Long Range Rifle Bullet Energy and Drop Tables

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Ed Hale

My son and I often chat about long range considerations and yesterday we talked about Brian Litz new book Applied Ballistics For Long-Range Shooting 2nd Edition (I have read his first book) and the fact that Brian is shaking up the Long Range shooting world with his plain speak on rifle bullets, rifles and twist rates but using physics to demonstrate by numbers the rationale for changes in the shooting world. It may be too much for a novice but hopefully some of you have the desire to shoot long range. It is also the remaining bullet energy and bullet stability at long range that is sufficient to make the shot count. In a hunting environment, many of us are not skilled marksman to make a clean kill on a deer at long ranges beyond 300 yards because we have few places to practice at those ranges and calibrate your scope to a particular bullet and load. But let us say that we do have a place and you have a long range rifle such as a 6mm or 7 mm or a .308 caliber rifle. The key here is what are we doing when the bullet arrives, paper punching or downing a deer or elk? It makes a significant difference in that the deer and elk require lots of energy delivered by the bullet to enter the animals vital area,provide hydro-static shock, mushroom and exit the animal.

As I have said in previous articles that as a guide you need around 1000 ft-lbs striking energy for deer and around 1500 ft-lbs for elk and some include that at these energies the bullet should meet a speed criteria of 2000 fps for a lead bullet to mushroom fully(I think that this speed varies with bullet material and construction but is still a good guide). In order to calculate striking energy at a given distance you must know the bullet diameter, the bullets ballistic coefficient either as a G1 projectile BC which most of today’s bullet manufacturers provide on the box or the G7 BC.

Chronograph your bullet speed: Then we must measure the bullet speed using a chronograph. I use an inexpensive Shooting Chrony F1 Green. (Cost $100) For long ranges beyond 300 yards the bullet must be shaped to reduce drag thus a pointed bullet is needed. Further that the shape of the tip, the o-give or curvature of the head and the body and the tail of the bullet are critical in maximizing the retained downrange energy. Another component is the twist rate of the rifle to shoot some of these bullets at heavier weights. For example the .243 Winchester needs a faster twist rate than say 1:10 to shoot bullets above 90 grains. Above 100 grains the data provided by Brian in his book Applied Ballistics as well as his other books and DVD’s on shooting that the Long Range enthusiast should purchase to develop the technical skills and know how. Ok so you go to the range and shoot your bullets through a chronograph. Lets take for example my .243 Winchester which shoots a 100 grain bullet through my Ruger American 1:10 twist at 2820 fps and is amazingly still stable. It has a G1 ballistic coefficient (BC) of .373.

Calculate your drop table: Using the website http://www.jbmballistics.com/ you can go to the ballistics page and click on trajectory. There you can enter all the specifications of your bullet, BC and speed, zero range, temperature, humidity, wind speed and angle and distances you wish to chart the bullet to and it’s incremental data points. I calculate that my 100 grain bullet when zeroed for 233 yards is going to shoot 2.7 inches high at 100 yards and drop to 3 inches low at around 273 yards which is my max point plank range. This is all based on accuracy of the data. Now you can shoot to verify the data by shooting at 2.7 inches high at 100 yards and then shoot at a range for 200 or 250 yards if possible to see that there is a match for the data in the output of the data table. At 150 yards you will be 2.9 inches high, at 200 yards you will still be high by 1.7 inches and at 250 yards you will be below the zero point by 1.1 inches. I do not have a capability to test shoot further than 200 yards so that data point of 1.7 inches high will be key to see and validate. This data validation will give you great confidence in the field when hunting.

Wind is a factor that can make or break your shot on long distance game. For example I can shoot out to 273 yards as MPBR – Max Point Blank Range but with a 10 mph wind at 90 degrees crosswind the bullet is off target by 7.4 inches. So you must account too for wind speed and direction. If the wind is blowing into your face, or from behind then the wind can often be discounted to a degree for its lateral effect on the placement of scope crosshairs. By experimenting with the ballistic software you can see the effects of wind on the bullet. Good Shooting!

