Bullet testing, again....
- Thread starter yorke-1
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I have some Berger 6.5mm 140 hybrids I would like to send you. I wish I had the Kevin Cram (Montour Co Rifles) meplat uniformer so we could see the difference from as made Berger's, tips cleaned out with a hand drill and the meplats opened up. Are you open to some PayPal funds to aid on this experiment?
I forgot about my bonus footage of hitting a small 4"x4"x10" gel block with the 117gr Hammer at a little over 3800 fps.
It did exit correct?
Il second that. I'd like some 452s for my SRH Alaskan as well.
Nice work Yorke
If you need some .30 cal hammer 124s, 214s, or Berger 215s, 220s, 230s, and 245s for testing soon I'd be happy to contribute.
Some of the tests I did a few years ago included some of 6.5mm Matrix bullets (very similar to Bergers) Elkaholic sent me to test and he opened up the tips on some of those. I'll see if I can find my data from those tests. I know that cleaning up the HP and the meplat made a noticeable difference in how they performed. On the 117gr Hammer, yes it exited the block. The block actually went almost 4 feet up in the air and landed nearly 15 feet away.
As far as a donation, it's not necessary. I've hit a point in shooting where I've gotten pretty bored with a lot of aspects of shooting and hunting and this is how I spend (waste?) my time now. I've done BR competitions, played with big bore rifles like the Rigby, various 375s and big 458s, did the LR and ELR thing for a few years, designed and built a few wildcats, played with big bore revolvers, and did the specialty pistol thing. My work schedule doesn't line up with most hunting seasons here in WA, so testing different bullets is just how I waste my time now.
It only took a few years to get the 10mm bullet done, so there's still hope! LOL
I have some 124gr HH that Steve sent me to test and I don't have a fast enough twist to try the 214s. If you can spare some of the other .30 cal bullets though, that'd be great! I'm a little limited by the 1-10" twist on my 300 RUM.
I've actually been thinking about ordering fast twist barrel blanks in a couple more calibers so I can test more stuff. I even kicked around the idea of just ordering a bunch of different Encore barrels with fast twists to throw on my frame. I can order a complete Encore barrel for only a little more than a decent quality barrel blank. I'd save a fortune over having barrels threaded and chambered for one of the bolt actions. Or I just need to break down and buy a lathe to do my own barrels at the house. You know, spend $10K now so I can save money in the long run...... LOL
I will PM you. The encore barrels might be the way to go for now, much more cost efficient for the mean time. I my self have had a hard time not giving in and just buying a lathe. It would be interesting though to see what some of the heavys do in the ballistic gel out of a slower twist.
I had plans to get a round of testing done with some 6.5mm bullets yesterday, but completely spaced and left my ammo box at the house, 90 minutes away! LOL I did have my muzzleloader kit with me so I sent a couple of rounds into the gel anyways. The gun is a Knight .52cal Bighorn using 120gr of Triple 7 powder for both loads.
Here's the video and still shots from the gel test.
275gr Bloodline
405gr Rem
The still photo of the 405gr bullet isn't as impressive since it hit on the far side of the block, but you can still make out the wound cavity. The video of the 405's impact is pretty impressive though.
275gr Knight Bloodline. This is the top-down view.
I was amazed that the bullet exited the second block, that's 32" of penetration before exiting. I fired a 275gr copper HP from a 45-70 into the gel blocks with a similar impact velocity and it barely made it through the first block. All of the petals exited the first block by about the 8" mark. This is consistent with what I saw on a deer I shot with this same load last season; I saw exit holes in the hide from the petals. The entrance hole looks like it was cut with a cookie cutter!
405gr Rem FP. I use these for plinking and when somebody else wants to shoot the muzzleloader.
This bullet curved up and to the left, exiting the second gel block after 22" of penetration. I found one fragment of the jacket and small bits of lead through the bullet's path, so the bullet did expand.
The initial damage done by the Bloodline in the first 8" of penetration was pretty spectacular and the remaining shank left a good wound cavity. The 405gr jacketed bullet just left a very consistent wound cavity the full length of penetration, similar to what I see from hard cast lead bullets from a handgun.
Codyadams sent me some of the Super Buldozer bullets to test and CA48 sent me some 30 cal Bergers, so I'll get to those in the next few trips out. I also picked up some of the 175gr Sierra Gamechangers for the 270 that I'll get tested as well. And I still have a bunch of Hammer bullets to test too.
As long as folks stay interested, I'll keep doing the tests. I have another 2 blocks of gel on the way, so I'll have a total of 7 to work with now.
Here's the video and still shots from the gel test.
275gr Bloodline
405gr Rem
The still photo of the 405gr bullet isn't as impressive since it hit on the far side of the block, but you can still make out the wound cavity. The video of the 405's impact is pretty impressive though.
275gr Knight Bloodline. This is the top-down view.
I was amazed that the bullet exited the second block, that's 32" of penetration before exiting. I fired a 275gr copper HP from a 45-70 into the gel blocks with a similar impact velocity and it barely made it through the first block. All of the petals exited the first block by about the 8" mark. This is consistent with what I saw on a deer I shot with this same load last season; I saw exit holes in the hide from the petals. The entrance hole looks like it was cut with a cookie cutter!
405gr Rem FP. I use these for plinking and when somebody else wants to shoot the muzzleloader.
This bullet curved up and to the left, exiting the second gel block after 22" of penetration. I found one fragment of the jacket and small bits of lead through the bullet's path, so the bullet did expand.
The initial damage done by the Bloodline in the first 8" of penetration was pretty spectacular and the remaining shank left a good wound cavity. The 405gr jacketed bullet just left a very consistent wound cavity the full length of penetration, similar to what I see from hard cast lead bullets from a handgun.
Codyadams sent me some of the Super Buldozer bullets to test and CA48 sent me some 30 cal Bergers, so I'll get to those in the next few trips out. I also picked up some of the 175gr Sierra Gamechangers for the 270 that I'll get tested as well. And I still have a bunch of Hammer bullets to test too.
As long as folks stay interested, I'll keep doing the tests. I have another 2 blocks of gel on the way, so I'll have a total of 7 to work with now.
Did Cody send the 205s? I'd like to send some 195s if you are interested.
Idaho Trecker
Well-Known Member
Really interested to see how those 175 gamechangers do!! Your testing is greatly appreciated!
Bob Wright
Well-Known Member
Awesome testing!
codyadams
Well-Known Member
I only send the .338 270 and the .338 250 SBD, no 30 cals
