BULLET BULLETIN: THE GOODS THAT GO THE DISTANCE

BULLET BULLETIN

Hunting at longer ranges is best served by the proper projectiles.

THE GOODS THAT GO THE DISTANCE

Six long-range bullet lines with the consistency, accuracy, terminal performance to get job done on game.

STORY BY PHIL MASSARO • PHOTOS BY MASSARO MEDIA GROUP

T T here are times when, as a hunter, you simply can’t get any closer to your game animal. Certain species live in an environment that affords little cover, making a stalk – and getting close in general – a difficult prospect.

I am a diligent rifleman, and practice as often as possible in order to kill quickly and cleanly, but I am no proponent of unnecessary long-range shooting at unwounded game. That said, there have been instances where 400 or even 500 yards is the closest I could get to a game animal, and with the proper tools and training, that is a shot that can be made consistently. I have also spent enough time at long-range shooting courses, like the SAAM, or Sportsman’s All-Weather All-Terrain Marksmanship, courses at the FTW Ranch in Texas, to learn how easily things can go awry out beyond those ranges, with a bad wind call turning a vital hit into a gut shot.

At any rate, I always try to have the best gear possible, so that I am the weakest link in the chain. This includes a proven rifle with a properly tuned trigger, the clearest and most rugged optic I can afford, a quality rangefinder, and ammunition loaded with a projectile best suited for the job. These days, that means more than just a spitzer bullet, or even a traditional spitzer boattail bullet; though they will certainly cover the distance, they are prone to show the effects of atmospheric drag and wind deflection more than those radical designs we’ve seen come on the market of late.

It is those bullets – the sleek

Federal’s Terminal Ascent – shown here in the .280 Ackley Improved – is the latest member of the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw family.

The Federal Terminal Ascent shown in section; note the lead core at the forward part of the bullet, and the long copper shank at the rear. A Terminal Ascent bullet after recovery; note how the ogive expanded nicely and the rear shank held together, retaining a healthy portion of its weight.

Nosler’s AccuBond Long Range is a perfect choice for the beefy 28 Nosler cartridge, having the structural integrity to handle close shots, yet the flat trajectory and energy retention for longer shots.

If you want to wring the most out of your Creedmoor, the 142-grain Nosler is a sound choice. projectiles with the highest ballistic coefficient values we’ve seen yet – that I will discuss here, to help you decide what’s right for you.

FOR THE HUNTER, the bullets we choose have to fulfill two roles. Firstly, like the target bullet, we need to have a bullet with the consistency and accuracy potential to allow us to deliver that bullet precisely where we need to. Secondly, and much unlike the target bullets, we hunters are greatly concerned with the terminal performance of our projectiles, so what we choose for a long-range bullet will have to work properly not only at those longer ranges when the projectile has slowed down, but also must be able to handle the impact of close shots where velocities are high. High ballistic coefficient values are the key to resisting wind deflection and retaining velocity, and accordingly, energy. Some of these bullets are available in loaded ammunition, and others are component bullets.

While there are many choices, I’d like to highlight some of these designs that have worked out well for me.

The Federal Terminal Ascent. This is the latest proprietary design from Federal, and the youngest in the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw family. Using a small lead core positioned at the front of the bullet – chemically bonded to the copper jacket – with a long copper shank at the rear, the Terminal Ascent features the SlipStream polymer tip to maintain a uniform BC and AccuGroove channels cut into the shank of the bullet. The latter feature is designed to reduce fouling, and keep pressures down. This bullet gives excellent penetration – it is difficult to recover one unless there are several football fields between you and your quarry – and has been seriously accurate in my rifles. It is strong enough to handle magnum-level impact velocities up close, yet will still expand reliably way, way downrange. Federal offers this bullet both in their loaded factory ammunition as well as in component form.

Author Phil Massaro is a big fan of the 6.8 Western, especially loaded with the 165-grain Nosler ABLR.

Massaro used a Heym SR30 rifle in .300 Winchester Magnum loaded with 175-grain Barnes LRX bullets to take this Mozambican reedbuck ram.

The Barnes LRX is the flattest shooting of the company’s designs, and is a sound choice for those who hunt at longer ranges.

The Nosler AccuBond Long Range. How do you improve on the already wonderful Nosler AccuBond? Increase the boattail length and flatten out the ogive to give even higher BC values. The core is still bonded to the copper jacket, yet the polymer tip has been changed from white to gray to easily identify the projectile. To give an idea of how Nosler has changed the profile, a 180-grain .30-caliber AccuBond has a G1 BC of .507, yet the lighter 168-grain ABLR has a G1 BC of 0.525. Sliding up in weight, the 200-grain AccuBond has a G1 BC of .588, and the 190-grain ABLR has a G1 BC of .597. With the ABLR, you can get the better BC value without needing the weight. It opens reliably, and can be wonderfully accurate; my 6.8 Western puts three 165-grain ABLRs into ½-MOA groups. Nosler and Winchester load the ABLR in factory ammunition, and Nosler offers it as a component bullet.

