Berger Hybrid Expansion Test @ 1180 yds

[Broz]

Inspired by "RoyinIdaho" I decided to do a little expansion test of the Berger .338 / 300 gr Hybrid my self. So I built this make shift bullet catcher. It all started with a cardboard box 14" thick. I then cut and placed a piece of 1/4" mahogany plywood on the front ( skin / hide ) Then inside a 1 1/2" void filled with moist dirt / compost then 3" screws screwed through the front piece of wood and into a 1/2" piece of plywood ( rib bone) then filled up with 12 more inches of tamped dirt / compost. Get the picture? kinda like (but not really) like, hide, meat, bone and more meat in the boiler room.

Here is a pic.

Then the top was closed and strategically taped with just the right amount of masking tape.

I then returned to home base for the firing of the boolitz. 1180 yards through the scope. I turned the power down for this pic because it was 2:00 pm and the mirage was a bear.

Results in next post.

Jeff gun)gun)

 

[Broz]

I had a variable wind left to right. I fired the first shot and seen dust to the right of the target.. Hmmmmm, I checked my dope and decided to fire a second... Dust in the same place... Must be missing the target right and low it looked.... So I held a tad left and raised it up a bit and sent a 3rd, (the high left out of group one) . Dust right behind the target??? Could they be going through at 1180 yards??

Lets go see.

I put a shot of orange paint on the hits so they could be seen in a pic.

YUP! right on through. The two close together exited here. Note, one was far enough right that it barely caught the 1/2" wood inside and a fragment exited side of box.

I feel the other ( the high one) is a great example all the way through. Here is the exit of the high one all by it self.

Inside wood pics next.

Jeff gun)gun)

 

[Broz]

I took this awesome target apart ( yeah... Field dressed it ) Here is a pic of the 1/2" laminated ply wood inside. Remember, the bullet at this point had traveled 1180 yards, punched through 1/4" of plywood, then the card board, then 1 1/2 ~ 2" of dirt and then the 1/2" plywood. You can see the top one had more expansion. Note the knot it hit, and the lower right one just grazed the 1/2" plywood. They all exited with large wound channels. Looks like they do penetrate and expand well even at reduced velocities below 1800 fps.

Stats.

.338 Lapua magnum.
91.5 gr of H-1000, CCI 250 , .Berger 300 Hybrid .015" off the lands
10 Twist Lilja 27.5" long.
Muzzle Velocity = 2785 fps
Impact velocity at 1180 yards = 1786 fps (per exbal)
Impact energy @ 1180 yds = 2124 ft-lb's
Time of flight 1.58 seconds
Elevation -329.8 " (yeah almost 330" / 27 1/2 feet above ine of sight)

Jeff gun)gun)

 

[angus-5024]

nicely done Broz and thanks for the report. I may have to try some of them badboys in my RUM after I use up all my Sierra's.

 

[Chas1]

Broz, thanks for doing all that work including posting the pics and the writeup. Nicely done.

 

[royinidaho]

Broz,

Great post and pics. Much info there.

Not only does the masking tape need to be positioned "just right" the tension is also critical.

I can tell your learning somethin' about "boolit catchers" It ain't as simple as one would figure. The idea is to make the shot, retrieve the bullet and shoot again in the same hour

I'm not surprised with the penetration. With the lower velocity there should be less expansion thus more penetration. The mobious amount of energy at that distance even though velocity is lower is one heck of a punch. A 338 cal 300 grain anything with 91.5 gr of pwder behind it is a force to be reckoned with and is usually under estimated (big time)

Patch up the box and turn'er side ways and shoot into the end. Tape your wife's favorite couch pillow to the back end to catch anything going the distance.

Its fun, huh?

 

[Broz]

Thanks Guys, I really wanted to recover and see these bullets, but I can see it will take much more to hold them. This did give me the confidence to use them on game now. They sure didn't pencil through.

Roy, I almost made a secomd catcher to place behind this one. I will be looking around here for material for the next design and will give them lots more room to travel. I also might design a few partitions to pass through so I can measure expansion at different distances.

Yup, fun stuff.

Jeff

 

[edge]

I wonder how water would do?

I think that Roy's pipe with the rubber in front would almost seal itself. Take a tube of silicone caulking to squirt into each hole and add a bit more water after each shot. How far it would penetrate would determine how long the pipe needed to be.

If it didn't blow apart then it should last almost forever.

edge.

 

[Broz]

Thanks Edge, I thought about water but was trying to produce something to simulate the consistancy of an amimal... well close anyway. If I do another I may use a piece of plastic culvert or a 30 gallon plastic barrel. I will need to haul the filler seperate next time though. I about blew a gasket when I lifted that box out of the back of the truck. I sware it weighed almost as much as elk...

Jeff

 

[royinidaho]

Water is a pain. Too liquid. Even though water is compressible (noticeable up around 2500 PSI) for our purposes it isn't. Constrain it too much and things explode.

Water in a media with a decent water holding capacity is really good. I have access to some specialty peat moss that has been treated for a special purpose. It does well when mixed with water.

I'm going to grab a bag of peat moss next trip to home depot and compare it to the stuff that I'm using.

I'm on the second summer with the same stuff I used last year. However at some point it's going to be come a lead hazard.

At this point the complete fixture ready to shoot is at about 90 pounds. Another 10 or so of water can be added if necessary.

The belting on the front works really well but has to be attached properly and I don't yet know what properly is.

 

[winmag]

Very cool. I love independant testing of any kind. Plywood, dirt, water, whatever, I like to see real results from real people. Thanks Broz. Between Bigngreen, You, and Roy, are realy getting me in the frame of mind to try some of these Berger bullets. Maybe in my 338wm (probably not 300gr tho) Does Berger make a 225 or 250gr 338 bullet?


P.S. nice shootin. I wish I could consistantly group like that at 800, let alone 1180 yds.

 

[bigngreen]

This is how I made a bullet catcher with water. It's a 55 gal acid barrel, I have a little wood frame that I silicone and screw around the hole with a tractor inner tube in it, I can shoot it repeatedly to get a larger sample group. I can set phone books and ply wood in the top to simulate different stuff. The goodies precipitate out and I can easily see how the bullet reacted. Roy's peat moss is more than likely a better direct comparison but I want to be able to see exactly how the bullets come apart. It'll soak up 210 gr Bergers out of a 300 WBY on auto fire! I pack two more in the truck for hauling water.

 

[Chas1]

Just curious, does anyone know what the setup would look like that bullet manufacturers use to test and recover bullets. Is it something that's really really sophisticated/expensive or simple and cheap. If simple and cheap...why not duplicate it? Not knocking what you guys are doing...I think it's great. just curious.

 

[edge]

Very similar to the picture above

The problem is the barrel is inclined so you don't know how far the bullet travels since it is at the bottom!

One problem with water is that it tends to peel jackets off more than game!
A boat tail bullet will almost always shed the jacket in water if you give it enough speed, actually most jacketed bullets will!

edge.