Digging bullets out of the dirt.

[SamT1]

Hey guys I was shooting some steel with 300blk the other day. 300 yards. I walked it up to the target watching it hit sand. Anyways when I went to see what my grouping was (fresh paint) I dug a few of my shots out of the sand and was shocked at how expanded they were.
They were 125grain nosler BT bullets, leaving the muzzle at 2400fps. So at 300 they aren't trucking very fast. Bullets retrieved were well over .50 and had lost 1/4 of their weight. I know dirt is hardly ballistics gel, but does that tell me they should still expand shooting animals at that range? Or is there nothing to learn from this?

 

[berettaprofessor]

Not even close to normal tissue; you won't be able to draw conclusions from it for animals.

 

[SwaneeSR]

Wow. If you are truly getting 2400fps near the muzzle with a 125gr Nossler BT bullet, that is better than a .30-30 for taking game.

I think the 300 yard shot is a little too far. Even the sand pile shows the bullet is performing well. I guess I would say that not all rifles, shooters, conditions and game animals are the same. However, 300 yards is a little too far for me.

Swanee

 

[horsey300]

Hey guys I was shooting some steel with 300blk the other day. 300 yards. I walked it up to the target watching it hit sand. Anyways when I went to see what my grouping was (fresh paint) I dug a few of my shots out of the sand and was shocked at how expanded they were.
They were 125grain nosler BT bullets, leaving the muzzle at 2400fps. So at 300 they aren't trucking very fast. Bullets retrieved were well over .50 and had lost 1/4 of their weight. I know dirt is hardly ballistics gel, but does that tell me they should still expand shooting animals at that range? Or is there nothing to learn from this?

A ballistic tip IS designed for long range expansion, HOWEVER!!!! if your impact velocity falls below 1800 fps and you do not wreck a shoulder bone, well, all bets are off and I hope you can track or follow up fast. Ask Loonwulf about axis deer with his Grendel load. They work.....kind of......but I think you're much better off staying at least 50 yds closer. If we accept noslers posted b.c. of .336 and hornady's calculator doesn't lie, at 300, your velocity is 1762. Look at the pictures nosler advertises their btip with at various velocities.....
https://www.nosler.com/ballistic-tip-bullet/
Your deer will think about dying at 300 but probably won't make up his mind for awhile... hornady sst activates at an advertised 1600 fps, but still not as dramatic as you would see at 2000+. I'm not saying you can't kill a deer at 300, only that there are better options and you're asking a LOT of that little cartridge at that distance. You have more frontal mass but ballistically speaking you just asked about .243 for deer at 500yds.....not saying impossible just not recommended.

 

[jmorris]

You learn its as much to dig in dirt as an adult as it was when you were a kid but that's about it.

Not only is "sand" one word to describe many different things but even the same sand will act very differently depending on moisture content. Sands can go from dust to a solid others can go in the opposite direction.