Testing some rifle bullets - what would you do

[tominboise]

I am shooting some test loads tomorrow - 270 Win loaded with 4 different 130gr bullets, but the same powder charge, primer, etc. I have 5 cartridges per bullet, so 20 rounds total. I was planning on shooting four, 5 shot groups - one group for each bullet. But I have contemplated shooting four, 4 shot groups, of each bullet, and then one composite 4 shot group - one with each bullet. Just to see what happens with group size with mixed bullets. I guess I will decide after I have shot the 4 shot groups and see if there are any "screamers" that need that fifth shot.

 

[horsemen61]

Imho no sense in shooting 4 different bullets into one group something should shoot better than the rest shot 4 (5) Shot groups and let that be your guide make sure you let your barrel cool between groups

 

[BBarn]

Shoot your 5-shot groups round Robin to reduce the various effects from conditions over the course of fire. With about two minutes cooling between shots, it will take about 40 minutes total.

 

[Remington1911]

Take a rest between groups.

And it is not uncommon, at least I have seen this, for one bullet to like being pushed harder/faster/whatever over the next. If you are looking for something that likes this specific powder and charge you are on the right track.

 

[ms6852]

Interesting, I have never tested bullets in the manner you are doing it. All my tests were using the same bullets using 5 or more different loads with each load increasing slightly in increments of .2 grains. I then would select the best load that shot the tightest group. Once that test was completed I would select a different bullet of same weight and use the same loads as the first test and compare the groups to the first test and so on. I also would do the same thing with different weight bullets to see which weight the rifle liked best. I don't know that your method will be able to select the optimal node. I am just guessing though, please keep us informed and good luck. At the least you should have a ton of fun shooting.

 

[JDeere]

In your test you will find out which bullet likes the amount of powder you have used. I always take one bullet brand/style and load in .5 gr increments to do my 5 shot test with cooling in between shots to get groups. Conditions vary so I sometimes repeat the test with same loads.

 

[Remington1911]

In your test you will find out which bullet likes the amount of powder you have used. I always take one bullet brand/style and load in .5 gr increments to do my 5 shot test with cooling in between shots to get groups. Conditions vary so I sometimes repeat the test with same loads.

To me it depends on what you are going to be using this setup for. One shot, cool, second shot, cool......that is good for something like hunting where a second shot is not, or should not be likely. If you are doing timed matches, I will test with the fastest timed stage of that match.

 

[lightman]

I would shoot 4 5 shot groups then go back and shoot the best one again.

 

[tominboise]

I did shoot this morning. Here are the results. The rifle used in the test is a Winchester Model 70 classic controlled round feed, with a Mike Rock Barrel and a Six enterprises stock. I bought this rifle used years ago off the 24hourcampfire forum and have hunted with it and shot it quite a bit over the years. The scope is a Leupold VX-III 3.5-10X with duplex reticle. The rest is a Sinclair Varmint rest and a Protektor bunny bag for the rifle butt. I was shooting at our local range off a pretty sturdy bench, at 100 yards (not concrete but pretty hefty steel legs). The temp was around 45F and the wind was 5-15mph quartering left to right, blowing in.

The 110gr TTSX load was used as my standard and to foul the barrel. The squares are 1". As you can see, they all shot "OK". A flier here and there killed the joy on the Hornady and Nosler groups.

This doesn't really prove anything, other than I have all these bullets on my shelf and I wanted to see what would happen in this sort of shootoff. The Speers are BTSP bullets and the others are plain base, which I don't know if that has any effect or not here. I'll probably keep hunting with the TTSX's, sell the Speers and shoot the rest up at rocks and coyotes. I may rerun the test using magnum primers, mostly to see what happens to the groups.

 

[AJC1]

I did shoot this morning. Here are the results. The rifle used in the test is a Winchester Model 70 classic controlled round feed, with a Mike Rock Barrel and a Six enterprises stock. I bought this rifle used years ago off the 24hourcampfire forum and have hunted with it and shot it quite a bit over the years. The scope is a Leupold VX-III 3.5-10X with duplex reticle. The rest is a Sinclair Varmint rest and a Protektor bunny bag for the rifle butt. I was shooting at our local range off a pretty sturdy bench, at 100 yards (not concrete but pretty hefty steel legs). The temp was around 45F and the wind was 5-15mph quartering left to right, blowing in.

The 110gr TTSX load was used as my standard and to foul the barrel. The squares are 1". As you can see, they all shot "OK". A flier here and there killed the joy on the Hornady and Nosler groups.

This doesn't really prove anything, other than I have all these bullets on my shelf and I wanted to see what would happen in this sort of shootoff. The Speers are BTSP bullets and the others are plain base, which I don't know if that has any effect or not here. I'll probably keep hunting with the TTSX's, sell the Speers and shoot the rest up at rocks and coyotes. I may rerun the test using magnum primers, mostly to see what happens to the groups.

View attachment 1173504

I'd work on the Sierra and ttsx.....

