Copper Bullet Performance... what works?

[snox801]

I found the hammers by far the easiest to load for. Not that the cutting edge was hard. But the hammers had very tight groups from my lowest charge to the highest. I mainly shoot the raptors from cutting edge which are a bit different than hammers. Those are all short range rifles. 300blk, 458 socom. Similar to the sledge hammer from hammer. The laser from cutting edge is a bit more like the hammer hunters. I shoot those in my .375 AM only because I did load work as hammer was working out the big.375gr. And I loaded over 100 rounds so I have a bunch.
Everything g else gets hammers. I'm slowly moving all my stuff from lead to hammers. I can say the hammers performed perfect on the Michigan 8 point I shot this week at 105 yards.
If I was to have to start fresh with new loads today. I would be using hammers in all of mine. They just work.
I used Barnes before but like stated they don't produce the same internal damage as the others.

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

Which bullet was less fussy to load for?

For my socom? Black butterfly ammo handles that.

Now for my 300AX I have a 200gr LRX load, That I got pretty easy. Seems like my 300AX likes to drive bullets hard to make them shoot well.

Just ran a quick ladder through it and a 101gr it shot 1/3 moa. Was very similar to my hammer bullet experience. 1ish moa building up then just dramatically shrank the group size. Both are ~1/3 moa loads. I just wish I knew how fast the LRX was going.

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

I want to see what Steve can do for a bullet for my 458 socom. 275ish grains, shortest baring surface as possible to make it as fast as possible and lethal as possible

 

[jjmp]

Started using Barnes when they came out , and my hunting rifles liked the loads , my Rem 700 , 7mag recut to STW really liked the 150,s X Barnes bullet and 3 shots =3/8 inch at 100 yds with RL/22 had no crono no big deal , about that time my cousin bought his 300 Bee push feed md70 , for Elk hunting out west , so I reloaded up some 165 X Spitzers with Imr4831 & even with his new Green bbl they shot under 1moa to 600yds, tmv was 3225 , guess what they worked but no bullet recovered, many yrs have passed n he;s shot more then a few bulls all with the Barnes X & some TSX , lost count but this yrs bull was take. With a LRX , on a 5x5 ,168 GN n he recovered the bullet ,Very first of all the Elk he's shot , and me I'm a reloader ,target shooter ,& hunter when I can . They just work but so DO many others , as I fine out by reading on this Great Forum , Greatday Everyone !!! Cheers !

 

[snox801]

I wonder if it would be worth it for steve to make one for the socom?
It's not very popular and all the guys that I know that have one rarely shoot it and might shoot a box a year if they are lucky. They complain about the price for some reason. I would like the option also but I have great luck with the 259gr raptors but mainly shoot the 295gr in tipped raptor in mine as I don't stretch over the 100 yard mark with it. I have 300 rounds pre loaded just so if I do bring it out I'm ready so it would be a while before I made the switch. Same with my 300blk. I feel bad cause I talked with Steve so much about it. I do almost all my hunting with the blk and the 100gr raptor. I limited at 2550fps with lil gun and didn't want to go any high because it would compress. I had no pressure at that point so steve and I talked and he fixed that. He matched my speed with h110 I believe and that was much slower than lil gun in both my socom and my 300. Now I have a huge supply of raptors made for mine that will take me a while to get through. Then another load work. Maybe by the time I've shot them up I'll be ready for another load project.

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

It's certainly in a small niche crowd. Could appeal to 450 marlin shooters

Better would be to aim at 450bm shooters. A few factory bolt guns have become available as of recently.

I'd be curious to see what could be done for 458 socom and a Bullet with a hollow cavity base?

 

[snox801]

The the bushmaster is hot right now. Recently legal in mich southern half and almost everyone I know has bought one. Heck I even got one on a trade for a spare blk. Have no need for it yet as I prefer the socom and I have a very nice shooting HR for shotgun zone.

 

[shooter7]

I shoot 168 Barnes TTSX out of my Christensen 300 Win Mag. Ive killed 1 elk and 2 antelope with them so far. The antelope were 200 and 240 yards. The bullets did what any bullet would do on the antelope. Small hole in, messed things up pretty bad, then left the scene. The elk was at 440 yards slightly quartering to me. Small hole in, messed things up a good bit, left a 1 inch exit hole. The elk made it 20 yards. They have performed better than Bergers for me. I plan to stick with them. They were also the first bullet to shoot sub MOA in the CA Mesa for me.

 

[Buck300]

Try the Barnes 168 ge TTSX, I had really good luck with my 300 wby. it shot 3/8 to 1/2 inch at 3320.

 

[Dr. Vette]

The the bushmaster is hot right now. Recently legal in mich southern half and almost everyone I know has bought one. Heck I even got one on a trade for a spare blk. Have no need for it yet as I prefer the socom and I have a very nice shooting HR for shotgun zone.

Which one did you get?
I have the 22 inch barrel version from Randy's, and like it a lot better than the short-barreled version that Ruger is making.

Very accurate, as well. No deer yet, but that should change next weekend with my usual late-season location.

 

[HARPERC]

Two questions really. The title has an undefined what works?-the poll, what does your rifle(s) like?

I've only shot 2 of the bullets, Barnes, and the Hammer's. The Barnes soured me on mono-metals for a long time. Some find they work great, some find they don't. Both are correct, I've found them very inconsistent in terminal performance. That's my what works.

To that end, what I look for is consistency in material, to provide good results down to about 1800 fps at the ranges I intend to shoot. To achieve that requires a combination of velocity/cartridge, and BC. Hollow point size, bullet profile, are also factors in terminal performance, but can be detrimental to maintaining that 1800 fps terminal velocity. So concessions sometimes have to be made.

I don't consider myself a long range hunter, so extreme ballistic profiles are largely wasted on me. For eye appeal the 143 Lever Hammer is one I've been loading for the kids, as the ranges will be close. Their all booked up with sports, and I haven't tested them on game, but they shoot great.

 

[snox801]

Which one did you get?
I have the 22 inch barrel version from Randy's, and like it a lot better than the short-barreled version that Ruger is making.

Very accurate, as well. No deer yet, but that should change next weekend with my usual late-season location.

I have the bushmaster upper receiver matted to a psa lower. Gonna do a 1-6 of some kind or a 2-7. I do t plan on shooting it much or ever really but I may hange my tune for deer season next year as I like ar's for hunting.

 

[Extremist458]

How is it GS Custom bullets isn't on the list? They pre-date Barnes.

 

[memtb]

I must confess that my vote is "not" completely legit, as I've "only" used Barnes!
I've used them exclusively in my rifle (.375AI), since the early '90's, with the original X Bullet, and exclusively in my wife's rifle (.338 WM) since '95. We have used them on big game, ranging from Pronghorn Antelope up to and through Moose. Also, they're pretty effective on Fox and coyote. The only changes we've made since the '90's, was change bullets, as the technology improved. About 5 years ago, I went down to the 250 TTSX (from the 270 TSX), for the better BC. Had I waited a few years, I'd likely be using the 270 LRX.

We've used them from....near the muzzle to a measured 430 yards (my last Pronghorn). Also, on a few elk at + or - 400 yards, and my wife's last bear, at a measured 378 yards.

If I were younger, not so "set in my ways", and liked to experiment as when younger.....I'd probably try the Hammer's! However, I'm a bit concerned about them being a little too soft. I prefer a bullet that sheds "little to no" weight. We've had exceptional success with the Barnes'. Though, if I were hunting Whitetails in the thickets of the south....I may re-evaluate my decision on bullets!

memtb