Even at 200 yards BC does not mean much depending on your MV. The Barnes 225gr XPB for example has a pitiful BC but i can shoot them at 2300fps with ease. Its still extremely deadly at 150yards or more. It will still expand like crazy too.

Things become far more complicated when you need a bullet that performs as designed at 50 yards and 300 yards. Something has to give and its usually the amount of cash in your wallet.

I like the Parker BE but im very aware of its limitations at high speed impacts. You dont want to hit a high shoulder with this bullet. It makes a hell of a mess and will ruin too much meat.

Ive said for years a heavy 40cal SST type would offer better all around performance and a nice increase in BC. Pittman is getting ready to test a 225gr and 250gr 40cal with a high BC. Kinda like a Parker Match Hunter but in 40cal. If the 250gr will shoot in sabots it might be awesome in a fast twist 45. Im almost certain the 225gr will be fine in sabots even at smoker speeds.

The same can be said for monolithics. The Barnes 195gr pretty much sucks in the BC department and ive never gotten them to shoot as well as the 40cal SST. They shoot well enough for "minute of deer" but nothing to rave about.

Make a similar bullet of around 225gr or slightly more and you should easily gain 10% better BC. I would also like to see it in .401 instead of .400. The Barnes in a blue harvester sabot loads a little too easy. IMO its one of the reasons accuracy isnt quite as good as it could be. The base needs to be nice and flat too without a overly sharp radius. Barnes sent out a bunch of those 195s that tons of people had problems getting them too shoot because the base was screwed up.

I believe the tip can help BC if the aerodynamics of the whole bullet help to increase its' ability to move through the air. Just adding a tip is/will not always raise the BC significantly.

An example might be the Lehigh 40x230 and the 40x215.

40x230 with a BC of - .203 - which I was really happy with





40x215 with a BC of - .330. But Dave felt he could offer a higher BC with this combination. The HP is closed more than the 230 offering a more aerodynamic bullet.





Also this is the 452x265 without a tip - BC .173



452x274 with tip - BC .260





Even though the BC was raised enough to make this really interesting, to me anyway. The tip did not enhance the Terminal Performance of the bullet to Lehigh Dave's standards - he is finiky... So I believe he has dropped the project for now and is planning a different strategy/tip to keep the bullet performing to his standards.


This pic shows the 40x200 with a tip installed (middle bullet). It did raise the BC of the bullet but it was never confirmed, at least by me, that the bullet operated with the same Terminal Performance as the bare bullet...


screen capture




And as already has been suggest BC is really a function of the velocity of the bullet at the muzzle and at the POI

Sabotloader,
I shot 4 0r 5 Deer with the 200grn Bloodline with tips with the same performance as without. One was 225 yards. But i honestly dont remember if i looked for petals cause the results were the same. Do you still have any of those tips?

Yes, a very few maybe 5?

Thats plenty, i might need a favor ill let you know. I think i recently sent Gordy all i had but ill double check.

Works for me...

Me too! :rock:
Speaking of conicals.... Just had custom roundballs made-up so I improve my odds with pass-thru, without using more than 75gr of blackpowder.

"Speaking of conicals.... Just had custom roundballs made-up"???? Can someone tell me what one has to do with the other? And what is "custom" about them that will make for better penetration? Harder alloy?

I sent Ron some 200grn Bloodlines with tips. Will see how it goes. They can be put in all Bloodlines with minor size changes.

Ditto :party0005:

For the hunting I do at this point, putting the animal down is my main goal. I don't typically shoot long range, so BC is a moot point really. I want an accurate and deadly bullet. I'm like you Grouse, 95% of my shots are behind the shoulder. I think the Bloodline is a great solution. Interesting about the tips, never seen them before that I can recall.