I posted some of this up on my bullet testing thread but thought I'd start a separate one for this bullet to give a little more detail. I'm not affiliated with Apex Outdoors in any way, I was just sent a couple of these bullets to test alongside all the others that I'm shooting into the ballistics gel and posting about in my other thread. They're not available yet and the ones I have are pre-production versions which are a little different than the final versions, so my results in the gel blocks aren't 100% in line with what the finished bullet will do.
Here's a link to the Apex Outdoors website:
www.apex-outdoors.com
The bullet is a tipped, solid copper, high BC, hunting bullet intended to work in standard (1:10" twist) barrels. Here's the 153gr Afterburner next to a 185gr Berger VLD, and a 215gr Berger Hybrid.
I haven't had a ton of time to play with them yet, but so far I really like them. I shot them in a 300 RUM which has proven to be the pickiest gun I've ever let stay in the safe. I took the info provided on the manufacturer's website and used load data for a 150gr Barnes TTSX as a starting point. I ended up picking a charge of 95.5gr of RL 26 with the bullet seated to the grove, as recommended on their site. This is what I got:
I didn't do any group shooting on the first trip out and was just interested in shooting them into the gel at close range. Here's the video of the shots to the gel blocks.
Of the 3 shots I fired into the gel, I only recovered 1 of the shanks. I didn't have enough blocks lined up the first time, the second shot bounced out between two of the blocks, but I caught the third bullet. The shank weighed 110.0gr and the total weight of the shank and petals I found weighed 128.8gr The fragments all traveled in a straight path with the shank for 14-20"
I had a chance on Sunday to try shooting them again the plan was to zero the rifle and shoot them out to 500 yards and measure the bullet drop. I did get the rifle zeroed from a "questionable" back woods rest setup, but the group was one of the best groups this particular gun has shot in a very long time. I was going to setup to shoot for drops at 500 yards, but got distracted by a bear on the other side of the valley. I took off after the bear with the hopes of getting inside of 300 yards so I could just get a shot at him to really test the bullets, but I never got closer than 600 yards. I was kicking myself for not getting that drop data sooner! I'll get out again in the next few days to shoot at 500+ yards to get an idea where the BC is at for me and see how they do. I'll update this thread as I get more data on these.
Here's a link to the Apex Outdoors website:
Lathe Turned Copper Lead Free Rifle Bullets | Apex Outdoors | United States
Patent pending lathe turned, lead-free, hunting bullets, designed without compromise. With scorching muzzle velocities, the highest ballistic coefficient in each class, high shock terminal performance, and shot to shot consistency, Apex Outdoors is redefining the pinnacle of the premium hunting...
www.apex-outdoors.com
The bullet is a tipped, solid copper, high BC, hunting bullet intended to work in standard (1:10" twist) barrels. Here's the 153gr Afterburner next to a 185gr Berger VLD, and a 215gr Berger Hybrid.
I haven't had a ton of time to play with them yet, but so far I really like them. I shot them in a 300 RUM which has proven to be the pickiest gun I've ever let stay in the safe. I took the info provided on the manufacturer's website and used load data for a 150gr Barnes TTSX as a starting point. I ended up picking a charge of 95.5gr of RL 26 with the bullet seated to the grove, as recommended on their site. This is what I got:
I didn't do any group shooting on the first trip out and was just interested in shooting them into the gel at close range. Here's the video of the shots to the gel blocks.
Of the 3 shots I fired into the gel, I only recovered 1 of the shanks. I didn't have enough blocks lined up the first time, the second shot bounced out between two of the blocks, but I caught the third bullet. The shank weighed 110.0gr and the total weight of the shank and petals I found weighed 128.8gr The fragments all traveled in a straight path with the shank for 14-20"
I had a chance on Sunday to try shooting them again the plan was to zero the rifle and shoot them out to 500 yards and measure the bullet drop. I did get the rifle zeroed from a "questionable" back woods rest setup, but the group was one of the best groups this particular gun has shot in a very long time. I was going to setup to shoot for drops at 500 yards, but got distracted by a bear on the other side of the valley. I took off after the bear with the hopes of getting inside of 300 yards so I could just get a shot at him to really test the bullets, but I never got closer than 600 yards. I was kicking myself for not getting that drop data sooner! I'll get out again in the next few days to shoot at 500+ yards to get an idea where the BC is at for me and see how they do. I'll update this thread as I get more data on these.
