Wind Gypsy
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Maker is an intriguing option. Anyone know if their BCs are accurate or inflated like hammer and many others?
Maker Bullets?
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MThuntr
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I've asked on a couple other forums nobody has confirmed. I'm willing to bet it's based on drop shots and lower than calculated
Don Fischer
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I have to wonder. So long as the bullet is properly placed, what difference does BC actually make? At x yds with a high BC the bullet only drops 24" But with a smaller BC the bullet drops 38". Doesn't matter how much the bullet might drop, shooter has to be able to deal with it.
I've shot a lot of Nosler bullets with supposedly inflated BC's. Hasn't really mattered much. Gotta verify anyway. mtmuley
p_ham
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With regards to hunting bullets, BC matters more for expansion velocity at intended range. Wind also has less effect and range calls don't need to be as precise. All depends on how far you shoot.
Wind Gypsy
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A primary benefit of a higher BC is in helping a bullet be properly placed. Drop is near the end of the list of BC benefits for hunting as muzzle velocity has a much larger impact on drop than BC does. In fact your imaginary scenario is way the hell outside of the realm of actual drop disparities caused by BC. Gravity is a constant that can be accounted for, wind is not and I’d guess significantly less than 1% of hunters have any appreciable skill when it comes to reading wind and knowing how it will change where their bullet impacts.
Retained velocity is another big one especially with monos (the topic of this thread) which depend on velocity for terminal performance.
For joe 6 pack who will never shoot beyond 200 yards BC isn’t particularly important in most cases. But for people who shoot further that are choosing between two bullets that perform similarly terminally, a better BC makes a bullet more attractive option.
A personal example: I have a 7mm load with 145 grain cutting edge lazers with a g7 BC of 0.274. The 155gr hammer hunter which probably performs similar terminally (requires a bit more more velocity actually) has a g7 BC of 0.206. So one has a wider velocity window for good terminal performance, goes faster at the same pressures, and will buck the wind way better because it stomps the other in BC. Strictly looking at performance [(edit for @mtmuley) on paper], it’s pretty damn easy to pick the winner there.
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Which Hammers have you used? mtmuley
Wind Gypsy
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None. Never been a use case where I found them particularly attractive but I haven’t shot monos much. Might try them for short range Midwest whitetail eventually.
Interesting. Strong opinions on a bullet you have never used. I hate Bergers. But the hate grew from use. mtmuley
Wind Gypsy
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A bullet with a lousy BC being unattractive to me is a “strong opinion”?
Maybe maybe not. Your quoting of numbers suggested you had shot them. mtmuley
Wind Gypsy
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My #'s came from Applied Ballistics' published numbers which is the best apples to apples comparison tool I'm aware of. Too many bullets out there to shoot and verify em all. Best I can do is look for reliable data to figure out which ones seem to fit my objectives best.
I'm curious what the possible negatives might be if using the low velocity bullets at higher speeds?
MThuntr
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Good question. With copper bullets I'm not sure you would have an "explosive" impact like you would experience from say a V-Max or a thin jacketed bullet Ballstic Tip since the base is still solid copper. Someone with more experience would have to chime in. Maybe it would act like a Partition pushed fast?
HandgunHunter
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I have seen some odd things (no better way to put it) from the handgun bullets by various copper makers when they go over 2000fps.
It’s not hard to get over 2k in a lever gun…..I’m normally just under 2k with a wheelgun.
MThuntr
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You can't leave us hanging with that...what happened? Like 44mag in a lever gun making them fly weird or tumble?
HandgunHunter
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It varies. Some brands become explosive mid flight. Some make mid flight sharp turns. Some explode on impact.
MThuntr
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Interesting...Sounds like they're unstable from being spun too fast (too fast of twist) vs being shot too fast. I have heard of this happening with jacketed bullets but haven't heard that from the copper bullets though bullet design may do it. Of course, I'm just speaking in hypotheticals and maybes. Someone with a lot more experience (maybe a physicist) could explain it.
Don't think you can overspin a mono; that seems sus to me. I've done it to a 75gr vmax out of a 25-06, though. The paper was peppered like a shotgun pattern.
I don't know about handgun bullets, though. Rifle bullets are built for the high velos. Even the .308 TSX made for the 30-30 handles extra speed really well from my grandpa's testing in his 300 win mag. The petals just act like a Hammer's and shed.
HandgunHunter
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My theory….and it’s just a SWAG is…..
They actually start to open changing the wind resistance.
I only get this with handgun bullets in big magnums. The 460 shows the most problems but all this can be solved with the careful load study.
A pistol cartridge lever action may open a whole new can of worms.
I’m over 1900 fps with a 7.5” 44 magnum Bfr and 200 grain cutting edge bullets….
MThuntr
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Trying these soon. Maker 150gr 3030 and 95gr for my 6.5 Grendel. The owner suggests following Barnes load data. Locally those powders are $54/lb so we'll see what I have to get close
