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Long Range Hunting & Shooting
Copper vs Conventional Bullets
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<blockquote data-quote="yorke-1" data-source="post: 1551209" data-attributes="member: 11960"><p>I think there was a time when the monometal bullets were a little unpredictable, but the newer designs and alloys have made significant improvements. I haven't personally seen an issue with Barnes TTSX bullets failing to expand but I know lots of people believe it's an issue. I've yet to see a Hammer bullet that didn't expand in the velocity window that they recommend. The trick is to be sure that the bullet is properly stabilized. In my experience, under stabilized bullets don't give reliable expansion. Since the monometal bullets require a faster twist than a cup and core bullet of the same weight, it's easy to inadvertently under stabilize them. I think this has a lot to do with the bad reputation that some bullets get.</p><p></p><p>As far as tissue damage goes, I've shot a fair number of different Hammer bullets into different test media and they've all done as much damage (or more) than a cup and core bullet at similar impact velocities. I actually shot skunk with a 130gr Sledge Hammer out of a 6.5 Grendel a while back just because the opportunity presented itself. The impact velocity was probably around 2300-2350 fps but the expansion was so violent that you'd have though I hit it with a varmint bullet from a fast 22 centerfire. That's not to say that the bullet "blew up", but it did open up quickly in a very soft/small target. A lot of times a big game hunting bullet won't expand like that with a lower impact velocity like I had.</p><p></p><p>I don't have anything bad to say about the Barnes bullets and they've always worked well for me. As I use up the last of my Barnes bullets though I'm replacing them with the Hammers. The Hammers are just easier to load for and I'm getting higher velocities (50-75 fps on average) compared to all the other hunting bullets I shoot. They're a little pricey to use for target bullets and they don't have the BC of something like a Berger, but I really don't think those are serious issues. A box of 100 bullets will give you plenty to find a good load (less than 20 shots), practice at longer range to get your drops dialed in (60 shots), then 20 left to hunt with.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="yorke-1, post: 1551209, member: 11960"] I think there was a time when the monometal bullets were a little unpredictable, but the newer designs and alloys have made significant improvements. I haven't personally seen an issue with Barnes TTSX bullets failing to expand but I know lots of people believe it's an issue. I've yet to see a Hammer bullet that didn't expand in the velocity window that they recommend. The trick is to be sure that the bullet is properly stabilized. In my experience, under stabilized bullets don't give reliable expansion. Since the monometal bullets require a faster twist than a cup and core bullet of the same weight, it's easy to inadvertently under stabilize them. I think this has a lot to do with the bad reputation that some bullets get. As far as tissue damage goes, I've shot a fair number of different Hammer bullets into different test media and they've all done as much damage (or more) than a cup and core bullet at similar impact velocities. I actually shot skunk with a 130gr Sledge Hammer out of a 6.5 Grendel a while back just because the opportunity presented itself. The impact velocity was probably around 2300-2350 fps but the expansion was so violent that you'd have though I hit it with a varmint bullet from a fast 22 centerfire. That's not to say that the bullet "blew up", but it did open up quickly in a very soft/small target. A lot of times a big game hunting bullet won't expand like that with a lower impact velocity like I had. I don't have anything bad to say about the Barnes bullets and they've always worked well for me. As I use up the last of my Barnes bullets though I'm replacing them with the Hammers. The Hammers are just easier to load for and I'm getting higher velocities (50-75 fps on average) compared to all the other hunting bullets I shoot. They're a little pricey to use for target bullets and they don't have the BC of something like a Berger, but I really don't think those are serious issues. A box of 100 bullets will give you plenty to find a good load (less than 20 shots), practice at longer range to get your drops dialed in (60 shots), then 20 left to hunt with. [/QUOTE]
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