Badlands Precision Bullets thread - From BC to terminal ballistics

[nralifer]

i would think H4350 is going to pressure out too soon with the 195. I'd be looking at H1000 or N570, RL26 would be another good choice. I've got the 195's going 3050 ish in a 24" barrel 300 PRC with N570, and I believe this to be a slower barrel. I would think 2900 would be possible in a 20" barrel, maybe more in a fast barrel.

Comparing a 10 mph wind drift of the 181 Hammer at 3090 vs the 195 Bulldozer at only 2900, at 500 yards the hammer drifts 14.3 inches vs the bulldozer at 12 inches. Obviously the difference grows at greater distance. I think your choice should be based on how you intend to use them. I love how the hammers perform terminally and the speeds you can get out of them (for 500 yards and in, the lighter, faster Hammers are my choice due to terminal performance) but can't ignore the high bc of the bulldozers (verified by shot drops at 600 yards) when shooting long range in windy Western states.

One would be hard pressed to see any difference in close range performance between the two bullets, but for 500++ yds hits, the high BC Bulldozers are clearly superior in wind drift which by 1000 yds can be as much a around 17+ inches less in favor of the Bulldozers.

 

[tim_w]

I'm currently working up a load in my 20" 1:10 300 WSM. I've got one hole groups at 2824 FPS with H4350 in a new barrel, but slight bolt lift. I'm trying to figure out if it's the Cerakote in the action, or actually pressure signs. I am pretty confident RL26 will get me to 2,900 with the 195. I'm toying with the idea of trying VV565 also.

Measure your extractor groove vs a case that's had 3 more moderate loads thru it.

Rl26 is to bullet vel as NOS is to engine HP. Personally I would choose the next lower node using it. Usually a wider node for rl26 and it gives you a safety margin if you shoot at higher temps down the road.

I am trying some n565 on the 250SBDII as it seems they're suppose to like a bit slower powder. That or rl26. My guess is rl26 is going to take it. If I get these 250s to shoot ½ moa or better @ around 2800 it will be my LR load to 1k. Then the 175 HH n550 hopefully around 3600 for anything inside 400. 21.5" 338 Mega.

 

[nralifer]

Wow, and they're not even split in two!

TALK ABOUT SPLIT IN TWO
Here are the results a Bulldozer user of ours, Tory Haven, gave us permission to post. These are results of 3 Elk kills over 2 hunts using the 365 gr .375 SBD2 (G1BC=1.01, B7BC=0.517). The first 3 pics are of the first hunt he did with a friend where he got his Elk with a prefect heart shot at 1550 yds, and his friend got his Elk with the same gun and bullet at 1100 yds. The third pic is of the heart split in two on Tory's Elk(1550 yds). The fourth pic is Tory's Elk he got this year at 1465 yds! He missed on the first shot due to incorrect ranging, but nailed the heart on the second, again splitting in two. Clearly very reproducible results by a skilled marksman and hunter at least 1 year apart.

 

[nralifer]

Exit of a 135 SBD2 out of a 6.5-284 with a 1/7 going 2970 . Small buck my daughter shot this past weekend. She hit him in the neck/shoulder junction just in front of the shoulder . Shot was roughly 140 yards.
View attachment 409973View attachment 409974 View attachment 409972

She is adorable with a great father. Well done!!

 

[ewingblake417]

I am super interested in getting some 225g bulldozer-2s in 338 win mag. There are a couple of things that have me on the edge, however.
1. How are these bullets in terms of being finicky/easy to hand load?
2. Are the listed BCs accurate? These seem too good to be true so I am wondering if anyone has done their own verification to confirm.
3. And looking through here, I didn't see any recovered bullets or talk about how they work. Do these operate like traditional mono bullets or are they part of the mono community like Hammers where there is a shank and petals?

 

[codyadams]

TALK ABOUT SPLIT IN TWO
Here are the results a Bulldozer user of ours, Tory Haven, gave us permission to post. These are results of 3 Elk kills over 2 hunts using the 365 gr .375 SBD2 (G1BC=1.01, B7BC=0.517). The first 3 pics are of the first hunt he did with a friend where he got his Elk with a prefect heart shot at 1550 yds, and his friend got his Elk with the same gun and bullet at 1100 yds. The third pic is of the heart split in two on Tory's Elk(1550 yds). The fourth pic is Tory's Elk he got this year at 1465 yds! He missed on the first shot due to incorrect ranging, but nailed the heart on the second, again splitting in two. Clearly very reproducible results by a skilled marksman and hunter at least 1 year apart.

Heck ya! Do you happen to know the impact velocities of these?

