What to do with these bullets....

[Riccochet]

These were some bulk blems being sold a few years back. Copperhead solid copper 55gr BT. I acquired these bullets from my father who no longer reloads. He never loaded them, and load data online is sketchy at best. Being copper they are considerably longer than lead core 55gr FMJ-BT's. Which has me leaning towards a longer COL of like 2.250" with a reduced charge weight. Then again, I don't really know.

Junk drawer to be forgotten, or load em and send em?

 

[troy fairweather]

i would use the data from the barnes. i think they have a 55 grain.

 

[edwardware]

Need a picture and a quantity to make an intelligent answer. If you have enough of them, and they're reasonably similar to Barnes, start there.

 

[Riccochet]

I have 600 of them. Hornady 55gr FMJ-BT on left, Copperhead 55gr BT on right.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Those do not look like all copper bullets, they look like common FMJ bullets. No special data needed, load-um and shoot-um.

Just because they don't have a crimp groove doesn't make them special, plenty of .224" bullets have no crimp groove.

 

[edwardware]

I have 600 of them.

600!? Use 20 to work up a pressure check starting with Barnes data, and you'll have 580 left, with loading data for your rifle.

 

[Riccochet]

Those do not look like all copper bullets, they look like common FMJ bullets. No special data needed, load-um and shoot-um.

Just because they don't have a crimp groove doesn't make them special, plenty of .224" bullets have no crimp groove.

They're definitely solid copper. I cut one in half.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

600!? Use 20 to work up a pressure check starting with Barnes data, and you'll have 580 left, with loading data for your rifle.

Those bullets do not look like Barnes all copper bullets. All copper bullets have several wide grooves cut into them to prevent excessive pressures. That bullet looks like a common cup&core bullet.

 

[Riccochet]

Those bullets do not look like Barnes all copper bullets. All copper bullets have several wide grooves cut into them to prevent excessive pressures. That bullet looks like a common cup&core bullet.

I cut one in half. It is definitely solid copper.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

That is strange, well then, considering those bullets are not all that long and have a BT I would think most data for a 55gr bullet will be fine. After all, you do have 600 of them.

 

[troy fairweather]

I cut one in half. It is definitely solid copper.

View attachment 821121

thats that fancy copper colored lead lol. what powders do you got to try.

 

[Riccochet]

Damn near the same tip to ogive length as the hornady. These bullets measure 0.804" long, while the hornady is 0.740" long. If I seat them the same COL as I do the hornady, 2.225", there will be roughly 0.064" additional length of bullet inside the case, reducing case capacity. Plus being a bit longer means a bit more friction when going down the barrel, increased pressure.

Think I might seat them to 2.250" and reduce minimum charges for regular 55gr FMJ-BT rounds by about 10%. Start there and see what happens. It's probably comparable to the Hornady 55gr GMX which is solid copper, or Barnes TSX, though those call for 2.180" COL.

Going to try CFE223, AR-Comp and 8202 XBR.

Honestly, I might pick up some of the Barnes TSX's and Hornady GMX's to do some measurement comparisons. I'd rather not blow my face off.

 

[troy fairweather]

i would seat .050 of the lands. all copper bullets need different load data.

 

[z7]

If you start low and work up, there should be little chance of blowing your face off, start with hornady (conservative) data for their GMX line and compare it to the hornady data on 62g fmj. if you pick the lower starting load you should be fine.

I would look at the 55g to 62/63g bullet load data from hodgdon and hornady and compare starting loads, then go with the most conservative.

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle

Below applies to a 223 Rem:
8208xbr has starting loads from hodgdon at 21.5g for a barnes 55g tsx and a 62g hornady vmax. a 63g SP has a staring load of 21.0g

I'd start at 21.0g

similar logic says 24 - 24.5g of CFE223 would be a reasonable starting point, a 63g SP has a starting load of 23.8g and a 55tsx is at 24.7g and 25g for a 60g VMAX

Please do your own research and compare, I think the internet has quite a bit of data out there that you can see where a starting load for a similar bullet should be.

 

[Riccochet]

i would seat .050 of the lands. all copper bullets need different load data.

I'll throw one in the OAL gauge and see what I get.

 

[k4swb]

Those bullets do not look like Barnes all copper bullets. All copper bullets have several wide grooves cut into them to prevent excessive pressures. That bullet looks like a common cup&core bullet.

You show your youth.
The original Barnes X Line had no grooves. Due to everyone complaining about high fouling and other stuff, Barnes started groovin'.

The original X Lines shot better for me.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

You show your youth.
The original Barnes X Line had no grooves. Due to everyone complaining about high fouling and other stuff, Barnes started groovin'.

The original X Lines shot better for me.

I wish it was youth.

 

[Random 8]

The bearing surface looks significantly longer, more in line with a 68BTHP. I assume you've confirmed the weight at 55gr. I'd like to see them next to a 62FMJ or 68BTHP. Not saying to do this, such would open me up to potential liability. If they were mine, I would reference 68 gr BTHP data in the faster burn range and load them to 2.250 mag length. They do not have any of the special pressure relief features of the Barnes or GMX.

 

[Riccochet]

The bearing surface looks significantly longer. I'd like to see them next to a 62FMJ or 68BTHP. Not saying to do this, such would open me up to potential liability. If they were mine, I would reference 68 gr BTHP data in the faster burn range and load them to 2.250 mag length. They do not have any of the special pressure relief features of the Barnes or GMX.

They're real close in length to a Sierra 69gr HPBT Match.

 

[lightman]

I would work up a load using my favorite powder with a few of them and then load the rest of them up.