More Bullet Performance Tests - The Media

royinidaho

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The Media I selected is working very well.

Pros:
*Inexpensive
*Rapidly reusable.
*Very light until moistened.
*Does not absorb water but gets wet, if that makes sense.
*Can be moistened to any degree desired. (I used a garden moisture meter to maintain consistency)
*24" will stop a 300 SMK impacting at 2175 FPS.
*Environmentally beneficial
*Is a great oil/chemical spill absorbent.
*Will last for years depending upon how much is spilled during use.
*Rinses off hands very easily. (Keep a jug of water handys)
* 1.5 cubic feet is enough for most LR/VLD, velocity for range testing.

Cons:
* Dirty until moistened


Containment:

This is a real problem with rapidly expanding large bullets like the 300 SMK. I screwed a box together that I thought was very solid, which turned out to be the problem.

A 150 Berger mentioned in the Introduction had no affect on the box at all.

A 280 HAT at some unknown velocity opened the box severely.
I then rebuild and reinforced it extensively.
A 300 SMK hit it at 2175 FPS and completely destroyed it.

I spent the next several hours redesigning the whole idea.

The secret is "use no screws whatever". I drew my inspiration from the design of an Elk's rib cage.

The new construction worked very well. I was able to conduct 4 bullet tests in about 45 minutes.

Seeing as how bullet spin is a non-factor, per other threads, I used reduced loads to simulate downrange velocities.

Part 3 will show the effectiveness of the media.

For most applications a 3 foot length of heavy walled plastic pipe will be sufficient. For those that must have the media out towards 1K I have no idea of what to use. Thus I put the media immediately behind the chrono.

Link to Introduction: http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/more-terminal-performance-tests-introduction-33484/
 
Thanks for the efforts Roy, great stuff. However I must say:
Seeing as how bullet spin is a non-factor, per other threads, I used reduced loads to simulate downrange velocities.
I didn't see any evidence offered in any of those threads that negates tests people on other sites and bullet manufacturers have done that show it clearly is a factor.
 
Roy this media sounds like good stuff. Some Questions.

What did you moisten it with? Oil or water? I was under the impression you were going to use used motor oil?

Dirty until moistened???

Is the media close to the density of water or gelatin?

Exactly how did you construct your box?

Seems to me a person could place a box at 1K for 1K testing?
 
Jon A,

I must of misread "the other posts". Typical for me, though.

Someone, maybe you, posted reports from years ago. I concluded from a brief read, that spin made little difference. I'll retract the statement though the results are the results.

Dirty: Conditioning and drying result in a creation of fines or dust. This stuff is designed for treatment of oil/chemical spills which it is very good at. It soaks up 800 times its own weight.

It would be best described by two year old, very dry buffalo/cow chips run through a blender.

However, its the preparation for the oil spill that seems to make it unique for the bullet expansion tests.

I used water. Oil would have been too messy and would be tried only as a last resort.

Density is hard for me to describe. The density will very from where water is 100% covering it resulting in a very loose slurry that isn't much different than water only.

I wet it first, then placed a large garbage bag in the box then scooped the media to fill the box. I pressed it down a bit by hand and added water until only the bottom inch or so was 100% saturated leaving kind of firm yet loose material. Water can be squeezed out of a hand full and be less than 30% moisture.

A better idea would be to use several smaller plastic bags stacked like milk jugs. All bullets went pretty much straight. THe widest deviation was the HAT that drifted to the right about 3" which may be a box misalignment.

The next time you gut a deer dig into the stomach to see what its been eatin'. The media is on that order but then again way different.

As far as hitting the box at 1K, I'm not the guy for that. Even if I could hit it regularly, a 2K hike or drive for each shot gets really burdensome.

I think that this stuff, in a proper container, for the caliber/weight and velocity of the bullet would put a reasonably useable tool in the hands of most LR shooters. Compared to a real animal though it's may well be like having a Oehler vs a Chrony.

From what I'm seeing with so many new bullets becoming available I definitely want to get as good of a feel for terminal characteristics as I do for velocity and accuracy.

