California - Copper

[Calhntr]

Here in CA. Began loading copper in 2012, Ahead of the deadline for the balance of the state outside the "condor areas" , had to reverse my thinking of close to or touching the lands =accuracy which had proved correct with all my past experience loading cupncore bullets,
The TTsx's, Etip's and GMX's I've loaded so far all have one other thing in common, they all like huge jumps before the lands, .050" minimum.? I wish!! its more like .080+" min. !! and you don't need the weight you used to shoot to get the same or better results on game. at less than 500YDS.
Had a very hard time convincing a friend who was loading his favorite .300wsm with 210gr. bergers to go at least 2 to 3 weight classes lighter and give them a big jump to get his ttxs's to shoot accurately, after failing to head my advice a couple more times he finally came around and started seating them deeper and settled with the 165-168 weight class getting good accuracy.

 

[Shane Lindsey]

My experience with the Barnes in a few rifles is to run them fast and seat them deep...

But now with the Hammer line, you pick a seating depth for mag length and shoot...

 

[MighteyWhiteHunter]

As others have said check your twist rate and then pick a copper bullet weight based off of what your rifles can actually stabilize.
Just like lead bullets, rifles will typically like a particular factory round or handload.
I have been shooting copper in several rifles since 2008 due to living in the "condor zone" and have killed critters with Nosler E-tips, Barnes TSX, TTSX, LRX, and Hammers, they have all worked very well.

 

[C-Crist276]

Thank you All, I hav ebeen reloading for years, and never thought the seating depth would factor so greatly on the grouping or adjustments. I need to refocus sand try the OCW with my powder and bullet collection to really narrow in on a complete load.

 

[Buano]

One copper bullet issue you may not be aware of:

Because of the lower density of copper compared to lead, the same weight copper bullet will be longer than its lead cousin. Longer bullets require a higher spin rate to stabilize as compared to shorter bullets, so a rifle that may shoot a 140 grain lead bullet very well may not spin the 140 grain copper bullet fast enough. For that reason some rifles will benefit from going to a lighter copper bullet to achieve maximum accuracy.

 

[Tiny Tim]

One copper bullet issue you may not be aware of:

Because of the lower density of copper compared to lead, the same weight copper bullet will be longer than its lead cousin. Longer bullets require a higher spin rate to stabilize as compared to shorter bullets, so a rifle that may shoot a 140 grain lead bullet very well may not spin the 140 grain copper bullet fast enough. For that reason some rifles will benefit from going to a lighter copper bullet to achieve maximum accuracy.

I believe some may recommend a min stability factor of 1.5 and prefer closer to 2 for best performance.

 

[ajkellerusmc]

I believe some may recommend a min stability factor of 1.5 and prefer closer to 2 for best performance.

Can You explain the stability factor of 1.5 and 2? what is this calculated from?

 

[klejeski]

I am also in California and have switched several rifles to copper. Cutting edge bullets and recntly hammer bullets for a 28 nosler and 6.5 saum.
Send me a pm if you would like to talk more
Brian

 

[GLTaylor]

Go to Berger's web page and click on the stability header. Plug your bullet, bc, velocity, etc in and it will calculate it for you. Pretty handy. Also, on Hammer's website, when you pick a bullet weight and scroll down, it will give you recommended twist rate for stability.

 

[littlebighorn]

I am getting half inch 100 yd groups with the 124 Hammer Hunters in my 6.5 x 284. and the same with the 177s in my 28 Nosler. I've been very impressed with how they group.
I have also learned that a good cleaning before trying any new bullets, especially copper, is a must.
Good shooting!

 

[pacowboy]

I would contact Cutting Edge Bullets. They are great people and will help ya figure everything out.They usually respond pretty quick on Facebook.

Cutting Edge Bullets

Solid copper, lathe turned projectiles for hunting, match shooting, and home defense. CNC Swiss style lathes make these bullets extremely accurate.

cuttingedgebullets.com

 

[Tiny Tim]

Can You explain the stability factor of 1.5 and 2? what is this calculated from?

If you go on Berger's website, they have a free bullet stability calculator that you can plug in cartridge, bullet, and environmental data and it will calculate how stable your projectile is. Lead bullet are suggested to have a 1.5 stability factor. I'm not certain which, but I seem to remember one mono manufacturer suggesting a stability factor nearer to 2. I think because of coppers lower mass, it may benefit from a higher stability not for precision, but to keep it on track as it penetrates. Perhaps it can lose its rotational stability quicker the same as it seems to lose its velocity quicker.

 

[C-Crist276]

I am getting half inch 100 yd groups with the 124 Hammer Hunters in my 6.5 x 284. and the same with the 177s in my 28 Nosler. I've been very impressed with how they group.
I have also learned that a good cleaning before trying any new bullets, especially copper, is a must.
Good shooting!

Can you share your load data?

 

[GLTaylor]

Same here. 1/2 or less in 6.5 Cmore, 25/284 and 6.5/06AI (117gr, 129?, and 130 or 124), all Hammers.