Need a favor...

[WV Hunter]

My son is going to do his science project this year on m/l bullets and how they expand and hold together.

The favor is...I need some bullet / sabot combinations to test out. Looking at testing bullets in the 240gr / 250gr range, with sabots (.44/.45) from my .50 knight.

I have some factory Knight bullets here...looking to pick up 4 or 5 more different loads to try out. If anyone has some they could spare a few of, I'd appreciate it. I'll be glad to pay you for them...just pm me. I just don't want to buy 5 whole packs of different bullet/sabot combos to test.

We are going to shoot them into lined up water filled jugs, I'm hoping that will work well enough to capture the bullets and give a decent result. Got the idea from Ron L's posts a while back.

Thanks, appreciate it. Any ideas or suggestions for this project are welcomed as well.

[dirt1008]

How far are you from me? I'm in parkersburg

[WV Hunter]

About 4 hrs...over near the eastern pan handle

[txhunter58]

You might also try some thick phone books/catalogs that have been soaked in water. . Another suggestion is wet river sand in a big box of some sort. Both might be good for multiple shots whereas jugs can only be used for one shot.

Also, if only comparing expansion of different bullets, I would use lower charges (70-80 gr)

[hubby11]

I could send you some Speer Deep Curls in .44/240 grains with sabots. PM me with address if you want.

[WV Hunter]

Hubby....pm sent, thanks!

txhunter....thanks for the tip on lower powder chg. I'll probably use 80gr.

[Semisane]

WV Hunter, does your son already have a plan for his experiment? If not, here's what I would recommend.

Compare the weight retention and expanded diameter of non-bonded and bonded bullets.

He could use non bonded XTPs and bonded Deep Curls in two different weights (250 grain & 300 grain) shot with the same sabot into the same media with several different powder charges (and with velocities recoded if you have a chrono).

With three shots of each bullet at 70, 80, 90 and 100 grains of powder into damp sand at 25 yards he would have 48 data points to display (80 data points with five shots), and the comparative results of two bullet weights and types of construction would be informative.

If he wants to keep it simpler, he could decrease the number of bullets compared to just two, either 250 grainers or 300 grainers, or decrease the number of powder charges. If he wants it more expansive, he could increase the number of shots to five or ten, or add additional powder charges.

Another advantage is you could buy a box of each bullet and a supply of Harvester short black sabots and have lots of bullets left over to play with yourself.

[WV Hunter]

Semi

Honestly, no he doesn't really have a plan yet. At this point, all he's done is turn in his idea. I think he has about a month before its due.

Good suggestion. When you say damp sand...do you just use bags filled with sand, or how do you accomplish that? How much would be needed to capture the bullets? That is probably better....been having a hard time accumulating enough jugs to be able to do alot of shots.

I'm all ears to what anyone has to say.

[Semisane]

Well, you will have to recover the bullet after each shot. So I think I would build an open top box with plywood. Something like a foot wide, a foot high, and two feet long, and have a hole about six inches in diameter in the "target" end. Then you could put a square of cardboard on the inside to cover the hole before you fill the box with sand. After each series of shots, slide a new piece of cardbord between the shot up one and the wood, and pull out the shot up one. That way each series of shots will be pretty much equal so far as what the bullet is hitting. To make each shot exactly the same, you would have to replace the cardboard each time or not hit a previous bullet hole in the cardboard. (Aren't kid projects fun? ) How old is your son?

[idahoron]

You can try some of my paper patched 460 gr bullets. Ron