.270 Winchester vs 7mm Remington Magnum – December 2017 update

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Ed Hale

I wrote this article 5 years ago. since then a 7mm Rem with 168 g Nosler ABLR’s exit my Browning X Bolt 26 inch barrel of mine at 3005 fps. The .270 can’t do that. That’s why the 7mm shines for Moose at long range. Bigger bullets!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.270_Winchester

The .270 Winchester Cartridge is based on the 30-06 as its parent cartridge case.

Wikipedia image :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7mm_Remington_Magnum

The 7mm Remington Magnum is based on the .375 H&H magnum case.

First things first, on closer inspection we find that the 7mm bullet is really a 7.2 mm bullet making it .284 inches in diameter. The .270 isn’t really .270 inches in diameter either, it is .277 inches in diameter. The difference in diameter is a mere .007 inches. So given that minor difference what is the real difference? First and foremost the 7mm was designed to shoot not only heavier bullets but at the .270 150 grain weights which shoot at 2800 fps, the 7mm shoots them at 2900 fps gaining 100 fps on average. A gain yes but really not significant, at least to me. If you are trying to maximize the range and wring out all possible down range energy and distance at say 400 to 500 yards, the 7mm has a slight edge. If you are going to stay in the 300 yard range, the 7 mm only gains 25 yards over the .270 in a calculation of max point blank range. Are you going to quibble over 25 yards? Where the 7mm earnes its paycheck is at 160 to 175 grains exiting the barrel at 2900 fps and 2800 fps respectively and for game that are elk size at 450 yards with 1500 ft-lbs or 155 yards for Moose with the 175 grain bullet delivering 2500 ft-lbs. The .270 is at its best at 130 to 150 grain bullets killing Elk with 130 grain bullets out to 360 yards, deer at 505 yards say some sources. The 140 grain 7mm bullet kills deer out to 575 yards a gain of delivered energy and only picked up 70 yards.

All that said, powder being increasingly expensive, if you want it all, every lick of distance, and have money to burn, the 7mm wins but by very little except for 160 and 175 grains where the 7mm has an edge for bigger game like Moose and better sectional density. But if you were going to hunt larger game regularly, the 7mm is not the caliber of choice. A .300 Winchester Magnum is better with a bullet selection that goes from 140 grains to 200 grains and more versatile or the .338 Winchester magnum where the 200 grain .338 delivers 3800 ft-lbs at the muzzle at 2955 fps. Now we are talking about how to handle recoil in a serious way too. In my case I skipped the lesser 30 caliber and went for the .338 Win Mag in Africa and later to the .375 Ruger. Currently my 2 gun battery is the ~~.243 Winchester~~ 6.5 Creedmoor or .270 Win (not in my gun cabinet today) and the .375 Ruger and both wear Pachmayr Decelerator pads that cut felt recoil in half. Making both guns easy to shoot.

If you have the “money to play” then own them all. If you are strictly a deer hunter then the .270 is the most widely used, and most effective besides its parent the 30-06 cartridge. Reloading brass from the 30-06 to .270 is easy and very cost effective and cases are everywhere. For Moose its max range is 150 yards and deer with 130 grain spitzers at 500 yards with 3000 ft/sec at the muzzle. From a practical cost effective application deer hunting standpoint the .270 is the winner between them. From a versatility standpoint and wider application the 7mm wins too. It is all about what you hunt and the max ranges you encounter. When I hunted Africa (see my book in the magazine header) I took the .270 and a .338 Win. Mag and hand-loaded them with Nosler Partitions® resulting in one shot kills and shooting no farther than 250 yards.

I have fallen for the 6.5 Creedmoor in 2017 to partner with the 375 Ruger which took a bison at 100 or so yards. The .270 and 6.5 Creedmoor are nearly identical and either will work superbly for their intended quarry as Winchester game classification as CXP3 rifles. Below is a bison I took with the .375 Ruger and 260 grain Nosler AccuBonds traveling over 2600 fps. The AccuBond entered at the last rib on the right and angled forward through heart and lungs and exited the far left shoulder breaking bone.

Ruger American .243 Winchester : Power + Accuracy = Wow

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Ed Hale

Many are aware that I like the Ruger American in .243 Winchester as I tested it and bought it a few years back. See my article on Rifle Tests. I shot it out of the box with Nosler 90g E-Tip deer loads and they shot sub-MOA at 100 yards and retails for under $400 dollars.

