Bullet Question

[jaybez101099]

It getting a little slow on here so I have a question when it comes to the 250g-300g range. Is the overall bullet length important? Is there another factor that leads to your best groupings? Should the bullets be tipped(TEZ,SST)? Or a hollow point(Lehigh,Xtp)? I noticed the xtps i bought on here are shorter than my Lehigh's and Shockwaves. My feelings is the correct sabot is the #1 factor for accuracy as long as a quality bullet is chosen.

[Grouse45]

The sabot is the key for accuracy. The length of the bullet, diameter of the bullet, and speed of the bullet will determine the BC of the bullet. A longer bullet in most cases means better BC.

I would not worry about the BC of a bullet for under 200yd shots. I shot the Lehigh's with tips and with out. I saw hardly no difference at all out to 200yards.

[50calty]

I like the XTP for expansion. I know that Speer Deep curl is the same as the xtp. So those bullets would get my vote for a 300 grain.

[builder459]

The 300 gr bullet is the better choice, when taking long range shots. it carries more energy down range.a tipped bullet has better aerodynamics at any range, plain and simple. pick your poison accordingly. Ray

[lemoyne]

I have had the best results at long range with the 50/40 bullets with 200 and 210 gr bullets.I believe the high BC and the velocity obtainable are responsible.

[bronko22000]

I guess it depends on how far you plan on shooting. I have 8 MLs and 7 of them are sidelocks. And they all have a different appetite for powder, bullets, sabots, etc. The ranges I shoot at game are obvioulsly short. A 100 yd shot would be really pushing my limits with the iron sights and my old eyes so I like a heavy bullet with good frontal mass. I shoot mostly 300 gr XTPs in .429 or .451 dia depending on the rifle. I do have one rifle that prefers the 300 gr Shockwave bullet and another that likes the .50 cal 320 gr REAL bullet. My other 45 likes the 200 gr .40 cal XTP.
That 50/40 combination intriges me and I may have to try that one in my Knight which is my only inline and my "long range" ML.

[TheHuntingFamily]

I honestly prefer the Barnes Original in .458 300gr Semi Spitzer. It has a copper Jacketwith an exposed lead tip, groups in my Triumph 2" at 100yds with the orange MMP Sabot. These bullets have great energy and high weight retention. The only elk I have ever shot with it was decimated. It took a 22yd hit right behind the shoulder, I found several small pieces of heart in the juniper tree behind where it was standing. As you could imagine it died instantly. Check out this website for any question....


http://www.chuckhawks.com/index2h.muzzleloader.htm

[TheHuntingFamily]

BTW I use 110 grains of pyrodex pellets.

[Gm54-120]

I like Barnes Os also but they are a bit too tough for most ML speeds. Yes they penetrate but expansion can be iffy below 2000fps and 110gr of Pryo should not be anywhere close to that speed.

Even smokeless shooters want them at least near 2200fps. Ive seen too many pics of them with minimal expansion on game even at those speeds. Ive shot plenty of them and killed several deer with them but i found the Expanders or XPBs to be more reliable at sub speeds on thin skinned game.

jaybez101099

Yes, in many cases the longer bullets can me harder to stabilize. Either a faster twist or more fps can improve your results quite a bit. I shoot a Barnes 458-300gr SOCOM (its long) but it needed a minimum of 110gr for "ok" groups and 120gr of BH209 gave me the best accuracy. That also put it in its "sweet spot" of roughly 1900fps for terminal performance on game. I agree with Grouse also, under 200 yards BC is a bit over rated with MLs using subs. Ive compared .45X 300gr bullets with BCs from .200-.236 and POI is barely different. Past 200 yards and even faster velocity BC becomes a more noticeable factor.

Sabot fit is really important and my best loads are pretty tight with BH209. IMO this not only helps BH209 perform correctly but also imparts the rotational torque to the bullet better. I haven't really seen a accuracy difference out to 200 yards because its tipped or not tipped. At 100 yards the 250gr GoldDot with its huge hollow point shoots very nice groups in lots of guns. Nice enough i would bet they still shoot excellent out to 200 yards. One of my best 200 yard groups is with a Leigh 185gr and it also has a pretty good sized hollow point.

Try this calculator and just change the BC and see the difference. Ive found most ML loads only differ by about an inch at 200 yards even upping it to a .250 BC.
http://www.handloads.com/calc/

Ive found the 40-200gr SST bullet and the 40cal weights lemoyne mentioned to be one of the best flat shooters if you can get the fps up a little and that isnt that hard to do. Its BC at 2350fps is rated at .265 (by Hornady) which may be inflated but its a flat shoot none the less. Its a favorite of many 45cal owners too because it is also usually very accurate. Its about my favorite for long range target shooting only because it pretty easy to get the results i want on paper in my 45s.

[Grouse45]

jaybez101099 ,

After looking at some of the replies, the tips aren't an issue at all for 200yards and under. So this makes your choices pretty easy. Use a 250grn bullet or lighter, and shoot it as fast as you can with out loosing accuracy. I would use both MMP and Harvester to find the best load.