Bergers that have been tested closely duplicate published performance.

We have perfromance indication of the WC 338 285 or was it a 265 from Kirby's elk.

Proof of terminal effectiveness of the 7mm WC 200gr was demonstrated on Buffalobob's 964 yd elk.

GG has demonstrated effectiveness of the 225 NAB time and time again.

Many are shooting the 300 SMK and getting dead anmials but further investigation leaves some wondering if they can be trusted in all situations.

LRH shooters are pushing things well beyond what has been generally accepted for years. Remington Core Loks and Winchester Silvertips are some of the best performing bullets for their intended use. However their BC isn't for squat leaving them out as an LRH selection.

Thus the quest continues........
 
Very interesting Roy. The Hat's had a totally different result in your test than mine. Where is that promoter of them anyhow? The deer hunt must surely be over by now. It started on the 18th of August. No reports as of yet from him? Perhaps the results weren't worth showing to us?! I wonder how many does he wounded before he gave up. Oh pessimistic me.
 
Roy, thanks for all the effort and sharing your experiences. I'm thinking the media could be moistened, mixed and stored in stackable 5 gal buckets with lids. A typical 5 gal bucket would hold a little less than a cubic ft of material.

A 3/8 th's plywood box could be fastened and seamed with a couple layers of some material and construction adhesive. The sides could be a little tall with an open top allowing energy to move up and saving stress on the sides. The target side could have maybe a 12"x12" or 10"x10" opening cut out and slide a couple layers of cardboard in to hold back the plastic bag and media.

What is the product name of your absorbant and how can one get some?
 
I would say its a safe bet that more game have been killed with the 300g SMK then the Wildcat bullets. Maybe not the Bergers because of the wide selection of bullets and people using them because not everyone has a big 338, and surely not the AB's because they actually are designed as a "hunting" bullet.

How can you say that about the 300g SMK being trustworthy when there seems to be a pile of animals being killed with them??

Sure you have a few guys saying they lost an animal here and there with the 300g SMK, but its going to happen time to time, reguardless of bullet used, especially when theres more people using them...

A few kills with the Wildcats at LR is a good indication they work well, but no where near the track record of the 300g SMK, IMO.

Shawn and his customers have killed a slew of game with the 300g SMK with no problems, not to mention all the other guys\out there using them.

Bergers have been on the unpredictable side for me in the calibers I tried them in so far, and thats been the 115g VLD in 25-06, 168g and 180g in a 7 RM, and 210g in a 300 RUM. The 115, 168, and 210 acted more like varmint bullets then big game bullets, and the 180g acted like a solid or FMJ from what little tests I've done, and I actually killed a couple deer with the 7mm VLD's a couple years back. I wont use either of them again on deer based on my actual experience with them on deer. The 168g blew up on shoulders at 600+ yards, and the 180g VLD penciled through at 100 yards behind the shoulder. Same thing with milk jugs, the 168 vaporized them while the 180 penciled through.

Your right about the search being continued to find "the" perfect bullet...Still searching...
 
How can you say that about the 300g SMK being trustworthy when there seems to be a pile of animals being killed with them??

I only used the trust word from the general drift I gather from reading on this board. There continues to be an argument against the 300 or any SMK for use on game. There continues to be those who continually use them successfully. Thus the two camps.

The SMK is no match for an Accubond in classic terminal performance. If one must have a double lung shot and complete penetration for the blood trail then so be it. Me thinks with the 300 SMK at impact speeds greater than 1800 (estimated from my 2175 FPS impact velocity) I'd venture to guess that the internal damage of the double lung shot would be almost considered excessive and the animal wouldn't travel more that a few yards.

My goto bullets in the 338 are 225 NABs and 300 SMKs. If I had a larger case the choice would reduced to just the SMKs.

I have no idea of where the core of the SMK goes but there is a big explosion about 8" in and the jacket, however rough and jagged and can sometimes be measured in square inches, penetrates an impressive distance.

Additionally their energy is awsome. When breaking pineapple sized lava rocks, the 270s, 7s and 06s make a nice dust plume. The 300 SMK makes pebbles.
 
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