High velocities with 6mm target bullets for varmints.

[wildcat westerner]

Hello, MY .244 had just been ungraded with some work by a gunsmith so that its accuracy limitation are now primarily me, now. This Hart 1-12 barrel has always been faster than the norm when chronographed, and seems to lighter 6mm bullets. Wind here in the Rockies precludes the super light 6mm at longer distances. I have accumulated 63-67 gr. benchrest bullets used in 6PPC competitions. I know these bullets are pushed as fast as the shooters can achieve with the 6PPC case. I am wondering if anyone else has used them at much higher velocities, such as a .244 case can achieve. If they can retain that excellent accuracy at much higher velocity, that would be excellent, but I simply do not want to waste their excellent potential accuracy by pushing them beyond their practical limits. Bullets in this barrel so well just to 80 grains.

Thanks,

WW

 

[Jud96]

Funny you mention this, I currently have a few rounds loaded up in my .243 Win with 66gr Bishop BTHP match bullets. They should be going around 3600-3700 in my .243 Win. I plan to do some load development soon with them. I'm going to test them on ground hogs this spring and summer. I've never shot anything with a light hollow point match going over 3500fps.

 

[30378wbymag]

Funny you mention this, I currently have a few rounds loaded up in my .243 Win with 66gr Bishop BTHP match bullets. They should be going around 3600-3700 in my .243 Win. I plan to do some load development soon with them. I'm going to test them on ground hogs this spring and summer. I've never shot anything with a light hollow point match going over 3500fps.

Stuff'll just blow-up or disappear completely, speed kills in mysteries ways. I've owned a .220 swift since I was 18 and have VAPORIZED ground squirrels running a 40 gr. pill @ around 4200 fps.!!! It's AWESOME!!! Coyotes under 300 don't care for it much either...

 

[wildcat westerner]

Jud396
You mention Bishop bullets in Michigan? I knew Bishop the custom bullet maker in Washington. His bullets set easily over 50 worlds' records. This man has passed on some years ago.

 

[Jud96]

Jud396
You mention Bishop bullets in Michigan? I knew Bishop the custom bullet maker in Washington. His bullets set easily over 50 worlds' records. This man has passed on some years ago.

I am not sure if this was the same Bishop in Washington or not. I got the bullets from the shop and they were some of John Pierce's old benchrest bullets. The bullets are in Berger style boxes and they're black and yellow boxes with basic labels printed on standard printer paper. I have about ~400 of them to try out.

 

[wildcat westerner]

Jerry,
I guess its a different Bishop, mine being from "Del" Bishop, and this should really be no surprise. Best of luck with your tuning.

WW

 

[newmexkid]

The OP's question is also my situation. I have a 243AI that was just finished last night! For the last 4 months, I have been trying to find some Sierra BK in 70 grs. or Nosler BT also in 70 grs. The barrel is a 1:10. I have been looking at target bullets, (Bergers) but no info if they will hold up to the velocities I hope to get out of the 26" barrel. I know Sierra says their 70 BK will hold to 4K.

 

[wildcat westerner]

High velocity is wonderful, while it lasts. Years ago I built a special rifle for Rock Chuck hunting. A Krieger 32 inch barrel 1-8 in 6mm/284. A caseful of Re22 pushed 100+ grain bullets to 3,565 ft. per second from an accurate chronograph, and Berger bullets never made it to the 100 yard target. Sierra's, with their heavier jackets, did. We took it to Idaho and it shot so flat and bucked wind so succesfully a fellow writer was amazed. It was great. The throat was gone in 400+ rounds!

 

[Sogan]

400?! Did not expect that

 

[Gary in MD]

Hello, MY .244 had just been ungraded with some work by a gunsmith so that its accuracy limitation are now primarily me, now. This Hart 1-12 barrel has always been faster than the norm when chronographed, and seems to lighter 6mm bullets. Wind here in the Rockies precludes the super light 6mm at longer distances. I have accumulated 63-67 gr. benchrest bullets used in 6PPC competitions. I know these bullets are pushed as fast as the shooters can achieve with the 6PPC case. I am wondering if anyone else has used them at much higher velocities, such as a .244 case can achieve. If they can retain that excellent accuracy at much higher velocity, that would be excellent, but I simply do not want to waste their excellent potential accuracy by pushing them beyond their practical limits. Bullets in this barrel so well just to 80 grains.

Thanks,

WW

WW, sorry for the late reply.
I did try the light bench rest quality bullets in my 6mm AI with a 28" Krieger, 12 twist. I found, although they shot as good as you would expect, they didn't carry the explosive results that I look for in my varmint rifles out past a couple hundred yards. I'm talking large ground hogs and foxes, just about anything will tear up a prairie dog lol. For me, the 75 vmax, 70 ballistic tip, & 70 blitz king were not too far behind in accuracy but were definitely more explosive with the edge going to the Sierras. I also used the 80 grain Sierra blitz to good effect, they really made a "whomp" on impact with a large ground hog!
I regret selling that rifle a couple years ago, a young varmint hunter wanted it worse than I did, lol.
Good shooting
Gary

 

[Aoudad 101]

My son shot Aoudad at 673 yards with . .269 243 14 twist 20 inch long. Running 69 berger high bc varmits, lapua brass h4350 powder 3540fps. The gun really shines with the column bullets from 64 t0 68 gr

 

[Mike Matteson]

Stuff'll just blow-up or disappear completely, speed kills in mysteries ways. I've owned a .220 swift since I was 18 and have VAPORIZED ground squirrels running a 40 gr. pill @ around 4200 fps.!!! It's AWESOME!!! Coyotes under 300 don't care for it much either...

My brother and I use 220 swifts for ground squirrels. We would take turns in shooting them. There was one time that a group of ground squirrels were fighting with each other in a ball it look like from where we were at. He hit them with one round. The group explosed. Not sure what really happen, but there was parts of ground squirrel all over the place. Don't know why, but we think he got 6 squirrels in one shot. The group flew apart and nothing ran off. If I hadn't seem it myself and watch with glasses, I wouldn't have believe it. We did take the time to kind of put the squirrels back together again to make the count.
We still talk about it and was about 50 years ago.
We were using 55gr Sierra Bt @ about 3900fps.

 

[crashlanding]

Mistake, wrong forum

 

[30378wbymag]

My brother and I use 220 swifts for ground squirrels. We would take turns in shooting them. There was one time that a group of ground squirrels were fighting with each other in a ball it look like from where we were at. He hit them with one round. The group explosed. Not sure what really happen, but there was parts of ground squirrel all over the place. Don't know why, but we think he got 6 squirrels in one shot. The group flew apart and nothing ran off. If I hadn't seem it myself and watch with glasses, I wouldn't have believe it. We did take the time to kind of put the squirrels back together again to make the count.
We still talk about it and was about 50 years ago.
We were using 55gr Sierra Bt @ about 3900fps.

I shot a dove once at about 80 yards, it made about a 6 ft. ball of feathers!!! Didn't find anything, it was spectacular!!!