Rebated Boat Tail bullets

[J E Custom]

I don't often disagree with J E but will make an exception this time i made .308 rebated boat tail bullets for years, and still do on occasion. They are not more difficult to make, you simply use a different tooling for the base. I've shot literally thousands of them and they were as accurate as anything I've ever shot. I once posted a pic of a 1.18" group on this forum that was shot at 880 yards with some of my 190 grainers.
Once, I modified the base on some SMK's
and tested both side by side at 100 yards. They both shot extremely well but the rebated ones shot slightly better. It was a small test and I never tried to repeat it so I can't say positively that it might have reversed the next time? I posted a lot of pics years ago of these bullets on this forum. I would not be at all afraid of them if you choose to try some. My opinion....rich

Sorry Rich
I rarely disagree with elkaholic (Rich) ether and this time is not one of them. I stated that I could never get them to shoot "AS WELL" as some other bullets in my rifles. Rich even shared some of his bullets a long time ago with me to try. They shot very good but I had one load that shot better and I decided to stay with that load until i found something better.

Being older, I build all of my rifles with conventional or slightly faster twist rates so most bullets work well. I don't want to build a rifle around a certain bullet and find out that it hates that bullet and that nothing else will shoot in it, so i stay away from this concept and like barrels that will shoot many different styles of bullets for there versatility based on need.

As I stated earlier, I tried the RBBT bullets a long time ago (In the 70s) and could not make them shoot in my rifles. The idea is good
and they should shoot well. Over the years, I have tried them and never found them to best the conventional bullet styles of the time. we are learning more and more and maybe someday I will master the RBBT bullet. (It took a long time to figure out how to make the Berger's shoot with lots of free bore, so maybe one day "I"will figure out the same with RBBT bullets.

Not to patronize rich, but his were the best i had ever shot. but one load shot better and its hard not to use the best accuracy load you find.

I load almost every style and brand of bullets because rifles that like some bullets will hate other styles. So I keep my options open to get the best from all my rifles. The hunt continues.

J E CUSTOM

 

[elkaholic]

That is exceptional bc! I am sure we were doing it wrong when we tried the rbbt, but for our bullet design it was like dragging a parachute. Accuracy was stellar though. Maybe someday we will try it again. To me it all makes sense. Not sure why it didn't work for us. We figured that it had something to do with why none of the big manufactures offer the rbbt and never looked back. I'm not sure why there is so little of this design on the market if it is not responsible for poor bc as we experienced. Maybe Rich can shed a little light with his thoughts?

Steve

I really couldn't say why your b.c. was so low with the rbt? That's kind of a head scratcher without seeing the bullet.
I'm pretty sure that knowing you, you didn't shoot it backwards!

 

[elkaholic]

Sorry Rich
I rarely disagree with elkaholic (Rich) ether and this time is not one of them. I stated that I could never get them to shoot "AS WELL" as some other bullets in my rifles. Rich even shared some of his bullets a long time ago with me to try. They shot very good but I had one load that shot better and I decided to stay with that load until i found something better.

Being older, I build all of my rifles with conventional or slightly faster twist rates so most bullets work well. I don't want to build a rifle around a certain bullet and find out that it hates that bullet and that nothing else will shoot in it, so i stay away from this concept and like barrels that will shoot many different styles of bullets for there versatility based on need.

As I stated earlier, I tried the RBBT bullets a long time ago (In the 70s) and could not make them shoot in my rifles. The idea is good
and they should shoot well. Over the years, I have tried them and never found them to best the conventional bullet styles of the time. we are learning more and more and maybe someday I will master the RBBT bullet. (It took a long time to figure out how to make the Berger's shoot with lots of free bore, so maybe one day "I"will figure out the same with RBBT bullets.

Not to patronize rich, but his were the best i had ever shot. but one load shot better and its hard not to use the best accuracy load you find.

I load almost every style and brand of bullets because rifles that like some bullets will hate other styles. So I keep my options open to get the best from all my rifles. The hunt continues.

J E CUSTOM

I was using Sierra jackets which I found worked better than most others

 

[Greyfox]

Hear is an excerpt from an RBros review article that quotes David Tubb on the "rebated" 6mm DTAC...

"David Tubb: Here are couple of reasons that the RBT design was selected. These are not based on the RBT being a ballisticaly superior to a conventional boattail design. If the new DTAC 115 RBT was produced in a conventional boattail shape the G1 (1000yd) BC numbers would be very close.

The Rebated Boattail design was selected because;

1. Easier to precisely hold tolerances when manufacturing the 7 degree boattail angle– most conventional boattails have 9 degree angles (or greater).

2. RBT more efficiently opturates to the bore of the rifle barrel when fired. (Mimics a flat base bullet design). This will allow the RBT design to extend your accurate barrel life by reducing gas leakage around the bullet when fired in a worn 6mm throat."

Full article: http://rbrosrifles.com/new-6mm-115gr-dtac-from-david-tubb/

 

[Pdvdh]

I suspect major bullet manufacturing companies avoid RBBT dies for some simple, straightforward reason, such as the RBBT design is harder on their manufacturing dies, than the conventional boat tail design.
I have no insider information, however I have received Nosler AB bullets in the past that were larger in shank diameter at the junction with the boat tail than forward from that point. That would be a high wear location during manufacture, was my conclusion. If RBBT bullet dies wear out faster, then manufacturers would avoid them.
I've never thought the RBBT design had any exterior ballistic advantage over the standard boat tail. In fact I have read some claim it causes a slight reduction in BC value.

 

[ohnomrbillk]

The high volume manufacturing requires a setup more like a punch press. It works better for the tooling to skip the rebate.

low volume manufacturing using a hand press has advantages with the rebated.

I agree with what Tubb said concerning potential accuracy increases. I think the BC is similar.

I swage my own RBBT, and have been happy thus far, but my volume isn't high enough to be statistically significant.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

There is no advantage to bc that a RBBT can offer over a traditional boat tail. If the rebate is too deep it has the same problem as a conventional boat tail, drag increases rapidly.

The only benefit is a cleaner release. If the rebate is perpindicular, concentric and fairly sharp, the muzzle blast wont overcome the projectile as easy as a traditional boat tail.

 

[Swamplord]

Have been shooting the Chinchaga RBBT bullets in multiple cartridges the last few years and can confirm that accuracy can be stellar, bc's tend to be less than Berger and the new Hornady ELD bullets in similar weights but still higher than other mass produced hunting type bullets on the market,

In the past year I've been testing turned solid copper RBBT HP hunting bullets of my own design and a similar trait exists to their jacketed lead brothers, accuracy is awesome and at times better in several barrels over that of popular target type boat tail bullets in turned copper solid form, it appears there is no real way to improve bc's of a RBBT bullet over a standard target type BT bullet given the weight and shape is similar but a new design can shorten that gap somewhat

my attempts were to create a 338 cal RBBT bullet with exceptional accuracy coupled with guaranteed expansion on game at any range while offering a decent bc, specifically designed for my 338 NM Imp wildcat hunting cartridge to run in the DSSF 3.850" Accurate Mag magazines, the current bullet works great but the testing will continue with an updated design, a tip that will address the bc loss due to the large HP opening and a revamped rebated boat tail to streamline the bullet to reduce drag

 

[tim_w]

Those sure do look very nice. Do you have any pics of recovered bullets from game shot?