Does bullet style matter ??

Pat B

New member
While at the range the other day, a thought came to me, and I thought maybe those with vastly more experience than me might have the answer. I have been playing around with powder charges trying to find as tight as a group as I can get. Particulars: .30-06, RP brass, CCI Large rifle primers, IMR 4064, Hornady 150gr soft points (flat base, interlock). Would I have to go though the whole process of finding the powder charge that 150gr Nosler Ballistic Tips like? Or can I just substitute Ballistic Tips and expect the same (or roughly same) performance? Thanks much ! .
 
It might work... Might not. If nothing else the other load data you have for the other bullets will give you a good starting point. Good luck.
 
One other thing... I would be sure to start at a lower charge and work up to your charge you use with the other bullets just to be safe
 
Pat B,
Using a one word response to your initial question (Does bullet style matter??) - ABSOLUTELY! And if I might add, your question is kinda opened ended (not to mention loaded) in terms of not stating what the purpose of your load is for. I know of nobody who uses their rifles for targets shoot that is gonna use a 150 gr bullet for accuracy purposes in target shooting. On the other hand, I've heard of several hunters using such a bullet for hunting. The aero is very different also in a flat nose bullet compared to say a HPBT not to mention the distance differences in performance. If range work is your thing and that is the accuracy your seek, might I suggest you try a good 'ole 168gr HPBT or a 175 gr HPBT that a Sierra rep has said produce the best accuracy on their testing of .308 and 30-06 rifles in target or precision shooting. I've also read about guys raving about IMR4064 as their "go-to powder", something I haven't tried as of yet in 30-06. RE15 has produced some really tight groups for me in 30-06, but saince you already have the 4064, good stuff to use from what I'm hearing from several sources. Lastly, each rifle is different. What works in my rifles, may not work in yours and visa versa. So as has been suggested, work up loads in YOUR PARTICULAR rifle and she what she likes the best. Just remember that aerodymanics of a bullets leads to better accuracy and consistency if you are chasing those 5 shots one holers. Good luck and have fun.
 
As far as min/max is concerned, it depends on which of the manuals you look at. In the Speer book, they list all their same caliber/weigh bullets with a single min/max load for each powder. This makes sense because with the same caliber and weight, you should have the same pressure and muzzle velocity.

What will be very different is down range performance. This is of course a product of the bullet ballistic coefficient. Again referencing the Speer manual, they list 5 different bullets in the 30-06 180gr catagory. All of them have the same min/max for 4064. The BC however ranges from .312 to .545, so very different down range performance.

If you subscribe to the theory that the timing of the bullet leaving the barrel and the harmonics of the barrel are what gives you accuracy or lack of it, same weight bullet, same speed equals same (similar) accuracy. In theory, based on my limited understanding, if all other factors are the same, and you have a powder weight that is accurate with a particular bullet weight, it should be accurate with different bullets of the same weight.

What will change is the POI though. Again, this is going to be based on BC and such, so if that changes, POI changes. Another thing that is subtle, but can have a great impact is the bullet jump (seating depth). Different types of bullets, even of the same length, will have the ogive at different lenths also. This will effect pressure and speed. So, this will also have to be the same for the different bullets to maintain the same accuracy.

Short answer, IMHO, is that if you have a charge that works with one bullet and is accurate, it should also be accurate with a different bullet of the same weight if all the othr factors remain the same.

Give it a try and let us know how it turns out. I'm curious to know if my thinking on that is right...

 
About 52g of 4064 is magic in th e30/06 with the 150's.

I don't know why you would want to switch to a ballistic tip with the hornady flat base interlock bullet being such a fantastic bullet....that is going backward...and I have shot a lot of both. The BT wil give you no where near the penetration on quartering shots.

Play with your seating depth with the 150g Horn flat base.

I am shooting 59g of H4350, 9 1/2 with the 150g Hornady flat base and 2950 is the speed with 1/2"-3/4" accuracy with a 3s-9x.

52g of IMR 4064 with cci 200's is 2800 in my rifle and 1/2" three shot accuracy.

The 150g Hornady flat base does have the interloc that locks the back of the core in the jacket, and brother does it work!
 
Safe reloading pratice requires that you lower the charge and work the load back up when you change any component. To suggest otherwise is potential for problems.
 
Agreed. The same powder charge may be the most accurate but just switching over without first lowering the charge then working up is dangerous.
 
Thanks for all the replies.
First, its for mixed bag hunting. Black bear, whitetail deer, and coyote.
Second, the load that is giving me an inch and under @ hundred is 51 grains of IMR 4064. I have a Lyman manual that lists 53 as max in that bullet weight. Too stout for my rifle (Savage m110). I fired two shots of 53 gr after using 52.5 and 52 and the 53g loads were hard extraction. Two shots, two hard extractions...... I stopped...besides the 51g load was giving me my best accuracy.
Third, I'm not into the real long range high accuracy type shooting. But I like 1 to 1-1/2 inch groups or so in my hunting rifles. Most shots I take are around 100, some @ 200 and occasionally (one or two a year) @ 300. If the game is more than 300 I try to get closer. Sometimes when I pop up to check to see where I am, it's 300.
Lastly, I have about a hundred of the Nosler Ballistic Tips. So I think I will play with them, and use them for coyote.
 
And just as an FYI, Speer also has the max for 6 of their 150g bullets listed at 52g of the 4064...so, like you said, your 51g load is well within max. Course, you should work up to that just to make sure...
 
2 different Bullet types of the same weight will almost never give exactly the same performance. If they do, it is sheer chance. Just because 2 bullets weigh 150gr doesn't mean they will both shoot well in your rifle.

They may have different ogive patterns which will affect distance to lands.

They may have thicker or thinner jackets which can effect how quickly or completely the bullet seals which affects chamber pressure, which in turn will affect velocity.

They may be different OAL, which affects available case capacity and again affects velocity and pressure. ETC.

They are 2 different animals and should be approached with indidvidual load development attention.



Ricky
 
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