 

[nralifer]

I am super interested in getting some 225g bulldozer-2s in 338 win mag. There are a couple of things that have me on the edge, however.
1. How are these bullets in terms of being finicky/easy to hand load?
2. Are the listed BCs accurate? These seem too good to be true so I am wondering if anyone has done their own verification to confirm.
3. And looking through here, I didn't see any recovered bullets or talk about how they work. Do these operate like traditional mono bullets or are they part of the mono community like Hammers where there is a shank and petals?

They are not hard to tune, at least I have not had a problem getting to shoot sub-MOA from my 330 Dakota which is very similar to the 33 Nosler. The BCs are accurate but the fact is is that each rifle can shoot the same bullet with slightly differing BCs. Look at PDMs in the AB bullet library for the same bullet of any brand. This means that if you shoot beyond 500 yds you may have to adjust the BC in your trajectory calculator because your rifle is shooting these bullets at a different BC. For performance on game, look at the results of some of the recent posts the "BC and Terminal Ballistics" thread. They penetrate better than any lead core bullet of similar weight and will work at extreme ranges. Because of the penetrating power, bullet retention is not common, but wound channels are massive with surprising little meat damage.

 

[nralifer]

Heck ya! Do you happen to know the impact velocities of these?

 

[nralifer]

I'm sorry, but I don't, but given the results they had to have been around 1800 or higher. Those bullets are adequate for ELR target use out to 3000 yds or so.He never told us what case he used or his MV.

 

[T3ninja]

Thank you very much!

She is adorable with a great father. Well done!!

 

[ewingblake417]

They are not hard to tune, at least I have not had a problem getting to shoot sub-MOA from my 330 Dakota which is very similar to the 33 Nosler. The BCs are accurate but the fact is is that each rifle can shoot the same bullet with slightly differing BCs. Look at PDMs in the AB bullet library for the same bullet of any brand. This means that if you shoot beyond 500 yds you may have to adjust the BC in your trajectory calculator because your rifle is shooting these bullets at a different BC. For performance on game, look at the results of some of the recent posts the "BC and Terminal Ballistics" thread. They penetrate better than any lead core bullet of similar weight and will work at extreme ranges. Because of the penetrating power, bullet retention is not common, but wound channels are massive with surprising little meat damage.

The pictures posted do show great performances on game there is no question about that. To clarify though, I was asking about the technical performance of the bullet itself. What I mean is how does it function once game is hit. Does it act like a Barnes? A Hammer bullet? A traditional bonded bullet? A Berger? Etc.

And I am glad to hear that it has been easy to load for you. Does it follow traditional load data for Barnes or other monos of the same weight or is there a noticeable difference between them? And any tips on reloading these you'd like to share like seating depth or to crimp or not, etc?

Also, anyone who has some load developments for a 338wm that would like to share would be a true friend.

 

[nralifer]

The pictures posted do show great performances on game there is no question about that. To clarify though, I was asking about the technical performance of the bullet itself. What I mean is how does it function once game is hit. Does it act like a Barnes? A Hammer bullet? A traditional bonded bullet? A Berger? Etc.

And I am glad to hear that it has been easy to load for you. Does it follow traditional load data for Barnes or other monos of the same weight or is there a noticeable difference between them? And any tips on reloading these you'd like to share like seating depth or to crimp or not, etc?

Also, anyone who has some load developments for a 338wm that would like to share would be a true friend.

our bullets are made to petal like Barnes but much more reliably. At high impact velocities (2600 fps or so) the petals may shear off within the first 12" of penetration, but by that point they have done their damage and may have exited the animal. You can load them using published data for similar weight bullet regardless of construction. Just start out at lower end of the charge weight listed and progress up by about a grain until you start to notice early pressure signs then back off about a grain. The high BCs of the bullets increase the effective range by 25-50% compared to other bullets of similar or equal weight.

 

[Lucasraymond]

Looking for feedback on loading up the 195 vs. 175 BD2 in a 20" 300WSM, 1:9.5 twist. Any idea what speeds I can expect in a 20" barrel? Would like to run the 195 with higher BC to buck wind, but not if I'm looking at 2700fps or less. I got 181 Hammer Hunters up to 3090fps before I saw pressure signs. Thank you!

What action are you running that in? I am currently doing the same with a 300 wsm 1:9 twist but in a defiance XM (3.22 max COAL) and just added .280 freebore specifically for them. My plan is to use H1000 or N560, will follow up when I get a chance but hoping to get somewhere in the ~2950fps.

 

[JPatzig]

What action are you running that in? I am currently doing the same with a 300 wsm 1:9 twist but in a defiance XM (3.22 max COAL) and just added .280 freebore specifically for them. My plan is to use H1000 or N560, will follow up when I get a chance but hoping to get somewhere in the ~2950fps.

Defiance anti LA. Actually started as a 300prc and I switched to 300wsm. Think my freebore is like .220.