elkaholic
Well-Known Member
I laid my hands on some hot off the press 150 Matrix bullets that I am really stoked about potential. First of all, they have a different jacket; very similar to a Sierra, which is my favorite long range design for my 30's. They have a thinner nose than the 160's, and a pretty long hollow point. (appears to be a little over 1/4") I think the base is .022"? They are one of the cleanest bullets I have seen in awhile as far as uniformity in the meplat, etc. I am nearly out of RL 33, but wanted to try to come up with a load (QUICKLY) so I could try out the 150's. I have tested the 33 in my 6.5 SS with 160's, so had a starting point to go off of. I decided to try 65 grains with about the same coal as the 160's (2.870") This puts the 150 just about perfectly aligned with the boat tail at the base of the neck. I used a 210 primer and my 300 SAUM Norma brass. I knew, based on the 160's, this would be a fairly mild charge and would still give great velocity. I hooked up the Magneto speed and sent 3 rounds downrange for an avg. of 3160'. Sure enough, a fairly mild load with impressive velocity! (note primer pic) I loaded up 3 more for group hoping for something decent so I would have enough powder left for bears
I was shooting in a 10-15 mph crosswind. The 3 shots went into just over 1/2". Not bad for no developement. I decided to leave that load as good enough until I get some more RL 33. Next, I wanted to test expansion in a known media which would give a good comparison to other bullets I have tested. I used my 3/16" thick, 15 gal. plastic water barrel lined with a garbage bag and filled with water. Behind that is several thicknesses of Berber carpet, some wet cardboard, and more carpet in case I have a run away I loaded up a 150 ahead of 25 grains of 4198 which I figured would give me an approximation of expansion in excess of 1000 yards. The first round cranked out 2034'. It passed thru both sides of the water barrel, about 8 layers of Berber carpet, and a couple inches of wet cardboard. The bullet was recovered and weighed 126.3 grains. I replaced the liner in the barrel, refilled with water, and sent another round loaded with 20 grs. 4198 at 1715'. This bullet also passed thru the barrel and thru the carpet. Unfortunately, I could not recover it but did find the blown off tip in the water barrel. This was a good sign as I knew had to have expanded further after that. The tip (see pic) looked VERY much like the 215 Bergers did after firing through the same media, only it took between 2000-2100 to blow the tip off of the Berger. This makes sense as the J4's are about .014" and this jacket is .0125". I am going to have to do a little guess work on the actual b.c. of the 150, but based on the 160 Matrix, I would guess it to be about .660 B.C. After running this thru JBM, I need exactly 20 moa for 1000 yards. I still have 1956' velocity and 1274 ft/lbs. The bullet drops to 1000 ft./lbs. at 1220 yards and is still traveling at 1735', which I feel will expand it adequately. Obviously, I still need to test some more, but I think this bullet may have the most long range hunting potential that I have seen in a 6.5, especially, when it can be driven at this velocity accurately! I have NO DOUBT that the 6.5 SS will easily drive it past 3200' with a 26" barrel! I have been getting 40' per grain with this powder and have fired 66 grains with the 160's without having an overload.........Rich
I was shooting in a 10-15 mph crosswind. The 3 shots went into just over 1/2". Not bad for no developement. I decided to leave that load as good enough until I get some more RL 33. Next, I wanted to test expansion in a known media which would give a good comparison to other bullets I have tested. I used my 3/16" thick, 15 gal. plastic water barrel lined with a garbage bag and filled with water. Behind that is several thicknesses of Berber carpet, some wet cardboard, and more carpet in case I have a run away I loaded up a 150 ahead of 25 grains of 4198 which I figured would give me an approximation of expansion in excess of 1000 yards. The first round cranked out 2034'. It passed thru both sides of the water barrel, about 8 layers of Berber carpet, and a couple inches of wet cardboard. The bullet was recovered and weighed 126.3 grains. I replaced the liner in the barrel, refilled with water, and sent another round loaded with 20 grs. 4198 at 1715'. This bullet also passed thru the barrel and thru the carpet. Unfortunately, I could not recover it but did find the blown off tip in the water barrel. This was a good sign as I knew had to have expanded further after that. The tip (see pic) looked VERY much like the 215 Bergers did after firing through the same media, only it took between 2000-2100 to blow the tip off of the Berger. This makes sense as the J4's are about .014" and this jacket is .0125". I am going to have to do a little guess work on the actual b.c. of the 150, but based on the 160 Matrix, I would guess it to be about .660 B.C. After running this thru JBM, I need exactly 20 moa for 1000 yards. I still have 1956' velocity and 1274 ft/lbs. The bullet drops to 1000 ft./lbs. at 1220 yards and is still traveling at 1735', which I feel will expand it adequately. Obviously, I still need to test some more, but I think this bullet may have the most long range hunting potential that I have seen in a 6.5, especially, when it can be driven at this velocity accurately! I have NO DOUBT that the 6.5 SS will easily drive it past 3200' with a 26" barrel! I have been getting 40' per grain with this powder and have fired 66 grains with the 160's without having an overload.........Rich