The Barnes LRX. If you like the lead-free design of the Barnes family of bullets, and want the best BC for hunting at longer ranges, look to their LRX bullet. Where the TSX is a polymer-tipped boattail design, the LRX has a more severe boattail and longer ogive to increase the atmospheric efficiency. It gives the same devastating terminal performance as the TSX and TTSX, but will fly flatter and retain more energy. If there is any drawback, it’s that the

e Xtreme Defender is based on the popular Xtreme Penetrator product line. e XD ammunition has an optimized nose ute, total weight, and velocity to achieve a penetration depth up to 18 inches* with a permanent wound cavity (PWC) that is just simply enormous; no other expanding hollowpoint comes close to achieving anywhere near this diameter and volume. Not only is the PWC over 100% larger than any other expanding bullet, expansion is achieved despite being shot through barriers. e solid copper body ensures that wallboard, sheet metal, and automotive glass will have no e ect on the PWC.

*Falling within FBI guidelines

is round o ers: A permanent Wound Cavity (PWC) that is 2 times greater than any expanding bullet reduced recoil. CNC machined from solid copper to overcome barriers to penetration Radial utes that force the hydraulic energy inward to build pressure Minimal surface area to increase the force at the point of contact and sharp cutting edges that defeat barriers.

Norma’s Bondstrike features a bonded core, polymer tip, boattail and a high BC value to retain energy and resist wind deflection.

already long copper bullet gets even longer here, and can compromise case capacity. I used this bullet in a Heym .300 Winchester Magnum in Mozambique to take reedbuck for the local village and it worked just fine, putting the animals down quickly. It’s available in the Barnes Vortex line of ammunition or as a component bullet.

The Norma Bondstrike. Hailing from Sweden, Norma has a fine reputation for both quality components and loaded ammunition. Their series of Strike bullets – including Tipstrike, Ecostrike and the latest, Evostrike – all fill a different role, but the Bondstrike line is the long-range workhorse. With a polymer tip, boattail and its lead core chemically bonded to the jacket, the Bondstrike gives the blend of flat trajectory, structural integrity and accuracy that hunters love. I used the .300 Winchester Magnum ammo loaded with the 180-grain Bondstrike bullet (G1 BC 0.615) to take an aoudad ram in west Texas. Notoriously tough, the bullet worked perfectly, though I

The 180-grain Norma Bondstrike load in .300 Winchester Magnum makes a great all-around choice for North American hunting.

Hornady’s ELD-X bullet gives match-grade performance from a hunting bullet; shown here are the 212-grain ELD-X bullets in the .300 Remington Ultra Magnum in the Precision Hunter line.

did fire a follow-up shot to anchor the ram. Distances for the shots our group took ranged from 26 yards out to 250 yards, and the Bondstrike handled it perfectly, even at full house velocity impact. High weight retention, reliable expansion and good penetration are hallmarks of the Norma Bondstrike.

The Hornady ELD-X. Hornady’s engineers were studying the flight path of their bullets on Doppler radar and noticed an anomaly that they discovered to be the result of the polymer tips melting from friction. Their Heat Shield polymer tip solved the problem, and the release of the ELD-X (Extremely Low Drag – eXpanding) bullet made quite the splash in the market. It is a cup-and-core bullet, with no bonding, but is seriously accurate and is offered in weights that have a respectable sectional density figure, so penetration isn’t an issue. I’ve had great experiences with the ELD-X, as it flies like a matchgrade bullet and does the job on the far end of the equation. I took my first mule deer with it, a running shot at nearly 200 yards, and the ELD-X left the most impressive blood trail I’ve ever seen. The .30-caliber 178-grain ELD-X (close

Featuring a boattail and the proprietary Heat Shield tip, the ELD-X comes in bullet weights suitable for good penetration from a cup-and-core bullet.

This South Dakota mule deer fell to a 143-grain ELD-X bullet from a 6.5 Creedmoor; it was one of the most impressive 20-yard blood trails the author has ever seen.

enough to the 180s for comparison) has a G1 BC of .552, but many hunters like to take advantage of the 212- and 220-grain ELD-X bullets in a magnum case for long-range hunting. Hornady loads the ELD-X in their Precision Hunter ammunition line.

The Berger EOL Elite Hunter. Berger bullets have a reputation for fine accuracy, and their J4 bullet jackets have an unparalleled following. The Elite Hunter series has a specialized line, in conjunction with Extreme Outer Limits TV, using very heavy bullet weights designed for specialty rifles. Using Berger’s hybrid ogive – which blends tangent and secant curves – and a thinner variant of the J4 jacket for rapid energy transfer, it

Berger’s Extreme Outer Limits 195-grain 7mm projectiles; these open-tip hollowpoints are very heavy-for-caliber and will have the highest BC values on the block.

Bullets like the 156-grain Berger Extreme Outer Limits Elite Hunter will shine in the larger 6.5mm cartridges like the 6.5 PRC and 6.5-300 Weatherby.

relies on hydrostatic shock for a quick kill. I have not hunted with this bullet, but can attest to the accuracy of it on paper. Being honest, Berger’s bullets are known to be on the frangible side, and not all hunters agree with that concept, but the EOL series is very heavy-for-caliber, so the penetration should be there for close shots, and the thin jacket will expand at long ranges. The 156-grain 6.5mm, 170-grain .277inch, 185-grain 7mm and 245-grain .308-inch round out the lineup. If you’re a BC freak, these numbers on this series will impress you. Berger loads the 156-grain bullet in their Creedmoor ammo, but the others are only available as components.

If you’re planning to climb those sheep mountains, or to head to the desert for the wily Coues deer, take some of these projectiles to the range and see how they perform in your rifle; you may find that magic combination that engenders the confidence we all need. 