{"id":2139,"date":"2023-06-30T15:12:04","date_gmt":"2023-06-30T19:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/?p=2139"},"modified":"2023-06-30T15:12:06","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T19:12:06","slug":"choose-your-load","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/choose-your-load\/","title":{"rendered":"CHOOSE YOUR LOAD"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Craig Boddington<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Midsummer, hunting season a long way off. That makes it a good time to dust off Old (or New) Betsy and try her out with some different loads. It\u2019s never been a good idea to wait until just before Opening Day before getting in some serious range work, far worse today. Supplies are better today, but there are still shortages and back-orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There\u2019s no predicting what load a certain rifle will group best with\u2026until you try. This particular 7mm-08 likes Hornady<\/a>\u2019s inexpensive American Whitetail load, with plain old 139-grain Interlock bullet. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, maybe you can\u2019t find the brand you\u2019re looking for. Any factory load is just one assemblage of its four components: One bullet, propellant charge, primer, and case. Factory ammunition is wonderful today, but there\u2019s no predicting if any one load will shoot well in your rifle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, for accuracy, you try this and that. If you shoot a popular cartridge, something like 6.5 Creedmoor<\/a>, .308 Winchester<\/a>, or .30-06<\/a>, you\u2019ll get old or go broke before you try every load. You\u2019ll quit when you find a load accurate enough for your purposes. I have stacks of partial factory boxes, because, after just one group, I knew my rifle didn\u2019t like that load.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For utmost accuracy, serious handloaders use advanced techniques, such as weighing each case and discarding anomalies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Handloaders have a huge advantage. Oh, we can\u2019t always get the specific bullet, primer, powder, or brand of case we\u2019re used to, but we can surely find components that will work. Then we can put them together\u2026and vary the recipe infinitely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m a lazy handloader. I start with a bullet I like, usually a favorite powder, primers I\u2019m used to\u2026and whatever once-fired cases I have. To save range time (and components), I\u2019ll load just five, then another five with a grain or two more powder, and so forth. If I weren\u2019t so lazy, or if I was in search of utmost accuracy, then I\u2019d weigh cases and bullets for consistency, vary seating depth, and other tricks. Usually, I\u2019m thinking about hunting ammo, so my goal is to find a load that produces the level of accuracy I need to hunt with that rifle\u2026with a bullet that has the performance characteristics I\u2019m looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The four components of all self-contained metallic cartridges are: Case, primer, propellant, projectile. A factory cartridge is just one assemblage, while handloaders can vary all four to find the perfect recipe.\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With factory loads, we can only vary powders, primers, and cases by changing brands. At least with popular cartridges, we can usually vary bullets. Most manufacturers load several different bullets. Again, there\u2019s no telling what bullet or load a given rifle might shoot best. Some rifles are finicky, others or not. I had a Remington M700 Mountain Rifle in .280 Remingto<\/a>n, usually an accurate platform\u2026and usually an accurate cartridge. At that time, Remington was the primary source for .280 Rem<\/a>. One of my better editors once commented, \u201cRemington rifles tend to shoot well with Remington ammo.\u201d Though about it and agreed, but this darn rifle didn\u2019t shoot anything well. With all existing factory loads, it fired shotgun patterns, not groups. By this time, I had dies and plenty of once-fired cases. I looked up a random recipe and loaded up some Nosler AccuTip bullets. Good Lord, instant MOA groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That degree of finicky is unusual. Also unusual to get an exponential accuracy increase just by changing loads. Usually, differences between loads and bullets are very incremental. Since it\u2019s impossible to try everything, we usually limit experimentation to bullets that suit our purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep in mind that, ultimately, it\u2019s the bullet that does the work. Lots of brands, lots of weights, shapes, and styles, and different types of internal construction. With today\u2019s precise manufacturing, I don\u2019t think there are any bad bullets out there. Modern bullets do what they\u2019re supposed to do, but performance characteristics vary. When choosing bullets, it\u2019s important to know the performance you want. Then, you must cut through the hype and understand what a given bullet was designed to do.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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All-copper bullets aren\u2019t perfect, but are probably the toughest and deepest-penetrating expanding bullets, especially useful for larger game. This muskox was taken with a single 130-grain Barnes TSX in .270 Winchester, not a big gun for such a large animal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If I wanted maximum accuracy, I\u2019d start with match bullets\u2026understanding that, in some rifles, they may not be as accurate as some hunting bullets. Some match bullets are non-expanding \u201csolids,\u201d thus illegal for hunting in many jurisdictions. Many match bullets are hollowpoints, a design proven for accuracy, and hollowpoints expand, thus always legal for hunting. However, match hollow-points are designed purely for accuracy, not for terminal performance on game. Some hunters swear by them, but I fear them. When they work, they often drop game like lightning, but performance on game can be erratic. Match bullets are simply not designed for consistent penetration and expansion on game animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The more popular the cartridge, the more robust the selection of factory loads\u2026and the more likely you\u2019ll find a superstar. These are just a few of the options in .375 H&H, far and away the world\u2019s most popular large-caliber cartridge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Historically, the most common .30-caliber<\/a> match bullet was a 168-grain boattail. Today, we have .30-caliber<\/a> match bullets up to 250 grains. This illustrates a key point in bullet selection: Bullet weight overcomes shortcomings in bullet construction. If your accuracy standards are such that you simply must use match bullets for hunting, then use heavier bullets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hunting bullets must be adequately accurate for the game and shooting distances but are designed first and foremost for consistent terminal performance on game. On impact, expanding hunting bullets are supposed to upset or \u201cmushroom,\u201d creating larger wound channels.  