Bobby Tomek
11-30-2023, 05:43 PM
https://i.postimg.cc/d3QS1r1N/barnes115-200yds-MV2615.jpg (https://postimg.cc/HcKtvJbb)
I've taken a handful of animals with this bullet using my 6.5 BRM but decided I wanted to give it a whirl in my 24" 6.5 Bullberry. A few months ago I put together some test loads, and today -- in between periods of light drizzle -- I finally got around to trying them.
Loaded in reformed .375 Win brass and propelled by a compressed charge of SW Precision powder, the accuracy node occurred at 2615 fps (uncorrected at 15 feet), though none of the test rounds could be called inaccurate and none exceeded 0.75 MOA. The first 3-shot, 100 yard group with the 2615 fps load went 0.45 inch c-t-c, and the second was even better at 0.39. I normally do the groups at 200 yards, but with fine mist occasionally in the air, I kept it to 100. Everything looked good from a perspective of pressure, etc., but with those numbers I, would not pursue anything more in the Contender format.
Anyway, I went into my shop and proceeded to put together a few more on that particular load.
I then put three of them into test medium at 200 yards. An estimated 10 feet from impact (to keep water off of the chronograph), the velocities read 2209, 2213 and 2205 fps. The media was kept simple: a single gallon jug of water followed by wet newsprint. Measured at their widest points, the three averaged .521 in width -- pretty decent in my books. The 100 grain TTSX at similar impact speeds does not open as widely, but the 115 grain Tac-TX was designed around the speeds of the Grendel. I'd prefer they would give full depth-of-cavity expansion like the Tac-TX bullets in .30 caliber do because an even wider mushroom would certainly increase their effectiveness on game, but that's just wishful thinking.
Unless it's a hard quartering presentation, I doubt I'll recover one from an average-sized hog. I didn't recover any from game with the 24" BRM and its similar MV (2585 fps). In the BRM, I didn't even experiment with loads. I took my recipe for the 123 grain SST that I was shooting at the time and simply substituted the 115 grain Tac-TX. I don't recall the exact numbers, but group size in that barrel was impressive as well.
I still can take a spike/unbranched buck this season, and maybe that new Bullberry load will get used.
I've taken a handful of animals with this bullet using my 6.5 BRM but decided I wanted to give it a whirl in my 24" 6.5 Bullberry. A few months ago I put together some test loads, and today -- in between periods of light drizzle -- I finally got around to trying them.
Loaded in reformed .375 Win brass and propelled by a compressed charge of SW Precision powder, the accuracy node occurred at 2615 fps (uncorrected at 15 feet), though none of the test rounds could be called inaccurate and none exceeded 0.75 MOA. The first 3-shot, 100 yard group with the 2615 fps load went 0.45 inch c-t-c, and the second was even better at 0.39. I normally do the groups at 200 yards, but with fine mist occasionally in the air, I kept it to 100. Everything looked good from a perspective of pressure, etc., but with those numbers I, would not pursue anything more in the Contender format.
Anyway, I went into my shop and proceeded to put together a few more on that particular load.
I then put three of them into test medium at 200 yards. An estimated 10 feet from impact (to keep water off of the chronograph), the velocities read 2209, 2213 and 2205 fps. The media was kept simple: a single gallon jug of water followed by wet newsprint. Measured at their widest points, the three averaged .521 in width -- pretty decent in my books. The 100 grain TTSX at similar impact speeds does not open as widely, but the 115 grain Tac-TX was designed around the speeds of the Grendel. I'd prefer they would give full depth-of-cavity expansion like the Tac-TX bullets in .30 caliber do because an even wider mushroom would certainly increase their effectiveness on game, but that's just wishful thinking.
Unless it's a hard quartering presentation, I doubt I'll recover one from an average-sized hog. I didn't recover any from game with the 24" BRM and its similar MV (2585 fps). In the BRM, I didn't even experiment with loads. I took my recipe for the 123 grain SST that I was shooting at the time and simply substituted the 115 grain Tac-TX. I don't recall the exact numbers, but group size in that barrel was impressive as well.
I still can take a spike/unbranched buck this season, and maybe that new Bullberry load will get used.