Need a copper load

chad k

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Jan 21, 2013
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I have searched through some old posts. I read about several copper loads but they weren't shot from a 1 in 9 twist barrel or I wasn't sure of their twist rate. My STW loves 180 gr Bergers, but I live in Ca. where I must use copper bullets for hunting. I really wanted to get the Barnes 168 lrx working. At 1 in 9 twist and being at 1100 ft. elevation I just couldn't get them to stabilize for me. I also tried 150 E-TIPS and 139 GMX with several different powders. 2" groups are the best I can get with any of the copper so far. The 145lrx will be my next try, but hoping someone out there with a 1 in 9 twist has a good copper load to share.
 
Easy fix, I would move as quick as I could.....
Thirty years ago rural Ca. was the land of milk and honey, now it is something else. The problem is that when Ca. starts something, overtime it tends to ooze to the rest of you. I hope Texas has enough room for me when they secede.
 
I have searched through some old posts. I read about several copper loads but they weren't shot from a 1 in 9 twist barrel or I wasn't sure of their twist rate. My STW loves 180 gr Bergers, but I live in Ca. where I must use copper bullets for hunting. I really wanted to get the Barnes 168 lrx working. At 1 in 9 twist and being at 1100 ft. elevation I just couldn't get them to stabilize for me. I also tried 150 E-TIPS and 139 GMX with several different powders. 2" groups are the best I can get with any of the copper so far. The 145lrx will be my next try, but hoping someone out there with a 1 in 9 twist has a good copper load to share.




With the 145 lrx I'd go with rl25 and load it like a 150; ie. go to about 80 grains working up from 75 or so with a mag primer.
 
With the 145 lrx I'd go with rl25 and load it like a 150; ie. go to about 80 grains working up from 75 or so with a mag primer.
Thanks for the load, have you noticed any temp. sensitivity with RL25. I have some but was wondering from what some others have said.
 
Cutting Edge Bullets, never heard of them. Have you used them or know anybody that has? How they perform on game, accuracy? WOW, on paper they are outstanding, thank you for your help.

Not personally but there's a few here that have very good success with them, i.e., Outlaw6, LTLR, Big Jake Duke just to name a few; hopefully, they'll chime in ... just do a google custom search on the top right corner and you'll get lots of hits.

Here's a start >>> http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f17/cutting-edge-bullet-kills-98388/

Good luck!
 
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I've used the Cutting edge 160 for two seasons now in my 7 rem mag. They are the most accurate bullets I've shot in this rifle hands down. I quickly came up with a very accurate load using only 12 bullets for load development. I later played with another powder to get more velocity. Every load I have tried with these bullets have been under 1 MOA at 330 yards. My rem mag will get these just over 3100fps with Retumbo.

As far as on game performance, I have killed 3 deer and an antelope with these. I started loading them to use as an elk bullet, but less time to hunt the last two years has kept me from testing on elk. The first thing I shot with them was a buck antelope at about 200 yards. It was facing me straight on and slightly downhill and I shot him in the center of the chest. Bullet exited his belly a few inches behind the end of rib cage and hit his left quad and exited the back of his hamstring.

Next was a big, tough muley buck at 280 yards. First shot entered just behind front shoulder and exited opposite shoulder. He did not go down so I shot again. Second shot hit within an inch of the first. This shot put him down but his head was still up and he was angled away from me quite a bit, I put one more in him. This bullet was recovered in the opposite hide of his neck. It weighed 141 grains.

This year I shot a muley doe at 402 yards. It was behind the shoulder and exited, killing her instantly. Also got a whitetail buck this year at 210 yards. Lung shot, exited took a little while for him to expire.

I am happy with the performance of these, but I think they are a little tough for thin skinned animals like deer and antelope. I usually get quicker kills with a more fragile bullet. I think they would be awesome for elk, which is what I got them for but wanted to test on game. I would like to try the new 155 grains as they have a higher BC. I could also get more velocity out of them which would probably improve game performance.
 
I have searched through some old posts. I read about several copper loads but they weren't shot from a 1 in 9 twist barrel or I wasn't sure of their twist rate. My STW loves 180 gr Bergers, but I live in Ca. where I must use copper bullets for hunting. I really wanted to get the Barnes 168 lrx working. At 1 in 9 twist and being at 1100 ft. elevation I just couldn't get them to stabilize for me. I also tried 150 E-TIPS and 139 GMX with several different powders. 2" groups are the best I can get with any of the copper so far. The 145lrx will be my next try, but hoping someone out there with a 1 in 9 twist has a good copper load to share.

We moved from Colorado when they demonstrated an extreme hate for Constitutional principles, and I recommend that liberty loving Americans move from California.

One point that has been neglected is that the new California law delegates ammo approval to a commission, and has empowered the commission with specific approval powers to disapprove ALL lead in ammunition, including primers:

(c) (1) The commission shall maintain, by regulation, a public process to certify ammunition as nonlead ammunition, and shall define, by regulation, nonlead ammunition as including only ammunition in which there is no lead content, excluding the presence of trace amounts of lead. The commission shall establish and annually update a list of certified ammunition.

Now, so far, their attention has been limited to bullets, but I am not optimistic about outcomes when they realize how much they can restrict ammunition once they decide to only approve ammunition with lead free primers.

Lead free primers are available in some ammunition, and we have also acquired them as reloading components. Performance is very poor with hangfires and misfires being very common. Yet as soon as some manufacturer can ramp up production with hunting ammunition, you can expect them to lean on the approval commission to only approve truely "lead free" ammunition that also includes lead free primers.
 
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