However, a hunting bullet must penetrate at least to the vitals on the size of game it is intended for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some rifles group extremely well with all-copper bullets and, like anything else, some do not. Boddington\u2019s 40-year-old Joe Balickie .270, built before copper bullets existed, is one that does. The top right group was fired with 130-grain Hornady GMX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here’s where it gets complicated. Expansion is the enemy to penetration: The more a bullet expands, the more resistance it encounters. Thus, the more quickly it slows and must come to rest. Also, velocity is the enemy to bullet performance. Staying with a .30-caliber<\/a> example, the .30-30 <\/a>propels a 150-grain bullet at about 2400 fps. The fastest .30-caliber magnums might be 1200 fps faster. No bullet can perform equally across that velocity range. Obviously, bullets slow at greater distances. By about 500 yards, even the fastest .300 magnum has dropped to .30-30<\/a> velocity. Out there, you\u2019ll probably get reliable and consistent performance\u2026with less expansion. With fast cartridges, I start with a tough bullet that will hold up at the highest velocity, lest it come unglued if you draw a close shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Absent design feature(s) to keep them together, lead-core bullets usually have at least some of the lead wipe away. Not all bullets are intended to hold together and retain weight. Varmint bullets are designed for rapid, explosive expansion, for maximum damage on rodents, and to reduce ricochet. Big game bullets must hold together well enough to penetrate to the vitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you like to recover beautifully mushroomed bullets from game, then your best choices are all-copper bullets, top; or bonded-core bullets, bottom. Multiple brands are present in both groups.\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Provided I have confidence adequate penetration is certain, it doesn\u2019t bother me if a bullet isn\u2019t recovered showing a near-perfect, intact mushroom, or if loses 30 or 40 percent of its weight. Generations of hunters have been happy with the performance of good old lead-core bullets: Core-Lokt, GameKing, Hi-Shok, Interlock, Power Point. They often aren\u2019t pretty, but they work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More frangible yet are simple lead-core bullets with polymer tips, such as AccuTip and SST. Such bullets tend to be exceptionally accurate, but expansion is rapid. In my experience, these bullets drop deer-sized game like lightning. However, at extreme velocity they can come apart. Again, bullet weight matters, but I avoid such bullets for close shots in fast magnums, and rarely use them on game larger than deer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Properly testing loads for accuracy takes concentration, good bench technique, and lots of time. Long summer daylight helps, but in warm weather much time is lost to waiting for barrels to cool.\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Polymer tips increase aerodynamics and prevent battering in the magazine. Upon impact, the polymer tip is driven down into the bullet, initiating expansion. If you like to recover pretty bullets \u201cagainst the hide on the far side,\u201d then go to bonded-core bullets, which may or may not have polymer tips. The core is chemically bonded to the copper jacket, an additional process that increases cost. Just about everyone has them now: AccuBond, Core-Lokt Bonded, InterBond, Terminal Ascent, Trophy Bonded Tip, Swift A-Frame and Scirocco, more. Bonded-core bullets offer big mushrooms with high weight retention, often above 90 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For hunting bullets, bonded must be the way to go, right? Maybe, but it\u2019s never that simple. Bonded-core bullets are rarely the most accurate, or the most aerodynamic, and upset decreases at lower velocities. So, bonded-core bullets may not be the best choices at longer ranges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For sheer accuracy, match bullets are the logical place to start. This .308 Winchester group was fired with Nosler Match Grade. The only thing: Match bullets are designed for accuracy, not for consistent performance on game.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For years, the Barnes X (series) was the lone expanding all-copper (copper alloy) bullet. Today there are many: Copper Impact, CX, GMX, Trophy Copper, more. All copper bullets are hollowpoints, with a skived nose around a frontal cavity, the nose peeling back in petals to the limit of the cavity. Unless a petal breaks off, weight retention approaches 100 percent. Expansion is not as wide as with lead-core bullets, so copper bullets are deep penetrators. If you like through-and-through penetration with exit wounds, you\u2019ll love them\u2026but you won\u2019t recover very many. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expansion decreases along with velocity. And, since, copper is lighter than lead, aerodynamics cannot quite reach the off-the-charts BCs of today\u2019s low-drag bullets such as Berger and ELD. As with all bullets, some rifles love them, others don\u2019t produce their best groups with all-copper. You never know until you try. I use a wide variety of bullets, depending on my immediate purpose\u2026and what works best in a given rifle. Even with today\u2019s limited availability, there are lots of good options. Even though I\u2019m lazy, I don\u2019t give up experimenting with different loads, a perfect pastime for these long summer days at the range.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Midsummer, hunting season a long way off. That makes it a good time to dust off Old (or New) Betsy and try her out with some different loads.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[7,101],"tags":[8,19,39],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/7mm-08-group-Medium.jpg?fit=1147%2C768&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2139"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2139"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2140,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2139\/revisions\/2140"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}