Since then I have toyed with 55 grain heads from Nosler and shot MOA groups at velocities in the 3500 fps class making it an outstanding Coyote rifle. But I also wanted a deer rifle with which the 90 grain e-Tip, as great as it is, wasn’t the only bullet that I could shoot. I was aware that with 100 grain heads and a 1 in 10 twist rate is a not so great combo for bullet stability e.g., that bullets could be unstable and even keyhole on the paper. I am here to tell you that I shot several 100 grain bullets with Speer’s Spitzer Boat Tail and every shot was true. I pushed the round with AA 3100 powder and RL 19 and they both shot well at 2500 fps which I think is slow yet adequate for deer out to 150 yards. I pushed the round today to nearly 2700 fps and the cartridge and standard CCI 200 primer did the job in stride and with room to spare. So I will look for the limits on this bullet, powder and rifle combination. Every rifle slightly different, even in the same model. But while I was at it, loading the Speer at 41 grains of AA 3100, I shot a 3 shot group at 50 yards that was basically touching each other. I just shot not knowing the group size and I was pleasantly surprised. See below. One thing you have to remember well is that this rifle cost less than 400 dollars and shoots like a $2000 rifle.

If I were target shooting for score at 600 yards in F class Competition this would be my load. For deer hunting you want power, reach, accuracy to a minute of angle at 100 yards, penetration and mushrooming this combo makes it harder to find that perfect load. But I found one none the less.

This load is perfect out to 200 yards which is most of the shooting on the east coast that most will do unless you are bean field hunting in the Carolina’s, then you will need a big power and accuracy too maybe out to 400 – 600 yards. I hope to write next month about the Nosler 26 as my Nosler friends are trying to get me a rifle and ammo to test.

375 Ruger Load Tests

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Ed Hale

Today I tested the .375 Ruger M77 Hawkeye African with three totally different loads and two completely different bullets of shape and grain weight yet at 50 yards they all hit the same spot within an inch from one another. This speaks to the unbelievably enormous versatility of this cartridge. A member friend Andy at my club observed and verified the shot groups.

The lower bullet at 5 o’clock was a Speer 235 grain spitzer round nose bullet chrono’d at 2122 fps shooting a load of SR 4759.

I used the Hornady book for 375 H&H and slowly over time worked up my own loads starting very low, all the time inspecting the case and primer for signs of over-pressure. This reduced load I intend to use as a deer/bear load out to 100 yards delivering 1800 ft-lbs of energy. Recoil is similar to a muzzle loader. Use of software such as QuickLOAD is also highly valuable but expect to pay $150 for it. If you are a real wildcat load developer this, I hear, is a great tool. This software, I believe, does not have SR 4759 listed for load development.

The higher bullet hole at 1 o’clock was the same Speer 235 grain but traveling at 2430 fps with a starter load of IMR 4895. I extrapolated this too from the Speer Manual from the 375 H & H tables. This reduced load I intend to use as my 200 yard shoot anything load for Moose, Deer or Bear developing 3100 ft-lbs at the Muzzle. Do your homework and be safe. Recoil is very manageable in a standing hunting situation equivalent to shooting a 30-06 with 180 grain heads.

And finally the almost 12 o’clock load which was a 260 grain Nosler AccuBond® Spitzer crono’d at a whopping 2738 fps that has killed a 750 lb Moose and a 850 lb Bison to date. This load was taken directly from the Nosler Reloading Manual using RL-15 Powder.

The Accubond, left. This load develops 4350 ft-lbs at the Muzzle and an deliver 2400 ft lbs at 375 yards to drop a Bull anything with good shot placement and fantastic penetration/mushrooming of this Nosler AccuBond. At right in the above photo is the 300 grain monolithic solid for Elephant.

This load is intended for Moose, Brown Bear and large African game. It is fine for Cape Buffalo, the Cats, Nile Croc’s, Hippo’s and plains game and is used to take Elephant, though a larger bore is recommended for close shots at a a testy tusker.

Standing, this round is easily tolerable with a Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad and a t-shirt.

