RockyMtnMT
Official LRH Sponsor
It has been 4 months in the wait for our custom alloy copper order to arrive. Boy did we get it right. We had a perfect day at the range testing high and low speed impacts.
The test that we used today was a single gallon jug of water in front of a box of news paper to catch the bullet. The trap was set at 15 feet from the muzzle. The expectation is that the bullet is to reach expansion in the one gallon of water. The news paper is dry for the most part and does not help the bullet to expand. What we have found is that if the bullet does not get open in the first gallon jug of water it will not open with more water.
Here is a pic of the four bullets that we tested today.
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=64120&stc=1&d=1471753367
The .243 80g Hammer Hunter was fired from a factory Ruger .243 Win with a 10" twist. We have had trouble in the past getting this bullet to perform from the 10" twist at slow muzzle vel. We decided to give it a try anyway. Loaded with 15.7g grains of Trail Boss (max load) with a muzzle vel of 1830fps. To our surprise the bullet performed perfectly. Opened in the milk jug and tracked true into the news paper. No tumbling. The petals tracked with the bullet indicating that they stayed attached until the point that the bullet stopped. The petals were found that almost the same point as the bullet. The retained weight without the petals was 58g or 72.5%. The three petals that were located with the bullet brought the weight back to original 80g.
The full velocity test was with the same rifle with a load of 45g of IMR4451 giving a muzzle vel of 3335fps. This bullet was perfect in its deformation with a dia of .35" with a perfect flat frontal area to displace material perpendicular to the bullet travel. Retained 51.6g or 64.5%.
Very nice test. This bullet has traditionally been the most difficult bullet to get to open, particularly at low vel.
The next bullet is the .264 124g Hammer Hunter. This is one of my favorite bullets. We fired this bullet from a 6.5 Creed in a Ruger American with 8" twist.
Low vel was fired with a max load of 15.6g Trail Boss for a muzzle vel of 1556fps. This was disappointing to see as previously with other coppers the bullets did not work very well below 1800fps. On inspection of the milk jug we were surprised to see indications that the bullet had opened up. Sure enough after locating the bullet it had opened quite nicely. This bullet retained 115.5g or 93%.
High velocity for the 124g Hammer Hunter was loaded with 43g of IMR 4451 for a muzzle vel of 2775fps. Depending on what cartridge a person is using this could be a nice mid range impact vel. The bullet again performed perfectly with a flat square frontal area. Weight retention was 93.6g or 75%
We then did a retest of the 130g 7mm bullet that we designed a few days ago for a customer that has an 11" twist Lazeroni. When we tested the other day we were not able to get the 1.5mm hollow point to open at low vel so we redesigned with a 2mm hollow point and got good performance. We decided to test again with the new copper and the 1.5mm hole. It performed to perfection.
The low vel test was with a max load of 23g of Trail Boss from a 7WSM with a 7" twist barrel. This bullet kept one petal and the others were located next to the bullet also indicating that the probably would have stayed attached if not for the paper. Retained weight was 87.2g or 67%. Located petals brought the weight to nearly 100%.
The full velocity test was 68g of H1000 for a muzzle vel of 3200fps. This bullet fully opened and shed the petals in the milk jug. Another perfect performance. Retained weight for this one was 68.2g or 52.4%. We will be lessening the depth of this hole to bring the retained weight up to the 70 to 80% range for full vel impacts.
The last bullet we tested today was the .308 166g Hammer Hunter. We ran this bullet in a 30-06 Rem 700 with a 10" twist.
The low velocity test for this one was 19.3g Trail Boss (max) for a muzzle vel of 1365fps. I was sure that this bullet would look like it could be re loaded. On inspection of the milk jug it looked as though it may have opened. Upon locating the bullet, it stayed nicely on track and tried to open. It opened nearly to caliber. We were very surprised to see this at such a low impact as well as marginal stability.
The high velocity test was with 56.4g of IMR4451 for a muzzle vel of 2847fps. This bullet also had perfect performance. The milk jug with this one literally blew into multiple pieces. The weight retention was 119.5g or 72%.
We will still continue to recommend 1800fps as a minimum impact velocity for big game hunting as we feel that the terminal performance from the extra speed aids in tissue damage. The bullets today definitely indicate good performance at lower than 1800fps and individuals can make their own decisions accordingly.
What a great day testing. Very few range/testing sessions give perfect performance that is predicable. Our judgment on the formulation of copper turned out to be spot on. Feels good to get one right. Especially when it arrives in a quantity of 2500lbs.
