Medium range bullets

[sheephunter]

Gents,some considerate soul referred me to this LR forum and from reading some of the posts it might very well help me.My type of hunting typically consist of an outfitted "trophy hunt" simply because I dont have access to "public "places where I can score,though I can walk around a lot.This implies that I pay,(dearly) for this 2-3 week hunt and like to make it successful as another chance is another year away.Secondly,while we do like the meat,its not the primary reason for the hunt,Third:game,legal or trophy type is sparse,often I get no chance,consider myself lucky if I have 1 chance.Sometimes that chance proves "out of range" for my convential gun (30/06, 338 Mag) with the existing setup accuracy beyond 300y is probably unreliable.Realizing these facts,I now am building a 300RUM gun that has a flatter trajectory as well as all the trimmings for a BR type rifle.I am primarily
building it still for sheep,therefore ordered a barrel that will shoot around 165 gr translated to a 12" twist.Having read quite a bit about LR setups,I can see lots of important issues that need resolution.One is bullet selection.Strictly from paper review and "opinions" there seem to be only FEW bullets to be considered and they dont necesarily tickle my preconceived fancy -based on convential range hunting.The problem I see is that I need a bullet that performs at a much wider energy or speed range then before.This because I like to hunt lets say from 100y up to maybe 600y
translated into speeds of 3400 fps to 2200 fps.At distance there seems to be no problem as the bullets perform according to design,the problem is at shorter distance 100-300y with 3400-2900 fps.Thats a lot of energy and the bullets that open up at 2200 fps get pretty much splattered at these shorter distances.The logical choice would be the monolithic types like Barnes,they also loose their petals at >2700 fps and therefor create a very narrow punch thru wound channel at shorter distances.Another subject is the accuracy of the bullet.First one has to get the bullet into a target zone before one worries about performance.Hunting bullets are usually not known for accuracy to 600y.
Alright,these are my concerns and I would appreciate practical experience to shorten my own trial and error phase.
At the moment I am leaning to Scroccos as a happy medium though have never shot them.
The Sierra GK are known for their accuracy but I can see them being splattered on entry at short distance and dont know whether they perform at longer distance.The majority of convential distance hunters dont trust their reliability as a hunting round.The monolithics might be the solution,but the Barnes line is not known for its accuracy,forgetting the problem with the narrow wound channel.
Any suggestions for these considerations?
thanks
sheephunter

 

[Dave King]

Sheephunter

Welcome to Long Range Hunting.

You've already read my reply on the other board, I believe you'll get more responses here shortly.

Welcome

 

[ss8541]

The scirroco will work, but You might want to try the 180 grain bullet. It has a higher BC and will probably shoot flatter out past 400 where it really matters. Buy a laser and worry about the wind. You may also want to try the 160 grain bullets from GS customs. The 130 HV are what fill this same range chor for me in my 7 STW. I killed a Mule deer with them at 412 this year and they did great.
Vince http://skyboom.com/gscustom/

 

[Ian M]

I recently shot my first two deer with the Sierra 175 gr. match bullet (HPBT) as loaded by Federal. First kill was a nice Texas 5x5 buck at 105 yards as it approached a feeder. The bullet struck about center of the lungs and that deer appeared to have died before he hit the ground. After recovering from recoil and cranking another round all I saw was the upper rear hoof vibrating and then stopping - he did not kick or move from where he fell. Massive damage in the lungs, relatively small exit, ribs on both sides cut.

Second shot was at a doe feeding out at 322 yards. Waited until it was head-down facing me and the bullet hit between the shoulder blades, deer dumped but had some head movement. Shot it in the neck after I approached. First shot shattered the spine and blew up in the "filets", no damage down into the lungs. Second bullet at 15 paces blew a 3" exit. Both of these kills were made with a .308 Win. GA-Precision ROCK rifle.

Some of the fellows on this forum have excellent results with the 168 gr. Sierra HPBT match bullets at high velocity, they would probably do a good job also in your RUM.

As for hunting bullets I have had a lot of experience with Sciroccos and they will do the job for you when you find a load that shoots well in your rifle. We recovered 35 Sciroccos from wild hogs at a wide variety of impact velocities. Retained weight averaged about 82%. We had a .300 Win. mag loaded at 2600 and 3100 fps for that testing.

Another interesting bullet is the new match grade 168 HPBT "X" bullet from Barnes (in Smurf-Blue). I shot them a bunch out to 1000 yards and they are very accurate. Have not killed with them yet but Barnes bullets have a great reputation for killing game - now this new bullet ups the accuracy of the X bullet. They hit hard judging from the dimples made in my steel targets relative to other HPBT match bullets.

There are some other long range bullets but I have not shot anything but the above on game or at long range.

 

[sheephunter]

Thanks for the replies,
this year I used the new Barnes 168gr XLC XBT in my old 30/06 and dumped a nice full curl Bighorn at 256y.The new 168 gr XLC definitly shoots a better pattern then the old Barnes bullet,dont know me they redesigned the ogive whether its the coating,I doubt it.Barnes told me they redesigned the ogive,came close to the Sierra Matchking accuracy.
At the moment my new 300 RUM is still being build, my gunsmith needs desired bullets to throat the barrel,so I have to ship what makes sense.Barnes has been almost impossible to shoot in my 338 WMag,4-6" pattern at 100y.So I am leary or cautious,hope the 168 gr XLC will fly in my new gun,if not I have to consider other makes.So for that eventuality I have to ship others that make sense.Good to hear that Sciroccos perform,I heard they are still quite soft and blow up easier then Nosler Partitions.Any experience about relative accuracy?

thanks again
sheephunter

 

[Ian M]

The Sciroccos are very accurate - I have had groups in the 0.2's on occassion and many sub 1/2 minute groups right out to 700 yards. In fact the accuracy of these bullets is improving as production progresses - they are being made on bullet presses bought and rebuilt specifically for the Scirocco project.

Please understand that the above groups were shot in ideal conditions with superb test rifles, they were not hunting rifles. My point is simply that the Sciroccos will shoot very accurately. When they first came out I weighed and segregated them in 0.1 grain increments to ensure best accuracy. I do not do that anymore. I particularly like the 165 although as mentioned the 180's will have a slightly better BC.

I have shot several head of big game with perfect bullet performance at ranges from 45 to just over 500 yards so far.

 

[sheephunter]

Ian,thanks
looks like you have some realworld results on the Scirocco.What kind of wound channels do you get at short and lond distances.Do you know your muzzle speed?
My understanding is that the soft bullets like the sierras blow up at high speed/short distance,making a mess.
sheephunter

 

[Lostsheep]

I would agree that the sciroco is an awsome game bullet. I shot them this year in my 7X57 mauser. I recovered 2 of the 150 grain bullets from two whitetails, bith hit at 50 yards. Both retaind 125 grains even after contact with heavy bone.
This is a primo bullet, but gets a little expensive for lots of practice.
Im going to try my whitetail doe this year with a 168gr sierra MK at past 500 meters