At the bench which is where I was to shoot this I had a Decelerator Pad and a strap on shoulder pad and it shot fine with the resultant recoil spread out making it an easy shot.

I have been shooting this .375 Ruger in the M77 Ruger African since around 2008/2009 and I just love it so much for its looks, its accuracy, versatility and it’s ability to pack a whallop when you need it. The Cartridge brass has been reloaded many times and has paid for itself many times over. This is still classified as a medium caliber. I am no youngster these days but I shoot this rifle just as if I were one, and you can too. If this article gets you interested as it did a shooter from Texas last month then let me know. This round is known for less destruction of surrounding edible meat then the ultra fast calibers. If you are a hand loader this caliber is simply a blast to shoot! Pun intended!

Top 5 Deer Rifle Cartridges for New England – Updated for 2017

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Ed Hale

This is my Top 5 Cartridge List is for hunters who do not hand load and want access to cartridges at any Ammo store.

New England is a mix of heavy cover and transitional farm land. That said, lighter, more frangible bullets limit the shooter to open spaces. A 100 grain bullet that hits a twig at 3000 fps is not going to stay on the intended path for long.

My Number one New England rifle cartridge choice for hunting in heavy cover or open spaces is the 30-06 Springfield. It can shoot bullets from 100 grains all the way up to 220 grains. Best deer killing bullet weights in moderate cover are from 150 grains to 180 grains.

My Number two New England Choice is the .270 Winchester with 130 and 150 grain bullets. The parent cartridge is the 30-06 case. If I were hunting heavy cover, this would not be my second choice. Works well in moderate cover to open space.

My Number three Choice is the .308 Winchester and does nearly all the 30-06 can do in all field conditions. Best bullets in 165 to 180 grain weights.

My number four Choice is the 7mm-08 which is like the .270 Winchester but just slightly less powerful. The parent cartridge is the .308 Winchester case. Good choice of Bullets for all field conditions. Best bullets in the 140 to 160 grain weights.

My number 5 choice is the 30-30 Winchester. It is a proven deer killer and has taken more deer than perhaps any other round. It is good for moderate and heavy cover at 150 grain bullets that are flat or round nose. Great in Lever action.

Bullet choices are tops with a bonded core or an expanding gilding copper bullet. This is so because these bullets do not shed much weight as they mushroom in shape. All other lead bullets work well but may shed more copper and lead in the deer if velocities are too high such as 2700 fps and higher and damage edible meat.

For young hunters or new hunters it is all about recoil. Shoot a rifle such as the 243 Winchester with 80 grain bullets or so. Or an above caliber with a Pachmayr decelerator recoil pad or a Sims Vibration Lab Recoil Pad. This will cut felt recoil in half. © 2013

Update for 2017 is that the 6.5 Creedmoor. I predict, will, in time, become a top 5 cartridge as it will replace the 7mm-08 and 243 for young and new hunters and become a favorite for all hunters and target shooters. Very low recoil! Very high Sectional Density for penetration.

Ballistics for Northeast Big Game

Posted on August 10, 2013 by Ed Hale

I liked to think that I know something about ballistics. The more I study ballistics the more convinced I am that I know very little. I learn that External Ballistics is the study of a bullet passing through air as it goes down range which I do study as in bullet drag and ballistic coefficients (BC). Terminal Ballistics is the study of what happens when the bullet strikes big game such as deer bear and moose. It has been documented by many hunters that New Hampshire deer are killed at an average distance of 40 yards. External ballistics in the case of a 40 yard shot are of less importance in the travel of your bullet than Terminal Ballistics when it arrives.

Field hunters on the other hand encounter game at longer ranges such as out to 200 or 300 yards need to be concerned with both External ballistics so the bullet gets to the target with as much energy as possible and deliver that energy in the form of lethal Terminal ballistics so the bullet must be streamlined as in a spitzer or ballistic tip of some kind.