Steve
The test that we used today was a single gallon jug of water in front of a box of news paper to catch the bullet. The trap was set at 15 feet from the muzzle. The expectation is that the bullet is to reach expansion in the one gallon of water. The news paper is dry for the most part and does not help the bullet to expand. What we have found is that if the bullet does not get open in the first gallon jug of water it will not open with more water.
Here is a pic of the four bullets that we tested today.
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=64120&stc=1&d=1471753367
The .243 80g Hammer Hunter was fired from a factory Ruger .243 Win with a 10" twist. We have had trouble in the past getting this bullet to perform from the 10" twist at slow muzzle vel. We decided to give it a try anyway. Loaded with 15.7g grains of Trail Boss (max load) with a muzzle vel of 1830fps. To our surprise the bullet performed perfectly. Opened in the milk jug and tracked true into the news paper. No tumbling. The petals tracked with the bullet indicating that they stayed attached until the point that the bullet stopped. The petals were found that almost the same point as the bullet. The retained weight without the petals was 58g or 72.5%. The three petals that were located with the bullet brought the weight back to original 80g.
The full velocity test was with the same rifle with a load of 45g of IMR4451 giving a muzzle vel of 3335fps. This bullet was perfect in its deformation with a dia of .35" with a perfect flat frontal area to displace material perpendicular to the bullet travel. Retained 51.6g or 64.5%.
Very nice test. This bullet has traditionally been the most difficult bullet to get to open, particularly at low vel.
The next bullet is the .264 124g Hammer Hunter. This is one of my favorite bullets. We fired this bullet from a 6.5 Creed in a Ruger American with 8" twist.
Low vel was fired with a max load of 15.6g Trail Boss for a muzzle vel of 1556fps. This was disappointing to see as previously with other coppers the bullets did not work very well below 1800fps. On inspection of the milk jug we were surprised to see indications that the bullet had opened up. Sure enough after locating the bullet it had opened quite nicely. This bullet retained 115.5g or 93%.
High velocity for the 124g Hammer Hunter was loaded with 43g of IMR 4451 for a muzzle vel of 2775fps. Depending on what cartridge a person is using this could be a nice mid range impact vel. The bullet again performed perfectly with a flat square frontal area. Weight retention was 93.6g or 75%
We then did a retest of the 130g 7mm bullet that we designed a few days ago for a customer that has an 11" twist Lazeroni. When we tested the other day we were not able to get the 1.5mm hollow point to open at low vel so we redesigned with a 2mm hollow point and got good performance. We decided to test again with the new copper and the 1.5mm hole. It performed to perfection.
The low vel test was with a max load of 23g of Trail Boss from a 7WSM with a 7" twist barrel. This bullet kept one petal and the others were located next to the bullet also indicating that the probably would have stayed attached if not for the paper. Retained weight was 87.2g or 67%. Located petals brought the weight to nearly 100%.
The full velocity test was 68g of H1000 for a muzzle vel of 3200fps. This bullet fully opened and shed the petals in the milk jug. Another perfect performance. Retained weight for this one was 68.2g or 52.4%. We will be lessening the depth of this hole to bring the retained weight up to the 70 to 80% range for full vel impacts.
The last bullet we tested today was the .308 166g Hammer Hunter. We ran this bullet in a 30-06 Rem 700 with a 10" twist.
The low velocity test for this one was 19.3g Trail Boss (max) for a muzzle vel of 1365fps. I was sure that this bullet would look like it could be re loaded. On inspection of the milk jug it looked as though it may have opened. Upon locating the bullet, it stayed nicely on track and tried to open. It opened nearly to caliber. We were very surprised to see this at such a low impact as well as marginal stability.
The high velocity test was with 56.4g of IMR4451 for a muzzle vel of 2847fps. This bullet also had perfect performance. The milk jug with this one literally blew into multiple pieces. The weight retention was 119.5g or 72%.
We will still continue to recommend 1800fps as a minimum impact velocity for big game hunting as we feel that the terminal performance from the extra speed aids in tissue damage. The bullets today definitely indicate good performance at lower than 1800fps and individuals can make their own decisions accordingly.
What a great day testing. Very few range/testing sessions give perfect performance that is predicable. Our judgment on the formulation of copper turned out to be spot on. Feels good to get one right. Especially when it arrives in a quantity of 2500lbs.
Steve
