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Finally had a chance to begin to put the 118gr Cavity Back Bullets through their paces at longer ranges. Overall, I was pretty impressed with them for being an all-copper bullet designed for hunting.
Short version:
Good -- as accurate as 123gr amax factory rounds (which in my rifle, are very accurate)
Bad -- BC wasn't as high as advertised, but they have already updated their website after my initial findings.
Long version:
I was sent these bullets a couple of months ago for the express purpose of putting them through their paces at extended ranges, but haven't been able to take them out until this last week.
I went out to work up a load with AR-Comp last week, and was initially a little disappointed. I first shot factory ammo, which had an average 3/4" group size at 100 yards. That's about par for my rifle with that ammo, so I moved on to my pet load with AR-Comp and 123gr amax. Again, average group size was right at 3/4" at 2500fps.
I then shot my first load of the ladder with Cavity Back Bullets (CBB from here on out), and the group size was nearly 2"! I don't think I had ever shot a group that large with any ammo before! I knew it wasn't just me having an off day because I had already been shooting sub-MOA groups a few minutes earlier. My next group size was about the same. My third group (27.6gr), and it tightened up to just over an inch. Ok, at least it's a little better. I shot my group at 27.9gr, and it was just under 3/4". From there, it started to get larger again with the next load. That was all I had time for at that point, so I saved the rest of the tinkering for the next trip.
On Sunday, I was able to head out for some fine tuning. 27.9gr of AR-Comp proved to be my most consistent load, averaging the same 3/4" that factory ammo and my own handloads shoot. I will say that I never hit any signs of pressure. Rather, I stopped due to the level of compression. The bullets were starting to deform slightly from the seating die. The one really nice surprise, was that the CBB's had a nearly identical point of impact to factory ammo and my amax loads. I wasn't able to do any long range testing on Sunday, so I left to get more loaded.
It was Tuesday before I was able to actually begin to push them out. Conditions were absolutely perfect. Not so much as a breath of wind, which is really about the most I could ask for. I started out with factory ammo at 1000 yards. Dialed the 37.5 minutes that iStrelok called for, and sent rounds down range. My first three impacted my 24" square plate about 8" high of center. I dialed down 3/4MOA, and sent another 3. This time they impacted in the lower third of the plate, but still in a decent group. I then held just above center of the plate, and sent another 3 rounds. I drove down to check and measure, and the average group size was about 7". I painted the target, then drove back to the bench location.
I loaded 5 of the CBB's into the magazine, and let the first one fly. My velocity was 35fps slower than factory rounds, but I figured if the .530 G1 BC held true I should still be on the plate. I wound up hitting a few minutes low. I dialed up 2, and hit the very bottom of the plate. Dialed up one more, and sent 3 rounds to just below the center of the target. I drove down, measured the group and painted the target. Set up again, dialed up .5 MOA and sent three more down range. Dialed down 1 MOA, and sent the last group of 3. All in all my groups once again averaged the same 7" as the factory amax, although they hit a full 3 MOA lower.
Rather than go off the standard G1 BC, I've been trying to get in the habit of developing a G7 BC since they're more accurate at the longer ranges. What I came up with, factoring in the slightly lower velocities, is that the G7 BC is slightly under the 123gr amax.
I'll be finishing my testing of the 118gr CBB's over thanksgiving weekend. I've proved that they are accurate at long range, but that was only half the reason I was contacted about testing them. The other half was to develop a solid BC for them to use. Before I give my exact findings, I want to confirm the G7 BC every 100 yards from 500-1200.
Conclusion:
These can be a little finicky to dial a load in for at first, but it will definitely let you know when you get it. I found them to be every bit as accurate as 123gr amax. While I was a little disappointed with the BC at first, I started to think about the primary purpose of this projectile: hunting. I truly believe that this is a match-grade hunting bullet. I would have no hesitation about using these on deer/elk after seeing various expansion tests on game from others. I have zero concern that these will hit anywhere other than their desired target, so long as I do my part. I believe the BC is just slightly under the 123gr amax, which would still put it above the 120gr Barnes TTSX, it's nearest competitor.
