Originally Posted by
Big Z
SG,
I thought I read somewhere that the length and toughness of the copper led to the requirement of the "triple-shock" bands to reduce bering surface and pressure.
Anyways, let's pretend we have a copper and lead bullet of the same mass. The stabilization and velocity are not limiting factors in our pretend setup. They are both stabilized adequately and are shot at the same speed. They are both of a similar aerodynamic shape, but the copper bullet is obviously longer and sleeker to maintain the equal mass. Under what conditions can we assume that one bullet will be better than the other? Will the lead, with its greater density always have the higher BC? Will its density make up for its less-sleek shape?
If the length of the bullets is not limited the copper bullet will always have a higher potential BC.
This is the case with lighter for caliber bullets.
With the heavy for caliber bullets stabilization requirements will limit length and lead will actually have an advantage. So the answer to which is better depends on the application.