boat tail and flat bottom bullets

[hubee_7j]

Ok just wanna know if anyone has heard of this. Are boat tail bullets harder on barrels than flat bottoms I was told they are because the boat tail part holds some of the burning powder close to the barrel just curious if anyone has heard this thanks in advance

 

[Kevin Thomas]

Hubee,

No, according to extensive arsenal testing, there's virtually no difference between boat tails and flat based bullets as far as wear is concerned, all other factors being the same. There are other factors that go ino this, so it's important to compare apples to apples in such questions. Heavier bullets, for example, are much harder on barrels than lighter bullets in the same cartridge. Harder core material, such as AP bullets, would also likely create more wear on a bore than a conventional lead cored-gilding metal jacketed bullet, and so on. Boat tails tend to be a bit more finicky about the bore being correct (uniform dimensions from leade to muzzle, etc.) so you may notice a degradation in accuracy earlier with a boat tail bullet, but it's not that they wear the bore out faster.

Kevin Thomas
Lapua USA
(Sedalia, MO, right up 65 from you)

 

[hubee_7j]

Thanks kevin that's exactly the answer I was looking for. And you're right ,you're about 55 minutes up the road haha. Also I just bought a box of the lapua palma 308 brass that has the small primer pocket and smaller flash hole. When I bought it I assumed that the flash hole was the same as a standard case with a small pocket,wrong! So now my dies dnt work but I've been lookin to upgrade anyway to a better die set up what would you recomend that will have the smaller decapping pn. RCBS said I'd have to contact lapua about the problem when I called to see if they sold smaller decapping pins . Thanks. Sorry for the long post lol

 

[Russ Hatch]

Chuck one of those pins in a dremel or drill press, get some crocus cloth and polish it down. Works , quick and cheap.

 

[Kevin Thomas]

The normal decapping pins are 2.0mm, or about .080" in diameter, and that's what you'll find in the vast majority of dies out there now, at least in most cartridges. There are some accuracy oriented cases, however, that use a smaller 15.mm or .058" flash hole. Our 220 Russian, 6mm BR and the new 308 Palma are good examples of this. RCBS makes decapping pins for this diameter hole, and it should be their part number 9608. If you speak to them, just tell them it's the small pin for the 6mm BR, the PPC or the 220 Russian, and they should steer you onto the correct one. Graf's here in MO should also carry these. Wouldn't surprise me if Bass Pro might have them as well.

Or, as Russ said, you could just polish down the existing pin, it doesn't take much. I'd go ahead and order the correct ones, though, trust me, having extra decapping pins on hand is ALWAYS a good thing.

Kevin Thomas
Lapua USA