swift scirroco
 

i am thinking of loading some 150gr. scirroco for my 7mm ultramag, currently using 150gr. nosler ballistic tips but not happy with the jacket seperation. will the scirroco be close to the nbt for accuracy and have better penetraion without seperating? was also considering the sst bullets. can ya help me out here! thanks ultramags

RE: swift scirroco
 

I shot a couple of boxes last summer in my 280, and never could get them to group very good. Two to three inches at 100 with most powders. The polycarbonate tip and the skinny ogive makes it hard to seat them close to the rifles for one thing, but even seating them longer than my maqazine, I never did get a good shooting load. For compaison, I can get five shot groups with nosler bt's under an inch on a regular basis, and the 140 bx will average about 1.25-1.5" Im sure the scirocco bullet will stick together better than ballistic tips, but my accuracy results were sort of disappointing. I think I have a few of them left, you have perked my interest now, I might go load a few up and stick them in some does next week and see what happens. Good luck.

RE: swift scirroco
 

I have used the 180 grain Scirocco in my .300 Weatherby on deer and have been less than pleased. I specifically chose the Scirocco for this rifle because of its bonded core design. I felt it would perform better at the higher velocities than conventional bullets.

I have not lost a deer using this bullet, but I have experienced unneccessary meat damage because they expand too much in my opinion. My first experience was on a whitetail shot in the left ribs at a distance of about 25 yards. Muzzle velocity was about 3,150 fps, so it was still probably traveling over 3,000 fps on impact. I expected to find an exit wound, but instead, the bullet ended up under the hide over the right shoulder. Instead of making a straight wound channel through the ribs, it veered left, hitting the right shoulder and damaging meat I would have liked to have saved. This was because it had peeled all the way back to the base. There was virtually no bullet shank remaining and it was flat as a pancake. A bullet won't behave predictably if it doesn't retain a good portion of the shank.

In a high velocity application at close range I don't think these are the best bullets to use. They will kill, no doubt about it, but they don't behave predictably enough once inside the animal in my opinion. You may end up with more meat loss than what you want. I think they are better suited for milder velocities. However, if meat loss is no concern, then I would have to say these are as good as any other bullet out there for deer sized game.

RE: swift scirroco
 

I ran the SST over the NBT this fall in my 7mm Rem Mag. They performed well and were actually more accurate than the NBT at all ranges...thats why I used them. I shot a large buck(300+) through the rib and angled to the left shoulder. Bullet enter in the right rib, trashed both lungs and tore the top of heart clear off. It then smashed through the left shoulder leaving a 4" hole and no bullet to be found. The left shoulder was trashed (meat wise) and it literally almost plucked it from his body(it was only held on by some meat and hide). I range found the distance at 125 yards and as you can guess he dropped in a heap.

I was very pleased with the performance, I would not hesitate to shoot them again, when hunting deer.

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RE: swift scirroco
 

My 7mm RUM is a 700 LSS with tapered barrel and muzzlebrake. I shoot Scirocco's exclusively and have 1/2 minute groups. I'm not loading it too hot though. Bullets kill everything I've hit with it on the spot.

To the guy who posted his 25 yard shot ruined the meat; You aim for the head at that close range to minimize meat damage with any caliber, imho. That close and you were critical of bullet failure? I feel the bullet was lucky to not vaporize out of a 7mm RUM! The deer was euthanized very quickly and if you're worried about meat damage take a different caliber, take a differnt shot angle or wait for a longer distance.

RE: swift scirroco
 

You know, Swift did an excellent job marketing this bullet. They marketed it as a flat, high wieght retention, bonded boattail that would fly like a Bullistic tip but stay together like a bonded bullet. I wanted this bullet to work so bad. But I gave up. I can get .5" to 1" groups at 100 yards with my 300RUM with most bullets, but my groups were the worst with these. Around 3" consistently. I can't figure it out. I have went around talking to several shooters and about 1 out of 10 people get them to tack drive. Even the coreloks do better. But do you know what will shoot like no bodies business in my gun? Those gold plated gazillion dollar A-Frames!! And I can't afford to shoot them.

RE: swift scirroco
 

I'm wondering if the bullet has too long a shank and the jacket(100%) copper is too sticky for it to work in all guns. As far as shooting something at 25 yards that would be reach for any bullet made these days especially at that velocity..only thing that would survive might be a failsafe,x bullet or a solid.

RE: swift scirroco
 

Let me expand a little bit on my previous comments. I hunt from a stand and 99% of the deer I shoot are brousing around and never have a clue they're being hunted. I'm very selective about the shots I take. I always, and I mean always, go for a broadside shot through the ribs so as to minimize meat loss. The situation I described was no exception, it was a perfect broadside shot behind the shoulder.

I have shot numerous deer with the .300 Wby, most at 50 yards and less. The Scirocco was the first bullet I've used in this rifle that has failed to exit. I've used Nosler Partitions and Ballistic Tips, Hornady SSTs and Interlocks, Speer Grand Slams, North Forks and so on, and all of these produced straight wound channels and exited when placed behind the shoulder.

I don't consider the performance I achieved with the Scirocco a failure and never said so. It probably did exactly what it was designed to do. The .300 Wby demands a lot from a bullet and quite frankly I'm surprised by the results I've gotten from some of the other bullets so far. If all you're interested in is putting the deer on the ground, then the Scirocco will do that, no question about it. But in my limited experience with it so far, at high velocity it peels back farther than I would like for it to.

It's not my intention to dissuade anyone from using this bullet. I'm just trying to provide some objective information, so people might know what to expect when using it in a high velocity application. I'll probably keep using it some myself. I'd prefer it to retain more of it's shank, but I can't complain about the accuracy I'm getting and the way it poleaxes deer.