Those of us that hunt in the woods of northern New Hampshire know that sometimes a shot at 40 yards seems long. Bullet selection for ballistic performance in this situation is to shoot a round or flat nose bullet. (Oh don’t get me wrong you can shoot pointed spitzer bullets too and I do) but they don’t give up their energy on the animal as readily as a flat point or round nose. In fact the some pointed bullets penetrate so well that they are still screaming along after exiting the animal. I have been a fan of long range spitzer bullets for years, mostly as a result of salesmanship. No matter what the range. Serious study points out that in Africa for example a round nose or flat point are preferred to put down game that can rip you to shreds, or as I like to say in the case of Cape Buffalo that catches you on his horns and do the “Mexican Hat Dance” on your body. Why is it that Dangerous game Pro’s stay with round nose or flat point bullets? It is because the distances are very short thus bullet BC or streamlining is not needed. What “is” wanted is to hit dangerous game with a preverbial barn door. Verses just poking a hole in and through the animal. A round or flat point bullet spends its energy faster inside the animal, and shots are usually less than 100 yards such as those encountered by Moose Hunters. A compromise bullet that is the best of both worlds is to shoot a spitzer bullet that has a soft nose or one that is designed to expand fast on impact though you still don’t see these compromise bullets used on dangerous game. African Professional hunters (PH) prefer round nose because they are time proven to leave more energy in the animal and not in the bullet.

All that said, Bullet placement is key to all of this. The best hunting shot is really not a heart shot unless you have a rest or shooting sticks and can make the shot. The higher percentage shot is higher, just above the heart and center lung shot performing what doctors call a bi-lateral pneumo-thorax or double lung shot. Why? The lung kill zone is 8-10 inches instead of 4-6 inches The arteries above the heart can be damaged by the shockwave alone and perform an instant kill via hydraulic shock to the brain but combined with entrance and exit holes in the hide and lungs the deer succumbs in mere seconds. I want my bullet to still pass through the deer with punch. This will make for great campfire arguments to last until bedtime.® 2013

Buying new 22 Long Rifle Ammo- and shooting the old stuff

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Ed Hale

When you can get some; The 22 Long Rifle Cartridge is perhaps the most popular rifle ammo in America today and it is in short supply at your retailer as I have written before.But is the old stuff you and I store at home for years just as good? Read on!

If you are just target shooting then standard velocity is just fine at around 1050 fps in a bolt action rifle. In a semi-auto you will lose some of the velocity as the gas ejects the spent round and a new one is chambered. Today sub-sonic 22 LR are great to have for pests in the back yard but they will not eject in a semi-auto. I have seen these recently on shelves along with CCI 22 short ammo so the stock is coming.

My Marlin rifle loses perhaps 50 or so FPS from published velocities. My father always kept a good supply over the years and I followed suit. Dad has passed away but his legacy lives. Dad bought it when it was on sale for 3 or 4 dollars per 100 rounds.

If stored correctly in a dry safe and secure location, this ammo is likely just as good as when it was made. Since I have access to a chronograph, I decided to check out the velocities of some major brands that have been kept for 10 years or less in the family ammo can. Most brands that say High Velocity are typically 1200 or so FPS for a 40 grain round nose. Since I hunt with them I want a faster bullet like the High Velocity type.

The first 5 shot batch I tested were Remington HV that have been around for 10 years since my Dad had them. The average velocity was 1123 the spread was 56 fps. One round dropped to 1043 fps and pulled the average down.

The second 5 shot batch of Winchester Super X HV 40 grain heads I shot was as old as above. The average velocity was 1130 with the spread at 58 fps.

The third 5 shot batch was CCI Mini-Mags with 40 grain heads and were the same age. The average velocity was 1177 with a spread of 38 fps

The fourth 5 shot batch was newer 1-year-old Federal 38 grain Hollow Point. The came out at around 1180 fps with a spread of 30 fps.

The total variation was less than 30 fps.

I have some older stingers but honestly the packaging was so good that they look brand new, bright and shiny.

If age of 10 or so years has caused a degradation, at all, it is appears minimal in my small sample.

This is a very small sample study for sure but the data trend is goods. It is important to get bullets that are plated to some degree as they are resistant to oxidation.

