WOW, a very impressive bullet!!

[goodgrouper]

My box of 338 250 grain Lapua Scenars came yesterday and I had a chance to run some bullet tests on them this morning.
Now, I didn't measure all 100 but I got through about 75 of them and here's the results:

<font color="red">Base to Ogive length </font>
2 bullets were out 3/4 of .001", the rest were spot on!

<font color="blue"> Bearing surface top to bottom </font>
3 bullets were 1/2 thou out, rest were spot on!


<font color="orange"> Bullet weight </font>
average= 250.1 grains
one bullet went 250.0 and one bullet went 250.2!

On top of all that, the meplats were much more flat than any of the MK's I've seen and the hollow points were round with little or no deformation. The boat tail on them is actually LONGER than the 300 grain MK, and the base of the bullet is larger too because the boat tail has a shallower angle. Very cool. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Cost was $49.50 shipped for 100 count.

Listed bc is .675 and the actual bullet diameter measures .339.

And an added bonus for me was that the ogives are almost identical in shape to the 225 Accubonds so I can have my reamer set up for one kind of bullet and the other kind will work at the same seating depth with no adjustment!

I can't wait to go try some!

 

[goodgrouper]

Ok, I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to cut into those beautiful Lapua bullets to see what they were made of. And while I was at it I figured I might as well ruin an Accubond and a MK for comparison.


Here they are: L to right 300 grain MK, 250 grain Lapua scenar, 225 grain accubond.

That huge hollow point on the scenar should open nicely on an elk at 1500 yards. Probably even better than the MK. The nosler is still a dang good looking bullet too though. Decisions decisions.

 

[Buffalobob]

Very interesting - there is no weight in the nose of the Scenar and no lead in the nose nor boatail of the Nosler AB. Keeps more of the weight over the bearing surface.

Try putting the bullets in a vise and beating them on the nose with a hammer. It is a lot of fun. Plus you will learn something about inelastic deformation - intuitively, at least.

Did you find that the AB lead alloy was real hard compared to the Sierra.

 

[goodgrouper]

At first, I tried grinding the bullets in half and decided that cutting them would be better. When I was grinding, the Nosler was much tougher to shave down than the other two. But when I cut them, the Lapua actually was slightly harder to cut and gave off more heat. I don't know why. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Buffalobob]

Here are some thoughts for you to consider.

Do the hammer test on one of the sawed halfs by laying it flat on an anvil and smack it with a 3 pound hammer or use a knife point to do a "hardness test". It will tell you if it is a hard alloy or soft lead. If you are working on the margins of the killing capacity of a bullet you do not want it flattening out on the shoulder blade because it is too soft and losing all of its momentum through deformation. You want it to hold a lot of shape until it breaks the bone. I do not delibrately look to hit a shoulder bone like you, but I have found through hard expereince that if you are a rib shooter you will sometimes drift into the shoulder and a rib bullet is not a shoulder bullet. Bad things happen then. For a shoulder shooter you do not want to be loading up a rib bullet. I do not know exactly what you are planning on as a starting velocity so I do not know how much safety margin you have on bullet strike.

I have done the shooting newspaper bit to test penetration and did not find it to be representative of performance on animals. I do not know if the 3 pound hammer test is better but it is what I am currently using. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[goodgrouper]

[ QUOTE ]
a rib bullet is not a shoulder bullet. Bad things happen then. For a shoulder shooter you do not want to be loading up a rib bullet.

[/ QUOTE ]


Yes, I agree. However, at distances in excess of 3/4 of a mile, you do not want a super stout bullet either. The hollow point of the Lapua is big enough to still get the mushroom going despite the reduced velocity. Others on this forum have used the 300 grain MK with great success on game probably (if not only) because of the sheer mass of that bullet. I think it definetly helps!


I am anticipating the 250's at 3100 fps if I get lucky.

 

[sierra22]

Be aware that the lapua scenar has become a favorite amongst swedish capercaille stalkers as the bullet doesn't expand in the birds.

I advice a proper expansion test before using it on game.

 

[swed]

[ QUOTE ]
Be aware that the lapua scenar has become a favorite amongst swedish capercaille stalkers as the bullet doesn't expand in the birds.

I advice a proper expansion test before using it on game.

[/ QUOTE ]


Do an expansion test before using it on game.
In sweden the they are mainly used for target shooting, atleast with 6,5x55.
they shoot tight groups but i never heard anyone hunting with them.

 

[goodgrouper]

[ QUOTE ]
Do an expansion test before using it on game.


[/ QUOTE ]

You don't know me very well do you! My other handle is the eternal experimenter. Don't worry about me testing something. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif