Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters APRIL - Ask John Barsness Questions About "FLAT-BASE AND BOATTAIL RIFLE BULLETS"

Well another good read for sure. Always enjoy these and thanks for writing them.
Here in the North East we are limited in ranges where we can open it up to the Western distances. The flat base Speer and other brand bullets work very well in our one to three hundred range window, but your not going to hear that from many guys on the benches on a Saturday afternoon........
The straight scoop is always a welcome reminder.

John, very good article. FWIW, I've recovered every bullet I've shot deer with, if they didn't pass through. It's a very interesting pursuit, and though educational, CAN at times pose some real questions. One I'd like to add, is whether you've noted any "improvement" in Speer's "Hot Core" flat base bullets' retaining their cores, vs. more conventionally formed flat base bullets? I've never gotten anything but excellent expansion from the Speer bullets I've used, and I've used a fair number of them for one lone hunter.

I think the story of the flat base vs. boattails is a lot like most everything concerning ballistics - there's a LOT of factors acting that we don't always consider, or even know about. Sure keeps a fella' humble!

Blackwater,

Sorry I missed your question!

The Hot-Cor bullets, contrary to what some believe, aren't "bonded" because of the molten-injection cores. This can be easily proven by putting one in a vise upright, then hacksawing it down from the nose and prying the jacket away from the core. Dripping hot lead into a cold jacket isn't anything like the typical bonding process, which involves swaging the core inside the jacket first, then heating both until the core melts slightly, essentially soldering it to the jacket.

In fact, a Speer Hot-Cor was one of the very few bullets I've seen lose the jacket immediately when it hit an animal. It was 105-grain 6mm, started at 2800 fps from a .243 Winchester. The deer was a forkhon whitetail buck, and the range around 200-250 yards. The bullet hit a little high, and the core went into the spine, breaking it, but I found the empty jacket right at the entrance hole when I skinned the buck. On the other hand, have never had that happen again with a Hot-Cor.

At the other extreme, years ago I used 140 Hot-Cors from a .264 Winchester Magnum at 3200 fps to cull deer on a ranch, and they all penetrated completely, with no sign of coming apart. Also have a 165-grain .30 Hot-Cor in my collection shot into a whitetail buck maybe 100 yards, as the deer ran angling away. Muzzle velocity was around 2800 fps, and the bullet landed in the rear of the ribs on the left side. Found the bullet perfectly expanded, retaining 85% of its weight, in the right shoulder.

Eventually I concluded that Hot-Cor performance depends on several factors.

Thanks. I've long had the idea, and that's all it was, that the hot core process MAY bond some jackets, but probably not all. Your observations kind'a lend at least a little credence to that "opinion." I've never personally had one separate, but that's also true of the BT versions that do not "benefit" from the hot core process. I just haven't had the chance to see enough examples in recovered bullets (most pass through our smallish southern whitetails) to be able to get some good field "proofs" of my theory one way or another. I've always had really good results from Speer cup and core bullets, whether FB hot core or BT's. But then, I tend to use calibers that are legitimately "overkill" on these game animals, and once I get one in my crosshairs, they usually don't have a chance, whatever bullets I've stoked my loads with. But .... the field is a strange place, where most anything, even the "unthinkable" CAN sometimes happen. And being as sure as humanly possible is never a bad idea "out there."

And BTW, thanks for some very clear-headed articles on a very consistent basis. You seem to always wait for empirical "proofs" before opining firmly on any subject. That makes your articles highly valued. Thanks.

John:

There is an article in this month's G&A about barrel wear. I've heard that boat-tail bullets erode barrels faster than flat-based bullets, primarily because of the difference in the way the gas impacts the base and bore. Do you find this to be the case? And, more importantly, in your experience what do you think the round-count difference might be?

Edit note: I just saw the last paragraph in this article. Ok, given that erosion is a proven thing, any idea of the round-count difference?

Thanks

RM

John,

What about mono metal as it pertains to bullet shape? I have been a fan of Hornady GMX and Barnes TTSX bullets.

Please be more specific about what you want to know. Ballistic coefficient? Expansion? Penetration?