Bullet weight selection

[Tommo64]

Hasn't been mentioned but another reason to choose heavier is they will generally penetrate deeper than a lighter of the same design. Example, in my 7mag the 139SST will generally come apart on closer shots. Lots of damage but won't make it out (or to) the other side. I decided on the 162 SST because not only do they have a higher BC but because they open just as fast and have the longer shank to keep them together and drive them through. Haven't "caught" one in a deer yet, and that includes going through both shoulders on occasion and at closer ranges. Lots of terminal performance that pushes all the way through. On the opposite side of that my buddy wants me to load the 139's in his as his thinking is a bullet that doesn't come out the other side "dumps all its energy in the animal". I want two holes and lots of damage.

OP, If you are comparing a 150 core lokt to a 130 Partition then you aren't comparing apples to apples. Not much of a fair comparison on about any level. One is a light fast more heavily constructed "premium" (the original) bullet, the other is a basic cup and core with not much appeal (other than cost and will get the job done for most folks).

Just out of interest, the last deer I shot was with a Hornady SST 165gr. Went in high on the shoulder, didn't exit. Went through both shoulder blades and was sitting just underthe skin on the opposite side. When I recovered it, there was good expansion but the core had separated and fragmented. Shot from about 80 yards and dropped on the spot.

 

[Bravo 4]

I can see that, if they drop and never get up I could care less about an exit wound. That 165gr .308 bullet is a mid and not heavy for caliber bullet. Be like comparing it to the 154 grain SST in 7mm. That extra 15 grains of the 180's would have sealed the deal.
Added: All they do to make them heavier is make the shank longer. This helps keep the heavies from separating as bad as the shorter lighter bullets.

 

[mwkelso]

Just out of interest, the last deer I shot was with a Hornady SST 165gr. Went in high on the shoulder, didn't exit. Went through both shoulder blades and was sitting just underthe skin on the opposite side. When I recovered it, there was good expansion but the core had separated and fragmented. Shot from about 80 yards and dropped on the spot.

Just for information sake I went to Hornady's website for the SST. Their 2-minute video about the bullet mentions that the bullet is designed to shed nose of the copper jacket in shards "to create more devastating wound channels".
It's also optimized for 2,200-3,000fps according to them, but will perform down to 1,850fps.

 

[Bravo 4]

To me this is Hornady's version of Nosler's Ballistic Tip. They have their differences in design (tapered base jacket on the Nosler and interlock ring on the Hornady) but they have comparable BC/external ballistics and terminal performance. One just happens to be about 50% less cost than the other. The Nosler Accubonds and Hornady Interbond remind me of the same as well.

 

[Tommo64]

Just for information sake I went to Hornady's website for the SST. Their 2-minute video about the bullet mentions that the bullet is designed to shed nose of the copper jacket in shards "to create more devastating wound channels".
It's also optimized for 2,200-3,000fps according to them, but will perform down to 1,850fps.

Yep, pretty much what happened in my case. Did exactly what it said on the tin!

 

[Dirtrax]

Ding...ding...ding! We have a winner! Learn to determine altitude density and you can accomplish much in the way of choosing an effectively stabilized bullet weight along with twist and velocity. It is an important consideration in the three legged stool of bullet selection.

In all actuality speed doesn't make up for faster barrel twist as most people think. And you don't need a faster twist barrel because the bullets are heavier and going slower. A heavier Bullet is longer than a lighter Bullet and has a longer bearing surface in most cases. Being longer means you need a faster twist to stabilize it, speed doesn't realy change the stability factor much when you run the numbers, altitude affects ituch more than speed of the bullet. Perfect example is most high BC mono's are lighter the the heaviest high BC Bullet in the same cal. And are shooting much faster than the heavier cup and core Bullet but the mono's need as fast a twist barrel or faster than the heavier lead cup and core bullets.

 

[mwkelso]

Ding...ding...ding! We have a winner! Learn to determine altitude density and you can accomplish much in the way of choosing an effectively stabilized bullet weight along with twist and velocity. It is an important consideration in the three legged stool of bullet selection.

Would you mind explaining the three-legged stool for bullet selection?

 

[FEENIX]

For what it is worth, here's Sierra's bullet selection 101 >>> https://sierrabulletsblog.com/2015/04/07/bullet-selection-101/

 

[Big Jake Duke]

I think it is a balance. The 240gr or heavier will have a higher BC, but can a 300 win mag capacitu make full use of that heavy a bullet? I don't think so. I think you will see the best overall performance around the 190gr level. There are bullets with .640 bc at 190, that may match the 300 win mag better than the 220-250gr pills. Due to the velocity limitations.

