H4350 Flat Base Bullets and Now, Success

[Greg Duerr]

I got a tip from Paul, from the Sierra Teck tip hotlline. I told him about my long throut on my .243 AI and the trouble I was having getting anything to shoot...... He told me that often times when you have a long throut you have a wide throut to .004-.005 over bullet diameter and when that happens you can not get boat-tail bullets to shoot.
I bought some Flat Base 100gr Sierra Pro Hunters and loaded up with 44.0gr of H4350 44.5 and 45.0 That did it my groups went .404, .416, and .487 No boat tail bullet ever came close ...................... Thats more than enough for me .
Now I plan on trying some 88gr Berger Match Varmint Flat base and see what happens.........
I never would have thought that would make a difference ..................going from shooting 1.5 groups to .4............................now that's a huge improvment.

Greg

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Is is because the flat base bullets leave straighter due to increase contact with the neck of the shell?

 

[Timber338]

Is is because the flat base bullets leave straighter due to increase contact with the neck of the shell?

I'm wondering the same exact thing... I don't quite understand how the flat base makes such a big difference. But obviously something is going on to make for some great groups!

 

[Greg Duerr]

I dont know why but I sure saw the results..................I was a wits end, to the point of sending it back to the Smith to have it cheked out. Even had the paper work done to send in my scope to Leupold to have that checked out. The only thing is that some companies like Nosler dont have hardly any Flat base bullets. Even Sierra has just a few. Hornady only has the SST.
I will be hunting Elk this fall with the .243 AI, Cow Elk. I will also be hunting Black Bear so Im leaning towards and have ordered some Speer 100gr. Grand Slams, being flat base bullets........... I see that Swift makes a flat base bullet but not in .243, A-Frame. The .243AI is fine out to 400yards on Deer and Antelope. So flat base will work find out to that distance.......
I will do some more load development with the 100gr Sierra and H4350, glad I did not sell the 8lbs I bought...........
Then I will try the 88gr Berger Match Flat base Varmint bullets.........................

I called back Paul at the Sierra hot line and thanked him ..............he saved me a lot of time money and tons of frustrations.

Greg

 

[Timber338]

I know of a few other guys who have really been helped out by Sierra's customer service. They really seem to know bullets and how to make them shoot.

Good to hear you finally were able to get your gun to shoot...

And now you also know that nothing is wrong with your Leupold!

 

[Canadian Bushman]

I dont have much proof and there is the chance this statement is completely unfounded but i believe flat base bullets have slightly better terminal results than boat tail bullets.

 

[Greg Duerr]

The Sierra Teck told me that he had the same problem with a Custom Rifle and shooting flat base bullets solved his problem like mine................

 

[7stw]

I'm wondering the same exact thing... I don't quite understand how the flat base makes such a big difference. But obviously something is going on to make for some great groups!

The accuracy of a flat base is really no surprise, as most of the true match bullets were, and still are flat base bullets. I truly believe, that it is because if the bearing surface, or better put, more of it. I would think that the construction would be simpler, making it less apt to be flawed. Some rifles , long throated or not, simply prefer flat base bullets, period.
I was told by a teck from Sierra, years ago, that the advantages of a boat tail, don't really take effect til AFTER about 500 yards. Additionally, he said, that a flat base bullet does not " yaw" like some boat tails do, rather, they stabilize very quickly. It goes to show ya, that guns ARE like women, they want what they want, and nothing else will do!

 

[Timber338]

.... It goes to show ya, that guns ARE like women, they want what they want, and nothing else will do!

Ain't that the truth!

 

[RT2506]

I had the same experience with a custom 25-06. It would shoot deer hunting accurate with boat tailed bullets out to 300 yards but never could get it to shoot much under 1" at 100 yards. Then I tried some 117 Sierra Pro Hunter flat based bullets . First three shots were in the same hole at 100 yards. On a calm day it will shoot 1" average at 300 yards using the max of 12 power and the heavy cross hairs that are in the Ziess #8 retical. I once shot a deer through the eye ball purposely at 287 yards with this rifle. It was the only shot I had and I knew I could make the shot. He had come 4 evenings in a row and stood behind a big pine tree just before dark and would not come into the field. He most likely had seen me move or had been educated by someone else hunting from that stand. I had to leave and go home from the hunt the next day. He was a nice 8 pointer.

 

[Greg Duerr]

I have never used the Sierra Pro Hunter bullets ...................because of the great accuracy they give me in my .243 I will be using them for Antelope, Deer, Black Bear, and Cow Elk this fall and a Mt Lion if I happen to see one.............

How do they work for you .............do they hold together?

G

 

[RT2506]

The Sierra is a standard cup and core old school bullet. For many years they have and still do kill a lot of game. It all depends on impact velocity. The higher the velocity the more likely they will shed their jacket from the core. This is not a really bad thing as some bullet companies that what you to buy their new bonded etc. bullets what you to think. On the normal inside 200 yards bullet placed in the center of the front shoulder of a WT deer from either my 25-06 or 243 Win you will find the jacket of the bullet fully expanded with no lead core attached just under the hide on the off side after going thorough both shoulders and destroying the vitals. Most of the time the deer drops in it's tracks. Beyond 200 yards the bullet has slowed down enough that it usually will exit the deer. I have used the 100 gr Pro Hunter flat based bullet to kill a bunch of white tail deer from a 243 Winchester. For that purpose and the results I got you could not ask for anything better. The 117 gr Pro Hunter is THE BULLET for white tail deer from my 25-06. I and my hunting buddy have used about every make bullet in most calibers from 22 through 45-70 to kill white tail deer. We control hunted a big farm in east NC for 20 years and took 100 deer each year. We learned a few things about deer bullets in the experience. Bullet placement is the key to quick kills. If you put a Sierra big game bullet where it is supposed to go it will get the job done. If I were to use your 243AI for elk and possibly black bear where I wanted to break a shoulder I would use the Speer Grand Slam. I tried some 120 gr. in my 25-06 a number of years ago on WT deer and they did OK but on those light bodies I like the more expansiveness of the Sierra 117. Those Speer Grand Slams do hold together and keep on trucking though. I once shot a good size buck at only 50 yards that was facing me. Bullet impact from the 25-06 had to still be over 2900 fps. Bullet centered the chest taking out the lungs and the buck fell back on his butt and did a back flip and kicked about three times and was dead. When cutting up the buck I found the bullet under the hide of the right ham after it went through the center of the ball socket. It was a text book mushroom and weight was 87 grs. Funny how I can remember stuff like that from years ago and can't even remember my phone number half the time. By the way those Grand Slams shoot very accurate in my 25-06. Good luck and good shooting.

 

[Greg Duerr]

I really appreciate your input. Very very few guys out there with the kind of experiance you have and the ability to try different kinds of bullets. I will try some Speer Grand Slams. I will admit that after seeing several really big Boar Black Bears this spring in the area I hunt I was a little intimidated using a .243 My son shot an average Black bear last year using the .243 and it killed it dead with the first shot range we measured at 211......................But the ones I saw this spring ..............wow big difference.

Thanks

Greg