375/408 Banded Solids Test

[Black Diamond 408]

Kelly,
If your going to go into the very high BC bullets you need to look into a Bartlein gain twist
barrel. My personal rifle has a 16 start twist and ends up at 7.75 at the muzzle. This was
made for Noels mid range bullets and other high BC jacketed types. It shoots the SMK rather
well. I will be testing numerous bullet types, although it prolly will not be fast enough for the
extreme bullets.

I have one for a customer i am building that has the same twist as Noels test barrels. I think they were 12 start to around 6 ish ending twist. By starting the bullet out with a slow twist you wont strip off the driving bands like a standard 7 twist could if not careful.

Dave

 

[kellyzier]

Kelly,
If your going to go into the very high BC bullets you need to look into a Bartlein gain twist
barrel. My personal rifle has a 16 start twist and ends up at 7.75 at the muzzle. This was
made for Noels mid range bullets and other high BC jacketed types. It shoots the SMK rather
well. I will be testing numerous bullet types, although it prolly will not be fast enough for the
extreme bullets.

I have one for a customer i am building that has the same twist as Noels test barrels. I think they were 12 start to around 6 ish ending twist. By starting the bullet out with a slow twist you wont strip off the driving bands like a standard 7 twist could if not careful.

Dave

Dave, this is great info....thanks a ton...what barrel (type and twist) would you suggest if a guy wanted to shoot both the EXTREEME bullets and the SMK 350's....Would it be the one you are building for your customer that has 12 to start and down to a 6 at the muzzel? Im not versed at all in the EXTREME BULLET department.

 

[Black Diamond 408]

Kelly,
I dont know if the 6.5 twist will work with the SMK, Noel might have tried them? If you want to shoot a larger aray of bullets then you have to stay with a slower twist like what is on my rifle,
16 to 7.75 or close. This twist will still handle the 6 cal length bullets and maybe the 6.5 cal length, even then your into the very high bc bullets. The 7 cal length bullets you will need the real fast twist, i call these the extreme types. These should be like laser guided missles.

Any way you look at it these are for super long range shooting.

Dave

 

[kellyzier]

Kelly,
I dont know if the 6.5 twist will work with the SMK, Noel might have tried them? If you want to shoot a larger aray of bullets then you have to stay with a slower twist like what is on my rifle,
16 to 7.75 or close. This twist will still handle the 6 cal length bullets and maybe the 6.5 cal length, even then your into the very high bc bullets. The 7 cal length bullets you will need the real fast twist, i call these the extreme types. These should be like laser guided missles.

Any way you look at it these are for super long range shooting.

Dave

Thanks Dave, do you know if some of these bullets you are talking about can be used for hunitng??? The 375 has so much frontal are and they are so big that some folks are hunting with solids....I know one of the guys from Cheytac uses the 375 ....300 gr solid to hunt with......Also, is there a calculation somewhere to convert 7 cal to inches??? Thanks again!!!

 

[Master Diver]

7 cal to inches = 7 x .375 = 2.625" = 66.67mm

Cheers,

Master Diver

 

[Black Diamond 408]

Kelly,
Yes there will be some variants of these bullets legal for hunting use. I think Noel has one style, Rocky Mtn, Henson, and Predator is working on a hollow point design. There are a lot of
guys hunting with the solids, just not legal if you get caught. Most of these long solid bullets are
made to bend sideways when they impact. I have recovered some of the 408 bullets and they were bent in a U shape.

The Rocky Mtn bullet
.375
Is a tru match grade hunting bullet
370gns, it is a massive beast in the cheytac or Snipetac chamber

The Predator bullet
350 gn solid
A very slick flying bullet
Dynamic Research, LLC

The Sierra 350 smk is a good hunting bullet and priced reasonable. A good everyday shooting
bullet.

Dave

 

[kellyzier]

Kelly,
Yes there will be some variants of these bullets legal for hunting use. I think Noel has one style, Rocky Mtn, Henson, and Predator is working on a hollow point design. There are a lot of
guys hunting with the solids, just not legal if you get caught. Most of these long solid bullets are
made to bend sideways when they impact. I have recovered some of the 408 bullets and they were bent in a U shape.

The Rocky Mtn bullet
.375
Is a tru match grade hunting bullet
370gns, it is a massive beast in the cheytac or Snipetac chamber

The Predator bullet
350 gn solid
A very slick flying bullet
Dynamic Research, LLC

The Sierra 350 smk is a good hunting bullet and priced reasonable. A good everyday shooting
bullet.