So when the shortage is over and it will be, then over time stock up so you don’t get caught in the same situation. I ran into a fellow today that has built stock of 22 LR ammo of 10,000 rounds but is holding them like gold bullion. Personally for the average occasional shooter buy a brick of 500 rounds and when it is 1/2 gone buy another brick. It is important to buy what shoots well in your guns so don’t rush out a buy irrationally. Test what works best in your pistols and rifles. Patience is the key! Happy shooting and Hunting! ©

Hunting Cartridges for New Deer Hunters

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Ed Hale

Photo from Wikipedia Rifle Cartridges http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cartridge_Sample_2.jpg:

“Various Cartridges Left to Right:

1) .17 HM2; 2) .17 HMR; 3) .22LR; 4) .22 WMR; 5) .17 SMc; 6) 5mm/35 SM4; 7) .22 Hornet; 8) .223 Remington; 9) .223 WSSM; 10) .243 Winchester; 11) .243 Winchester Improved (Ackley); 12) .25-06; 13) .270 Winchester; 14) .308 Winchester; 15) .30-06 Springfield; 16) .45-70 Govt; 17) .50-90 Sharps”

This list is missing many cartridges but an example nonetheless.

I grew up as a youth in a household that made summer shooting in the back yard a priority mostly with a .22 caliber rifle, a single shot with open sights. We grew up fast and jumped to the 30-30 Marlin which has moderate recoil and also to the old lever action 38-55 with a metal buttplate. These are not in the list above but we learned to shoot them well at 50 yards or less.

These rifles were a significant jump from the .22 caliber but a given because that was what was in Dad’s gun cabinet. These were not bad choices at all as recoil was not overwhelming and accuracy was just fine with open sights out to 50 yards. Better accuracy if we had a tree nearby to brace the rifle. The key here for the dad finding a new or existing rifle for a son, daughter or wife for that matter to shoot where:

The rifle is light enough to carry in the deer woods and fits the shooter. The length of pull for youth is around 12 inches and adults a bit over 13 inches on average.
The recoil is manageable to prevent flinching
The cartridge and bullet have enough energy with a well structured bullet to cleanly kill a northern whitetail deer.

The ubiquitous 30-30 Winchester in a lever action is one of the best northern deer cartridges as its recoil is low and good for close hunting to 150 yards but is not a varmint rifle for long range. It will put out the lights of a Coyote in a hurry though. A fine choice.

The .308 Winchester has similar recoil and has much more versatility in a bolt action rifle and when hand loaded it has the versatility that makes this cartridge shine. An excellent choice for a 12 year old with state of the art recoil pad. I would also strongly consider the 7mm-08 which is a necked down .308 Winchester to shoot 7mm bullets and if hand loaded can be shot with bullets and less recoil but later can be pushed up to 175 grain bullets and hunt Elk as the .308 can do. Hornady makes a Customlite™ Cartridge with a 120 grain SST® for a reduced load http://www.hornady.com/store/7mm-08-Rem-120-gr-SST-customlite/

I have written here about the .243 Winchester recently in NH Rifleman in particular because it’s recoil is very low. In fact, recoil is lower than the above cartridges. When coupled with a 90 to 100 grain bullet the .243 Winchester can kill a deer or antelope out to 300 yards with a 90 to 100 grain bullet.

See this 10 yr old drop a nice buck with the .243 Winchester. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEQufGzShVc

The .243 Winchester is a 6mm bullet and is also a great target cartridge, great for varmint and predator and deer alike. And when the twist rate of the barrel is equal to or faster than 1:10 twist where the heavier 90 to 100 grain bullets are used, it is deadly on deer The 243 Winchester or the similar shooting 6mm Remington is a great all around cartridge for any shooter young or old.

A good bullet for deer in .243 Winchester is a bullet and jacket that has been bonded together, or a partition type bullet such as the Nosler or the newer all gilding copper bullets that I have tested here such as the Nosler E-Tip. I think the E-Tip is an ideal bullet because it flares, and stays together maintaining most of its original weight.

For larger calibers such as 30 caliber and higher, the Partition and AccuBond made by Nosler are fantastic as they expand and stay together driving the bullet in and through the vitals.

Next above the .243 is the 257 Roberts, a fine light recoiling cartridge that make the jump to big game easily like the .308 Winchester but not as popular today. Today there are reduced loads that can be purchased for youth hunting too.