Short version:
Good -- as accurate as 123gr amax factory rounds (which in my rifle, are very accurate)
Bad -- BC wasn't as high as advertised, but they have already updated their website after my initial findings.
Long version:
I was sent these bullets a couple of months ago for the express purpose of putting them through their paces at extended ranges, but haven't been able to take them out until this last week.
I went out to work up a load with AR-Comp last week, and was initially a little disappointed. I first shot factory ammo, which had an average 3/4" group size at 100 yards. That's about par for my rifle with that ammo, so I moved on to my pet load with AR-Comp and 123gr amax. Again, average group size was right at 3/4" at 2500fps.
I then shot my first load of the ladder with Cavity Back Bullets (CBB from here on out), and the group size was nearly 2"! I don't think I had ever shot a group that large with any ammo before! I knew it wasn't just me having an off day because I had already been shooting sub-MOA groups a few minutes earlier. My next group size was about the same. My third group (27.6gr), and it tightened up to just over an inch. Ok, at least it's a little better. I shot my group at 27.9gr, and it was just under 3/4". From there, it started to get larger again with the next load. That was all I had time for at that point, so I saved the rest of the tinkering for the next trip.
On Sunday, I was able to head out for some fine tuning. 27.9gr of AR-Comp proved to be my most consistent load, averaging the same 3/4" that factory ammo and my own handloads shoot. I will say that I never hit any signs of pressure. Rather, I stopped due to the level of compression. The bullets were starting to deform slightly from the seating die. The one really nice surprise, was that the CBB's had a nearly identical point of impact to factory ammo and my amax loads. I wasn't able to do any long range testing on Sunday, so I left to get more loaded.
It was Tuesday before I was able to actually begin to push them out. Conditions were absolutely perfect. Not so much as a breath of wind, which is really about the most I could ask for. I started out with factory ammo at 1000 yards. Dialed the 37.5 minutes that iStrelok called for, and sent rounds down range. My first three impacted my 24" square plate about 8" high of center. I dialed down 3/4MOA, and sent another 3. This time they impacted in the lower third of the plate, but still in a decent group. I then held just above center of the plate, and sent another 3 rounds. I drove down to check and measure, and the average group size was about 7". I painted the target, then drove back to the bench location.
I loaded 5 of the CBB's into the magazine, and let the first one fly. My velocity was 35fps slower than factory rounds, but I figured if the .530 G1 BC held true I should still be on the plate. I wound up hitting a few minutes low. I dialed up 2, and hit the very bottom of the plate. Dialed up one more, and sent 3 rounds to just below the center of the target. I drove down, measured the group and painted the target. Set up again, dialed up .5 MOA and sent three more down range. Dialed down 1 MOA, and sent the last group of 3. All in all my groups once again averaged the same 7" as the factory amax, although they hit a full 3 MOA lower.
Rather than go off the standard G1 BC, I've been trying to get in the habit of developing a G7 BC since they're more accurate at the longer ranges. What I came up with, factoring in the slightly lower velocities, is that the G7 BC is slightly under the 123gr amax.
I'll be finishing my testing of the 118gr CBB's over thanksgiving weekend. I've proved that they are accurate at long range, but that was only half the reason I was contacted about testing them. The other half was to develop a solid BC for them to use. Before I give my exact findings, I want to confirm the G7 BC every 100 yards from 500-1200.
Conclusion:
These can be a little finicky to dial a load in for at first, but it will definitely let you know when you get it. I found them to be every bit as accurate as 123gr amax. While I was a little disappointed with the BC at first, I started to think about the primary purpose of this projectile: hunting. I truly believe that this is a match-grade hunting bullet. I would have no hesitation about using these on deer/elk after seeing various expansion tests on game from others. I have zero concern that these will hit anywhere other than their desired target, so long as I do my part. I believe the BC is just slightly under the 123gr amax, which would still put it above the 120gr Barnes TTSX, it's nearest competitor.
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