gopher slayer

i found some at my local gun store and was thinking of try some out. are they any good? is it very accurate in most guns? i just want it to thump some yotes so i dont need super accuracy. i like the idea of a 55gr bullet travling at 4000fps it just sounds like a good pest control round for around the farm. your thoughts.

statjunk

I wonder if a bullet traveling that fast through a gun that wasn't intended for that velocity, would it wear out the barrel?

Tom

driftrider

I suppose it'd be ok, but the accelerator's seem to be hard to come by, and expensive for a .22cal projectile. If you want to try them for the fun of it, go right ahead and let us know how it works out.

I'd suggest one of two options. Either start handloading and load your rifle with 110gr V-Max bullets (I'm assuming that you have a .30-06, or other .308cal). The other option if you don't mind buying a new rifle (and IMO the better option), would be to get yourself a .22-250 Rem, or if you really crave speed over everything, even the .204 Ruger. My personal choice was, and still would be, the .22-250 Rem. It's cheap, available, and factory loads seem to be accurate enough and are usually loaded pretty hot. It won't push a 55 grain bullet at 4000fps, but it'l get it to 3600, which is fast enough and easier on a barrel. If you want a truck/tractor rifle that's going to get beat around a lot rather than a nice varmint rig, I'd look at the H&R Handi-Rifles. They are cheap (around $200), durable, more accurate than they ought to be for the price, and you won't feel bad about the occational scratch from rough handling. That would be my first choice if I needed a truck gun.

Mike

USSR

Gopher Slayer,

The Accelerator rounds are not known for being accurate, and you can expect 2" or more groups at 100 yards. Since it is a sabotted round, the 55 grain .223 bullet does not come in contact with the barrel, so undue barrel wear is not a problem. You would be much better off loading or buying .30-06 ammo with a 125 grain bullet in it.

Don

driftrider

It's time to have HuntingNet's own version of "Myth Busters!" [8D]

Barrel "wear," or more accurately, barrel EROSION, is not caused by the contact between the bullet and the throat/rifling. The bullets simply aren't hard enough, or going fast enough, to actually wear the barrel. The cause of throat erosion is actually from the superheated, high pressure gases that are the product of rapidly decomposing nitrocellulose based smokeless powders. Just like water carved the Grand Canyon, high pressure/temperature gas carves out the rifling in the barrel a few molecules at a time, concentrated at the throat where the pressure and temperature are highest. If you notice, all cartridges that have the reputation as being "barrel burners" burn a lot of powder for their caliber (overbore) and are high pressure cartridges (60kPSI+). If you've ever shot a large volume cartridge you'll know that the barrel gets a lot hotter than a small volume case of the same caliber (i.e. .300Win Mag vs. .308 Winchester, .22-250 vs. .223 Rem, etc...). They also have in common high peak pressures. The combination of the two factors, aggravated by not allowing the barrel to cool between shots as is often the case with a varmint rifle, is what causes barrels to wear out. That's why it's critical, when shooting a magnum rifle, to allow the barrel to cool for 2-10 minutes between shots depending on ambient temperature to preserve barrel life, and why hard core prairie dog shooters rebarrel their rifles as much as once or twice a year and might take two or three rifles with them to dog town and alternate to allow them to cool.

Mike

SWAMPMAN

GopherSlayer,
Just some food for thought. the 7.82 Lazzeroni Warbird, with a 130gr catridge, will push that .30 cal at 4007fps. It's a heck of a lot more accurate than an accellerator. Much more expensive , though. The accelerator rounds should be a lot of fun, but they're getting hard to find in my neck of the woods.

Gundigest

I read in cartridges of the world that the accelerators were often as accurate as your gun. So if your gun shoots 1.5" at 100 yards than the accelerators should be close to that.

popeye

I tried the Accelerator in both 30-06 and 30/30 when they first hit the market. I think it was the late 70's maybe the early 80's; I'm getting old. Anyway, accuracy was about what you would get shooting regular weight bullets. By that I mean that they will not turn a 30-06 into a serious varmint rifle.

Give them a try but if you want a varmint rifle I would suggest something getting something more suited to the job. A 223 or even a 22-250 would be much cheaper to shoot than a 30-06 loaded with Accelerators.

DM

For the most part, that's been my expierence with them. You just have to try them in your rifle, just like any other ammo you would buy...

Drilling Man

Flying Ferris

So your saying that metal on metal contact of the bullet travelling down the barrel doesn't cause any errosion. Well jeeze, I might as well drain the oil from my car and drive it arround since that contact isn't wearing........ Yeah the throat is wore through the combustion gasses, but the faster something moves the more potential it has to cause mechanical errosion.