458/300 grain Lehigh @ 1900 fps...
52 cal Knight = TKOF of 37.29

My whitetail gun will be a 45 cal Knight shooting a .40/200 grain Lehigh @ 2200fps
45 cal Knight = TKOF of 25.14

Interesting stuff - huh? Actually kinda eye opening @ the muzzle.

It is late and I do not have all the numbers I need to compute the TKOF @ various ranges, but I will spend some time at that when can - but with elk season starting on Sunday - it might be awhile. You know that 300 is going to win this thing but at what point?

Here is a summary of what I found


TKOF
Taylor Knock Out Factor

(Equation 1)

TKOF = Mbullet * Vbullet * Dbullet
7000


Where

mBullet is the bullet mass in grains (1 pound = 7000 grains)
vBullet is the bullet velocity in feet per second
dBullet is the bullet diameter in inches
If the international standard units of grams, millimeters, and meters per second are substituted, the divisor can be changed from 7000 to 3500 to give approximately the same resulting TKOF.

http://www.reloadammo.com/tkofactor2.htm

This formula is biased towards the bigger and heavier bullets, but that's what he wanted to have a scale to Knock Out big game. Plug in some light 30-06 loads and compare to some 500 S&W loads with a very heavy bullet for comparisons. Example: A 30 caliber 150 grain bullet moving at 3,000 fps = 19.3, while a 50 caliber, 630 grain bullet moving at 1300 fps = 58.5 a huge difference, but for Taylor, he felt that's what would take down big game best. If you want to save your data, print this page after you make a calculation.

 

[quigley]

OK so I admit I am easily entertained, but tonight I was going to pose a question to everyone about why do we always talk accuracy before Terminal Performance. In my tiny world I think I am doing the opposite... I know, well I think I know, that from any of my given ML's the SST's, SW, FTX (and especially the FTX) may the most accurate hunting bullet I can shoot. But me being me I go the other direction first - I am looking for the bullet with the best Terminal Performance then look for accuracy. As I have said many times I am not shooting the most accurate, I am shooting the deadliest accurate bullet I can.

With all that said i was doing some internet searching and some how got track on something called the 'Taylor Knock Out Factor.' many of you may have already heard about it and I think I remember the concept but never really looked at it...

So lets start here... before the ML bug bit me I shot a Winchester 300 Win Mag. My favorite bullet and elk killer was a .308/200 grain Nosler Partition Semi Round Nose. I would load with 72.8 grains of IMR-7828 - for a velocity of 2900 fps.

With this information I can calculate the TKOF...

So here is some info for you number people... Again this @ the muzzle... addition ballistic information is needed to compute the TKOF @ different ranges and that is where the bullet BC plays a big role. But since I am into ML's - 200 yards is my max so BC id a factor but not the huge factor it is in the longer range shooting.

Anyway...

Using the information listed above you should find this...
300 Win Mag = TKOF of 25.52

My elk gun for this year is a Knight 52 cal shooting a .458/300 grain Lehigh @ 1900 fps...
52 cal Knight = TKOF of 37.29

My whitetail gun will be a 45 cal Knight shooting a .40/200 grain Lehigh @ 2200fps
45 cal Knight = TKOF of 25.14

Interesting stuff - huh? Actually kinda eye opening @ the muzzle.

It is late and I do not have all the numbers I need to compute the TKOF @ various ranges, but I will spend some time at that when can - but with elk season starting on Sunday - it might be awhile. You know that 300 is going to win this thing but at what point?

Here is a summary of what I found


TKOF
Taylor Knock Out Factor

(Equation 1)

TKOF = Mbullet * Vbullet * Dbullet
7000


Where

mBullet is the bullet mass in grains (1 pound = 7000 grains)
vBullet is the bullet velocity in feet per second
dBullet is the bullet diameter in inches
If the international standard units of grams, millimeters, and meters per second are substituted, the divisor can be changed from 7000 to 3500 to give approximately the same resulting TKOF.

http://www.reloadammo.com/tkofactor2.htm

This formula is biased towards the bigger and heavier bullets, but that's what he wanted to have a scale to Knock Out big game. Plug in some light 30-06 loads and compare to some 500 S&W loads with a very heavy bullet for comparisons. Example: A 30 caliber 150 grain bullet moving at 3,000 fps = 19.3, while a 50 caliber, 630 grain bullet moving at 1300 fps = 58.5 a huge difference, but for Taylor, he felt that's what would take down big game best. If you want to save your data, print this page after you make a calculation.

Geeeez, I got a headache. Way to much info for me. I use the DRT calculation. 1) Load bullet. 2) shoot deer. 3)If deer is DRT then Im happy with my bullet.

 

[jakesdad]

Ive seen this mentioned on other sites,just never knew what it was or how the numbers where acheived.Im like you sabotloader,i'm into power more than accuracy.Why I dont want 4-5" groups at 100yds,i'll take a big 300+ grain bullet with 2" accuracy over a 200grainer with sub-MOA groups anyday.Both are killers,just like the extra whomp.Now I know how to figure just what the whomp is. :wink:

 

[GRANDBOW]

KO

sabotloader;
You hit the nail on the head, and its what I have been trying to say on some of my posts, in a round about way. Thats probably why I never persued the idea of pics. I can't understand formulars, but I have compared terminal damage of a shotgun slug with other bullets. I have hunted with the slug guns since 1958 and can count the deer lost because of a good hit on three fingers. I have taken deer up to 100 yards. A hit in the boiller room of a deer causes severe damage. They don't always drop in the tracts, but they don't go far.One thing to remember is, if you can't hit the spot you are shooting at, acuracy and tremianl performance mean nothing. I agree with you.

 

[Okie Hog]

i've killed big hogs with center fire rifles ranging from from a .22 LR to a .450 Alsakan Improved. Also killed dozens of hogs with a .50 muzzleloader. As far as being effective on big hogs; the muzzleloader wins hands down.

 

[Widude]

Speaking of 'knock-out' factor. I was shooting my Knight today, 250 grn SST & 120 grns of our favorite B209. I was the one getting almost knocked out by the load. I was shooting 2 243s intermittently and maybe that factored in. The good news is the M-L was shooting great, newly mounted scope & all,(vari-x-III 1.75-6). I just may have to back the charge down some one of these days.

 

[Rangeball]

Or get a lead sled for range time

 

[Urban_Redneck]

IIRC, Taylor's formula is geared towards solid bullets on thick skinned African game, buffalo, elephant, rhino.

It's fun to experiment with as a comparator, but, you don't need* a .458 Lott for anything in this hemisphere.

YMMV

*damn fun to touch off though :shock:

 

[jsthntn247]

That is the same reason I chose the lehigh bullets for my muzz. I always think what is the hardest hitting load that I can get to shoot accurate..

 

[Nimrodder]

Batchief's 496gr Trashcan has a TKO of 46.1. Thats with 70 grains of Swiss at 1300fps. A bullshop 460gr bullet has a TKO 44.4. Man I luv them big boolits 8) .

 

[fliowa]

I lean towards accuracy over knock down power in open terrain (i.e. Iowa farm land) and knockdown power over accuracy when hunting thick cover (i.e. Florida swamps).