RE: swift scirroco
 

I'm confused.....when you're spending $3,000-$5,000 on a hunting trip......is $42 for 50 bullets a big deal???

Buy the bonded swift A-frames and get on with life!!!

RE: swift scirroco
 

I too have not been able to get the scirrocco to group well in my rifles.Then again the partitions and a-frames don't group a lot better either.Ballistic tips cut those groups down from the 1-1/2" to 2" range down to 1/2".I was really hoping nosler would offer the new accubond in lighter weights as I have no use for a 200gr bullet in my 300ultra or a 160gr bullet in my 7mmstw.

RE: swift scirroco
 

I have trouble with the Scirocco in my 300 RUM as well. The best I have done is about 1 1/2 inch with Rel 25. Everything else is all over the place. On the other hand, I get 1/2 to 3/4 inches with Nosler Btips in the same rifle.

RE: swift scirroco
 

i am new to the 300rum, i just purchased one, and not having the ability to reload yet, i bought the 150gr scirroco off the shelf. my gun is a sendero, and it is scoped with a 6.5x20x50 leupold. i shot the gun for the first time and it shot 1/2 in groups with the factory bullets. i have not shot anything with hair yet, and will not be able too until nov 2003, but if the accuracy is the same, i will shoot the scirroco. i see there is some concern about bullet performance on game, such as meat damage. i have shot deer with 22-250 and up, and have had damage with all calibers with not so perfect shot placement. that was several years past. nowadays, the patience and placement are there. if it goes on the table it gets it in the neck or head. if it goes on the wall, it gets it low in the lungs.
my only real question is this: how can a bullet be considered a failure if it still killed the quary? dead is dead. placement of the shot is what spoils the meat.
is there a real possibility for a bullet to be misguided once inside of a deer even with 150gr bullets at or above 3000fps, and would this tendency be decreased with lower muzzle velocities?
i have hunted for years, and never really gotten into the debate over bullet performance on animals. i have yet to loose an animal with shot with a gun, so i will call all of my hunts successful. are there things i should be looking for on recovered game?
when i was younger i shot a small doe facing me, with a 7mm mag at about 225 yards and disemboweled the animal. could that be considered too much expansion? the bullet traveled the entire length of the deer and took off the right rear leg. should the bullet have stayed together and not did all that damage? maybe a heavier built bullet? the round in use was a core lock 140gr.

RE: swift scirroco
 

Keith,
If the Scirocco's group that well shoot it. This bullet is designed specifically for the ultra high velocity of the RUM line and Weatherby's. I've only killed 2 deer and an antelope with mine and the animals were quite dead quite fast but that's not many animals. The gun grouped well with my handloads. Remington doesn't load the scirocco in the 7mm RUM for some odd reason yet but does for the 300.

RE: swift scirroco
 

soonershooter, remington does in fact load the scirroco in the 7mm mag, but i have not seen the loads for the ultra mag. the scirroco that i shot in my 7mm mag sendero didnt perform as well as the 150gr for the 300rum, but is close to satisfactory. they are a little pricey, at $26 per box for the 7mag, so i started handloading the 140gr nosler bt. great shooter with 61gr of imr4350. my next batch i will try the nosler with a little more powder, maybe 63gr and another at 64.5gr. might be good medicine for those tough 80lb whitetail does we have around here........lol

RE: swift scirroco
 

Keith, your results with the 150 gn scirrocos interest me. I have a 300 rum sendero sf. It shoots 3/4 moa with 180gn scirrocos. With the 150 gn, the three shot group opens up larger than 2 inches at 100 yards. I figured the little bullets couldn't handle the speed. Both figures are with factory loaded ammo. My dies are already ordered, so reload testing should be soon. Just proves that different guns prefer different rounds.

RE: swift scirroco
 

recoil, i would like to hear of your recipe for the 300rum. i have a set of dies on the way, like oal and charge. i am going to try the 150gr and 165gf nosler bt. i shot the gun again and duplicated the previous groups, so i am quite satisfied with the bullet, but not the price.
it is my understanding that the scirroco is designed to shoot the higher velocities developed by todays hot rods. i have yet to try the heavier bullets, but if i cannot get better accuracy out of the handloads i will continue to spend the money on the 150gr scirroco.
i am not sure the 150gr nosler will hold up well with a heavy charge, or at higher velocities. i would dare say i will not shoot any deer at close ranges (under 100 yards) with that bullet if it shoots well.
we have an overabundance of does on our hunting property, so it is nice to try different rounds out on live critters. we have used all manner of calibers and loads, and the worst damage we have seen by any bullet was the factory loaded core lock, in 7mag and 300mag. a whole lot of damage, and a whole lot of dead deer. they work amazingly well at killing, but the damage we have experienced has been a little brutal......lol

RE: swift scirroco
 

Keith, I don't have any recipes yet. The dies came in this week but I forgot to order the shell hoder (my Lee dies come with shell holders). My accuracy comparisons come from store bought factory loaded ammo. As far as damage to the meat goes, I shoot close deer in the neck. Last year I shot a 90 lbs doe in the neck at 15 yards. I don't think any bullet could have caused less damage. The exit wound was not much bigger than the entry wound. The doe didn't take one step. The increased accuracy lets me take the long shots that I enjoy. This year I shot a nine point at close to 400 yards with a 180 gn scirroco. I shot him in the shoulder and meat loss wasn't too bad. I'm gonna give the Nosler ballistic tips a try as soon as a get the shell holder.

RE: swift scirroco
 

Oh yeah, around here (Alabama) you can easily be forced to pay $46 for a box of 300 rum scirrocos. As a matter of fact, the least I have ever paid for a box is $38. Reloading seems to be the only option for someone who likes to shoot year round like me!