250 GR .338 Berger Elite Hunter

[Ultramag45]

I was reloading some 250 gr .338 Berger Elite hunters today for my 338 RUM.. I usually shoot the 250 Accubonds...adjusted my comp seater die to OAL of 3.765.. (that is where the accubonds like it) loaded the first 3.. they were all perfect.. went up in powder charge .5 grain and loaded 3 more... Just because, i checked the OAL.. wow... way different...Kinda thought I messed up somewhere..pulled the bullets and went back to original powder charge... checked all cases.. all the same ...length...thought my die was goofy..went and measured the bullets and couldnt believe the differences..the first 3 I loaded were 1.62-1.624 average..the next 3 were 1.63- 1.642...so decided to measure 25 of them out of a new box of 100... I got 1.615- to 1.643 .. all over the place... went and checked 20 Accubonds and they were all 1.571 to 1.573.. havent shot them for accuracy.. wondering WHY the inconsistency!!!!ANy body else have this problem...gun)

 

[Broz]

It sounds like you are measureing just with calipers and not using a bullet comparator. If this is true you need to know you can not measure any bullet this way for an accurate seating depth. The difference you are getting is in the hollow point tip, it has little to do with anything. It will be rotationg at over 200,000 rpm. Accuracy will be supurb if you get your reloading methods to a consistant level. Did you weigh any of the Elites? Maybe try that and also weigh some of the Accubonds.

What you need to know is where the o-give of the bullet sits in relation to the rifling in your barrel. The "off the lands" measurement we all talk about. Just measuring case head to tip is a very inconsistent way to measure bullets and only tells you if it will fit in the mag box. Doing it the way you did will almost certainly assure they will all be different seating depths off the lands. And if you thought that you were setting up the Bergers to be the same seating depth as your Accubond load you were mistaken. The difference in the bullets physical shape, length and bearing surface will assure they will be seated to different depths if you don't measure with a comparator.

So, get a bullet comparator, or just set the die somewhere and seat them all. Providing the die is not bottoming out on the tip of the bullet it will contact below the point and seat them all at the same depth. Problem is you have no way of knowing what that depth or "off the lands" measurement is.

Again, pay no attention to that .005" or .010" tip variation. The bullets will shoot extremely accurate as the rest of the bullet, and how far off the lands, is what matters.

Hope this helps.

Jeff

 

[snowpro440]

+1 Jeff, ogive to the base of the case is where its at! If you wana achieve consistent accuracy this proves to be the best way.

 

[Topshot]

Yeah, they measure a bit different in length but as Broz said measure to the ogive and all is sweet.

On a side note. I shot a truck load of feral goats with these pills a few weeks back. Distance from 30 yards to 1240 yards.

I was a bit disapointed in the consistency of their performance on game of this size at long range. Some worked very well and others seem to punch straight through.

The hollow point on a lot is closed up and this may be the issue?

 

[Broz]

Yeah, they measure a bit different in length but as Broz said measure to the ogive and all is sweet.

On a side note. I shot a truck load of feral goats with these pills a few weeks back. Distance from 30 yards to 1240 yards.

I was a bit disapointed in the consistency of their performance on game of this size at long range. Some worked very well and others seem to punch straight through.

The hollow point on a lot is closed up and this may be the issue?

Topshot, I would encourage you to share the results with Eric Stecker from Berger. They are trying to look into some of these reports and good data like you have on animals at all distances is very important.

Also, could you get your hands on any of the 250 OTM Hybrids? They will shoot the same as the EH's. I would love to see you shoot some more goats with the OTM's and compare. Especially at long distances. I have a theory I am working on and want real kills for data. What is your chambering?

Thanks
Jeff

 

[Topshot]

Topshot, I would encourage you to share the results with Eric Stecker from Berger. They are trying to look into some of these reports and good data like you have on animals at all distances is very important.

Also, could you get your hands on any of the 250 OTM Hybrids? They will shoot the same as the EH's. I would love to see you shoot some more goats with the OTM's and compare. Especially at long distances. I have a theory I am working on and want real kills for data. What is your chambering?

Thanks
Jeff

Hi Broz,
This time I was using my .338 RUM at a launch speed of 2950 fps.
Seems like if I hit anything solid they went straight down. At other times they went straight through.
The ones I recovered that had through hits had only like 15mm holes through them. I videod a few kills and put them on you tube.
Here is a few. The first two are straight up kills and the last one is an example of a solid hit in the shoulder that didn't work. I recovered this goat after it died some 200m from the spot where it was hit.
Nothing wrong with the shot but Goats can be very tough for there size and are cull shoots are good practice.

[ame=http://youtu.be/P9DV9irWCYQ]goat2013b - YouTube[/ame]
[ame=http://youtu.be/UA_UE3K8w8k]goats2013a - YouTube[/ame]

goat2013c - YouTube