Dave

Dave, sorry for all the questions!!! The SMK 350 is an option for me, but Im hoping for something with a better BC. Does anyone know the BC of the Rky mtn 375 in 370 or the Predator 350? Im sure if they show up in NV, the BCs will be exposed, but I wonder what they are advertising??

thanks
kelly

 

[kellyzier]

Dave, sorry for all the questions!!! The SMK 350 is an option for me, but Im hoping for something with a better BC. Does anyone know the BC of the Rky mtn 375 in 370 or the Predator 350? Im sure if they show up in NV, the BCs will be exposed, but I wonder what they are advertising??

thanks
kelly

Dave,,,I found the web sites and the BC's...........thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kellyzier]

Kelly,
If your going to go into the very high BC bullets you need to look into a Bartlein gain twist
barrel. My personal rifle has a 16 start twist and ends up at 7.75 at the muzzle. This was
made for Noels mid range bullets and other high BC jacketed types. It shoots the SMK rather
well. I will be testing numerous bullet types, although it prolly will not be fast enough for the
extreme bullets.

I have one for a customer i am building that has the same twist as Noels test barrels. I think they were 12 start to around 6 ish ending twist. By starting the bullet out with a slow twist you wont strip off the driving bands like a standard 7 twist could if not careful.

Dave

ROCKY MOUNTAIN AND PREDITOR BULLETS in 375 cal....350 gr & 370 gr.......
Does anyone here have any personal experience shooting these Pills????
1. Are the BC's (near .940) really that high
2. Are these bullets accurate out to 1760 yards???

Any info would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!

 

[Black Diamond 408]

Kelly,
The Las Vegas shoot will ans a lot of questions. The 350 Predator bullet is very popular in Australia and i have a number of rifles there. Reports i have got at 2000 meters, sub moa groups. I have a box of them in my shop that i will be reporting on very soon.

THe Rockymtn bullet is a newer design, if you email Geo from the website he will give you more details. I also have a box of those bullets that i will be reporting on. Iv'e heard they are devistating on Elk.

BC's for these bullets will be very close to the published specs depending on the rifle used.

Dave

 

[kellyzier]

Kelly,
The Las Vegas shoot will ans a lot of questions. The 350 Predator bullet is very popular in Australia and i have a number of rifles there. Reports i have got at 2000 meters, sub moa groups. I have a box of them in my shop that i will be reporting on very soon.

THe Rockymtn bullet is a newer design, if you email Geo from the website he will give you more details. I also have a box of those bullets that i will be reporting on. Iv'e heard they are devistating on Elk.

BC's for these bullets will be very close to the published specs depending on the rifle used.

Dave

Dave, this is great news!!!!! I can't wait to hear info from the shoot.

One last question???????????

I have ran the numbers between the 338 allen mag and the 375 allen mag. All things aside, I will go with the caliber (375 or 338) that most favors the wind. And with these 370 and 350 gr bullets for the 375 along with the high BC's, I am really favoring the 375. I was re-barreling a 338 allen mag, but now I am considering re-barreling to 375. Am I really on the right track?

My Xbal program shows a distinct advantage with the 375 cal if these BC's are what they appear to be?

thanks
zman

 

[Black Diamond 408]

Kelly,
Yes the 375 is superior in balistics, the 338 is also very good for what it was designed for.
You will get more life from the 375cal barrel and you have a wider range of powders to choose from. Early on there wasnt a whole lot of 375 Long Range bullets available.

The SMK has a BC around .770 and its a shorter bullet than most of the customs.

 

[Augustus]

KZ, I have fired several of the bullets mentioned in this thread, I have done almost all of the testing on the various ZA 375, I have also shot the SMK and the Rocky MTN bullets. Here is what I have found:
An 8 twist will explode the Rocky Mtn hollow point and alum. tip
The SMK shot OK in the 8 twist, nothing spectacular
The 6 cal ZA works nice in the 8 twist
The 6.5 ZA is going to need at least a 6.5 twist
The 7 cal will most likely need a 5.5 twist to stabilize at 2900
The gain twist barrels should have entrance and exit twist with less deviation
than my 13-6.5
A 375 Chey w/o a break is not fun to shoot.

 

[Augustus]

P.S. -- all the ZA 375 projos that I referred to in the prior post were solid copper. I have not tested any of the latest tungsten core varieties. I hope to do so in the very near future.