 

[Hugger-4641]

At the least, I'd shoot more of the TTSX and the Noslers. The horizontal string of the Nozler group says the velocity is very consistent, and the flier could very likely
be a shooter error.

 

[ms6852]

I would reshoot 3 of your best groups with an increase of .2 or .3 grains of powder and see if the faster velocity will close the groups more as long as you are not going beyond recommended max loads. Some bullets need to be pushed faster. You will know when it is too fast as the group will spread more.

 

[41 Mag]

Too early, read 270 at top then saw 25-06 on tha target and thought what tha what....

I've had mixed results with the Speer bullet in several calibers. Seems the ones I REALLY wanted to shoot didn't and one that I was just curious about or ended up only having a few of usually did. Not sure why some of my rifles just don't like them, they are usually really good on game and priced pretty decently.

Since the oldest grandson has been working on a new version of the wheel with our 270, he has been using some 140gr bullets I had sitting on the shelf. He settled on a load using Ramshot Hunter and is getting groups similar to your TTSX and the Sierra out to 200yds. He's almost 22 and been learning to load most of his life. Being in his age bracket, I can just throw out tidbits of knowledge and hope they stick. It has been interesting for me to watch, knowing that close to 40yrs ago I was going through the same motions with the same rifles.

If I was earnestly looking into loading any of those I'd probably adjust the seating depth by .003 shorter and try them again.

Myself, I usually work up to a velocity level with my powder with the bullet of choice. Not looking for group respectively at that stage, mainly checking for pressure signs on primers or measuring ahead of the case head for expansion. Once I've managed the velocity range I'm looking for, I move on to seating depth. My loads are all for hunting so I start at mag well length and go in from there. Moving in .003 increments I can usually dial in a load in relatively short order. Then it just becomes a test of that load over a period of time to verify stability in different temp ranges. Some fly, some flop, but usually it's not hard to weed out the less desirables.

 

[AJC1]

In each group there seems to be a significant flier. The extreme of that flier changes the nossler and Hornady group significantly. Is it the first cold bore, the last shot with barrel heat or random. Some of the new carbon barrels get cranky on the 4th or 5th shot pretty consistently. I assume, and stand by for corrections that this was just an initial bullet test to see what the barrel likes and the winner will get a workup?

 

[tominboise]

In each group there seems to be a significant flier. The extreme of that flier changes the nossler and Hornady group significantly. Is it the first cold bore, the last shot with barrel heat or random. Some of the new carbon barrels get cranky on the 4th or 5th shot pretty consistently. I assume, and stand by for corrections that this was just an initial bullet test to see what the barrel likes and the winner will get a workup?

The Hornady flier was the last shot of the group. The Nosler flier was the #2 shot. The TTSX was also the last shot.

This test was just me messing around since I have ended up with 4 different bullets brands of the same weight. I normally settle in on one brand/bullet for any given weight in any given rifle. I only have about 60 of the Noslers (discontinued 130gr Solid base) and only about 30 of the Hornady left. I have a couple hundred of the Sierra's and of the Speers. I am going to reshoot the Speer and Sierra and play with the charge weight a bit. I will probably also measure the throat depth / seating length for the Sierra bullets and match the Speer to that.

 

[tominboise]

Too early, read 270 at top then saw 25-06 on tha target and thought what tha what....

Yes, I always take a few rifles along to maximize range time. It wasn't part of this test - I should have covered it up.

 

[41 Mag]

I am not bothered, it was just how I looked at the pic, nothing wrong at all. I wasn't as awake as I usually am at that time of the morning. LOL

It was my sleepy brain thinking OK 110gr 25-06 wait a minute what??

Oh and LOVE the Solid Base, and still have some that I sparingly use, for hunting purposes only. They can yammer about all they want the BT but it'll never be as good for hunting. I pretty much dropped Nosler when they cut the SB and then decided that 50 per box was plenty but let's not cut the cost.

 

[Thomasss]

I've had mixed results with the Speer bullet in several calibers. Seems the ones I REALLY wanted to shoot didn't and one that I was just curious about or ended up only having a few of usually did. Not sure why some of my rifles just don't like them, they are usually really good on game and priced pretty decently.

I have a couple of thoughts for you: First flat bottom bullets are thought to be a little faster at short range. Maybe you should do a chronie on them. Take that into consideration in these groups when looking at them. Second, why not throw out the worse shot in each group and review them again. It may give you a better view of each group. Finally, bullet seating is very important and if you don't know each bullet will have a different optimum seating depth for maximum accuracy. Give this all a good look over and tell us what you think.
If it were me, I would say you can do a lot better with the 25.06 Then there is a tie between the Hornady and the Nosler. Nosler is a hard bullet to seat and shoot accurately, but an awfully good hunting bullet with lots of shock value. Careful with the Sierra, if it is a Game King, they can fragment at high velocities. Speer has a scant bullet shape and so they can be hard to find a good seating depth, more like an all copper type bullet.