Other bullet manufacturers abound such as Hornady, Sierra,Speer, Barnes and more. What about the 30-06 and .270 Winchester for youth?

There is no set rule here you see. The problem becomes complicated when the shooter dislikes the recoil and fears the kick. Once that has happened you have a shooter with a flinch and it takes time to get the flinch to go away with proper training. It takes away from the hunt too.

It is best, with say a 10 to 12 year old to be a keen observer of recoil issues and alway train them with a state of the art recoil pads such as the Pachmayr Decelerator or the Sim’s Limbsaver. They come in slip on varieties too. You may have to shorten the stock to fit the younger shooter too. Bottom line is to train with ample recoil protection. Out in the field the shooter that pulls the trigger often did not feel the recoil when a deer is in their sights as adrenaline is pumping into their body.

600 Yards at Nashua F&G with the Savage 10/110 Predator in .243 Winchester

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Ed Hale

The 600 yard Rifle Range at Nashua Fish and Game was the place to be yesterday. The day began bright and sunny with little wind and the temperature was in the 60’s, ideal for long range shooting.

While setting up the Savage 10/110 Predator in .243 Winchester , I photographed some of the custom target shooting rifles (Below) that were too heavy to handle. Note the white strip above the barrel is a heat diffuser to reduce scope distortion. This rifle is likely shooting 6mm (.243) or .308 ammo. The Scope is set up for ultra long range beyond 25x. I think the shooter said this scope can crank to 50x if he wanted it.

The camo rifle below had no scope just a sophisticated peep and front site.

Back to my story, I had just proven some loads a few days before for the Nosler 90 grain e-tips using an accurate starting load of IMR 4350 using CCI Benchrest Primers.

The new Savage 10/110 .243 Winchester shot sub-moa groups of around 3/4 inch with a trigger pull of 2lbs 2 oz. I could likely do better if I fussed with the powder or seat depth of the bullet but this was satisfactory at the get-go. Below is the Savage 10/110 Predator.

I switched out the Nikon Coyote Special scope with circle reticles to the Leupold VX-1 I was testing. The Leupold had the crosshairs I needed for such a long distance. So in the rainy downpour yesterday I got the scope and rifle to bullseye the Nosler’s at 100 yards.

Being such a stickler for details, I did not want to go the 600 yard range and guess at how many clicks up on the Leupold to get me to 600 yards so I calculated it. Here is how I did it. Using the Hornady Ballistic Calculator in my web header above, I entered the caliber, speed of the bullet from the Nosler loading book and the ballistic coefficient for that bullet, in this case I chose the G1 drag function is for a standard bullet shape. I could have chosen the G7 Drag Function for a Long range boat tail but didn’t know enough about these functions to mess around. I chose the range to 600 yards in the Calculator and hit the Calculate button. Reading the resulting upclicks for 600 yards it read 14.9 MOA (Minute of Angle). To calculate the upclicks multiply that number times 4 for a scope with 1/4 inch MOA per click at 100 yards, the answer was 55 clicks up. I knew it was not perfect because I was not able to Chronograph the bullet speed but the data in the Nosler manual was good enough to get me on paper and in the black. I shot the first one at about 15 inches high and adjusted the scope down 5 clicks after 5 shots and that put me in the 10 ring where I was happy to just shoot for group. I watched the flags for when to shoot between small gusts of wind and was pleased to place all but one in the 10 ring and 2 in the x-ring. The group of 7 shots is estimated to be less than 6 inches vertically. That is excellent making the group sub- Minute of Angle. Note: A five mph wind can blow the bullet sideways 10 inches at 600 yards. The combination of the Savage Rifle , Leupold Scope, bullet, powder was a good match RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX.

After the shoot, I went back to my club range and cranked the Leupold dial back down 50 clicks and shot a 3/4 inch group in the 100 yard bullseye. The Leupold VX-1 is a fine scope indeed for a hunting scope and proved itself today. The LR Long Range Reticle is explained below (it is a bit pixelated sorry) but at 600 yard they were too short for my use and would have to be proven in with each load. I believe you need access to a range that allows you to experiment with loads to get the Reticle to work properly at long distances. My club rifle range is only 150 yards.