I like my 300 win mags to shoot 3050 with the 190s.

 

[mwkelso]

I think it is a balance. The 240gr or heavier will have a higher BC, but can a 300 win mag capacitu make full use of that heavy a bullet? I don't think so. I think you will see the best overall performance around the 190gr level. There are bullets with .640 bc at 190, that may match the 300 win mag better than the 220-250gr pills. Due to the velocity limitations.

I like my 300 win mags to shoot 3050 with the 190s.

The more I take in and am learning just on this one caliber, the more I am leaning towards exactly what you just wrote. I have a pretty good feeling that the 190-200 range is going to be the sweet spot for me and the rifle.

 

[skipglo]

I think it is a balance. The 240gr or heavier will have a higher BC, but can a 300 win mag capacitu make full use of that heavy a bullet? I don't think so. I think you will see the best overall performance around the 190gr level. There are bullets with .640 bc at 190, that may match the 300 win mag better than the 220-250gr pills. Due to the velocity limitations.

I like my 300 win mags to shoot 3050 with the 190s.

The 208 Hornady are working great and even in Browning Auto's...who knew...just pulled a .321 group at 100 with an older atuo a buddy of mine had me put a new scope on. .345 at 300...longest I have at the house

 

[FEENIX]

The more I take in and am learning just on this one caliber, the more I am leaning towards exactly what you just wrote. I have a pretty good feeling that the 190-200 range is going to be the sweet spot for me and the rifle.

The .300 WM remains my go to chambering for antelope to elk size game up to 1K yards. My longest harvest to date is a Montana bull elk at 931 yards with 190 Berger VLD at 3043 FPS. However, have I been set-up for a 215 Berger at the time, it would be my choice.

Jeff's (BROZ) real world field experience and success below is hard to beat. If you are inclined to more learning enjoy ...

https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/comparing-the-berger-210-vld-to-the-215-hybrid.88657/

https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/berger-230-and-300-otm-hybrid-terminal-results.80283/

 

[muleystalker]

muleystalker

I'd have to disagree with you. Higher speed cartridges don't require the twist as the velocity will cause more rotation of the bullet with the same twist. After all, that is what the twist is doing. For example, shot a .308 bullet in a 1-10 twist at 2000 fps and another at 3100 fps and see which one stabilizes better.

I'm not into mono bullets, but I'm unaware of any "high BC mono's". Mono's love speed as they are typically harder than a lead bullet. Without the lead, mono's will be longer to get the same weight, thus requiring twist or velocity.

That is just my opinion.

Have a great day,
Steve

Steve, speed doesn't change the twist rate factor that much for a given bullet in the speeds we are talking about. In your statement you give a speed of 2000fps compared to 3100fps, this is not a practical example. no one is shooting a 2000fps cartridge and then gaining 1100fps. Maybe more like 2850fps for a given bullet and then pushing it up to 3150-3200fps with a magnum is a more realistic scenario. Now pick a given weight bullet say at 2900fps, keeping all perimeters the same( altitude,bullet,barrel twist) plug in the speed of 3100-3200fps and see how much it changes the twist rate factor, not much.

In my example with mono's I was illustrating that the mono is lighter and shooting quite a bit faster than the heavier lead bullet but still needs a faster twist barrel than the same weight in a lead core bullet because of the longer length of the bullet. You could add 300 to 400fps to the lighter mono bullet but it won't change that much on the twist required, showing that speed doesn't affect the twist required that much at all.

The biggest reason guys will go a little slower rate of twist when shooting/pushing a given bullet at a faster velocity isn't because you don't need the faster barrel twist, its because you can only push a cup and core bullet so fast threw a faster twist barrel before you start blowing up bullets(ripping the jacket of of them). There is a fine line on bullet jackets, speed and barrel twist. You can push the mono's a lot harder but when you run the numbers it will show you speed doesn't make that significant of a change in the twist rate required for a given bullet, all other factors staying the same.

Also if you look there are some good choices for high B.C. to weight mono bullets out there, I'm not talking Hardy, Barnes and such. There are Hammer bullets that have some great choices, Badlands bullets and Cutting Edge. I am building a 6 SST and going to shoot the Badlands Bulldozers 6mm 100gr bullet with a G1 B.C of .575 not bad for a 6mm 100gr Monolithic. I will be shooting it about 3500fps. The 6 SST will shoot the 115gr DTACS at 3500+.

 

[Deleted member 8840]

If you have a 100 inch 1 in 10 twist barrel it will twist the bullet 10 times. If you shoot it at 2500 fps how many times does it twist it. If you shoot it 3500 fps how many times does it twist it?