Long range bullet minimal expansion

[elkaholic]

Hi guys....I've been trying to get everything geared up for elk season next month and wanted to test my newest 208 grain SXR for maximum range expansion. It has already proven to be very accurate at long range. I have found that H20 is a good media to use for determining the LOWEST velocity a bullet will expand at. H20 is VERY hard on jackets, probably because all the force is on the tip with little pressure to hold the side of the jacket. This causes good expansion but also separates the jacket from the core more than flesh would. Given that fact, you can usually add a couple of hundred feet per second on flesh, providing no heavy bones are struck. I chose a known quantity to test against it, the Berger 215 Hybrid. I have found this bullet to be EXTREMELY accurate and there is a fair amount of data around for this bullet already regarding use on game. I used an old 60 qt. cooler with windows cut out of the ends and inserted 45 gal. industrial grade plastic bags. This is an inexpensive way to contain the H20 and not have to shoot thru other material on the way. This gives more consistent bullet to bullet comparison. I backed up the water container with my wet cardboard bullet box to catch the bullets which were pretty much spent and expanded about as much as they were going to be. Most of the shrapnel was easily collected from the bottom of the garbage bag and only the heavy chunks of lead passed thru into the cardboard. I found that I could get two or three tests out of one garbage bag by careful placement before each shot. Bear in mind that this test was intended to show the affects of a narrow meplat with no ballistic tip vs a wide meplat with a ballistic tip. Both bullets have a thin nose section (within a thou or two). You can draw your own conclusions based on the range that you intend to hunt and the intended target. You will notice that the SXR has both a bonded and non-bonded version, for comparison, and also that the necessary velocity for expansion was far less than the Berger. I didn't attempt to shoot the SXR below 1300', but as the pics show, it probably would expand somewhat down to about 1200'. This puts my elk killing range farther than I will shoot at one. With 3000+ fps mv and a .688 b.c., this should make my 30/375 S.I. pretty lethal......Rich

[phorwath]

The value of the tipped bullets helping to ensure lower impact velocity bullet expansion becomes visibly apparent with these photos.

Seems like I've read 1800 fps being the minimum recommended velocity to achieve consistent expansion from the Berger hunting bullets in the past. Your testing of their 215 Hybrid is consistent with what I've read. The Hybrid came apart at 1900 fps, but no expansion at 1800 fps.

Good to know, and thanks for posting the results of your tests with photos.

[elkaholic]

Originally Posted by phorwath

The value of the tipped bullets helping to ensure lower impact velocity bullet expansion becomes visibly apparent with these photos.

Seems like I've read 1800 fps being the minimum recommended velocity to achieve consistent expansion from the Berger hunting bullets in the past. Your testing of their 215 Hybrid is consistent with what I've read. The Hybrid came apart at 1900 fps, but no expansion at 1800 fps.

Good to know, and thanks for posting the results of your tests with photos.

Thanks Paul....as I mentioned, water tends to expand bullets better than flesh so the hunting application should be adjusted accordingly.....Rich

[Coyboy]

I killed 2 deer last week on Ag damage tags.
The 140 Berger Hybrids are a poor choice, 460 yards and the out holes were very small. If they hit heavy bone the results were a little better.

Can't wait for some hunting hybrids.

[barnesuser28]

Nice testing Rich. i would go bonded for elk and up and non bonded for deer down to mice. I am going to try to find the lowest velocity the Lrx, CE, Berger OTM, and SMK will expand.

[Outlaw6.0]

Originally Posted by barnesuser28

Nice testing Rich. i would go bonded for elk and up and non bonded for deer down to mice. I am going to try to find the lowest velocity the Lrx, CE, Berger OTM, and SMK will expand.

Riley, if you are still set up to test & are willing, I can send you some 300SMK's that I have uniformed the meplats on. That makes the Meplat larger & could/should create quicker expansion.

let me know.

t

[elkaholic]

Originally Posted by barnesuser28

Nice testing Rich. i would go bonded for elk and up and non bonded for deer down to mice. I am going to try to find the lowest velocity the Lrx, CE, Berger OTM, and SMK will expand.

You can't tell by the pics but the unbonded bullets perform much like the bonded on flesh at approx. 2200' and under so bonding for the long range work isn't really necessary (even on elk).......Rich