This rifle is a top long distance rifle. I would take this out west for antelope at 300 yards with the load I was shooting or 400 yards (1000 ft lbs) with the Nosler Custom Factory Loads for the 90 grain e-tip that drive the bullet to 3200 fps. Expansion on game is ideal!!

The No Spin Zone – Effects of Twist Rate on your Bullet

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Ed Hale

Above is a photo of the micro-groove twist rate of this 35 Marlin barrel.

First and foremost bullets that do not spin or that do not spin fast enough have no long-range accuracy. Accuracy is a relative term. If you are happy with your bullets accuracy at the distances you shoot, then all is well in the world.

On the other hand, lets say you want to elk hunt out west so you work up a load for your pet .338 Winchester Magnum shooting 250 grain bullets and you can’t get a one inch group out of any load. In fact your best load is 2 inches. Using the 6 inch rule of thumb for a kill zone that would restrict you to a 300 yard shot. True? Yes. But first let us understand why your rifle shoots the 2 inch groups with the 250 grain bullet no matter what you do with powder, bullet seating depth, bullet manufacture etc.

The fundamental question is:

Do you understand what bullet twist rates are doing to the bullets you want to shoot?

I did not for years.

What is the twist rate of your rifles? Don’t know? The truth is most of us don’t know what the twist rate is for the rifle you shoot. For those of us who are experimenters and want to understand what and why, this article is for you!

My reloading manuals talk little about twist rates and resultant effects perhaps because they are trying to sell you bullets and powder.

For years I just accepted the twist rates and tried to reload bullets and use powders to maximize or tighten my groups. In some cases, no matter what I did the groups would not shrink. Enter Sir Alfred George Greenhill.

From Wikipedia; In 1879, Greenhill developed a rule of thumb for calculating the optimal twist rate for lead-core bullets. This shortcut uses the bullet’s length, needing no allowances for weight or nose shape.^[3] Greenhill applied this theory to account for the steadiness of flight conferred upon an elongated projectile by rifling.

If I can calculate twist rate for a given bullet then I can match those bullets to my rifles twist rate.Or get another barrel to shoot the bullets I want.

If you are not sure of your rifles twist rate you can measure it with a cleaning rod and the distance it takes to rotate one full turn. You can do this by placing a tight fitting patch and rod in the muzzle end, making sure the rod spins as the patch is pushed is key here. Before pushing, take a marker and place a mark on the rod near the handle. As you push the rod the mark will begin to rotate. When the mark has made one full rotation stop and place a mark on the rod where it enters the barrel. Remove the rod and measure the distance to the patch, say ten inches. This means that your barrels twist rate is 1 in 10 inches and is displayed as 1:10 twist rate.

Armed with this knowledge in hand you can use Sir Alfred George Greenhills formula to determine what twist rate is needed to shoot the bullets YOU want to shoot.

A classic case in point is the shooter that owns an AR-15 and his groups get worse as he goes above 55 grains to either shoot long distance or hunt larger game. Finally the 70 or 80 grain bullet spin so slow as to key hole in the target.

The shooter knows the twist rate is 1:12 and finds out by using the Greenhill Formula what twist rate is needed to shoot an 80 grain bullet for his .223.

$Twist = \frac{C D^2}{L} \times \sqrt{\frac{SG}{10.9}}$

where:

C = 150 (use 180 for muzzle velocities higher than 2,800 f/s)
D = bullet’s diameter in inches
L = bullet’s length in inches
SG = bullet’s specific gravity (10.9 for lead-core bullets, which cancels out the second half of the equation)

To make it easy on ourselves click on the red Greenhill Formula above and enter the data for an 80 grain bullet length, diameter and velocity. Lets enter 1.17 for bullet length, .223 for diameter and 2900 fps for speed and hit enter. Twist rate recommended is 1:8 twist

From the website for the Greenhill formula we enter the data.

	inputs	outputs
bullet length	in	twist in
bullet diameter	in
muzzle velocity	fps	errors
bullet SG
bullet SG values:	11.3 lead 8.9 copper 8.5 brass 7.8 steel

November 2024

Category Archives: Bullet Tests and Reviews.