130 gr + bullets are to big, urban myth?

[sneaky one]

Benny,I've shot a few of those heavies-I like them,too slow though. The 140 hotcor shot awesome at 100 yd. The 130 Accu. is fine. If you are in a hurry, and want a tough bullet-use the 129 SST. I hit a deer 3 yrs. ago at 400 yds., bone hit mid-upper front leg-took it clean off-129 SST. The 130 Accu. is a tick more accurate, at the bench-the 129 is just fine. Bill A. mentioned to me 4 months ago--- the Grendel does best with bullets in the 105-115 grn. class, as far as speed, drift, trajectory, impact speed ,etc. He mentioned the 95 grn. gmx's I made up were a tick light -not to seek only muzz. velocity. ( they were made for 15-50 yd. hunting,,, and they are awesome),, so after he threw me a bone, I'm working on 110-115 grn. projectiles now- it all made sense , after sitting down and doing some new calculations. The lighter gmx & the barnes will perform on game as a 10-20 grn. heavier lead core bullet would. Just trying to expand our hunt bullet options.

[glane5910]

You can't go wrong with the Barnes TSX. I've never had ANYTHING go over a few inches after putting one thru the vitals. I prefer taking out the shoulders.

[hm2 clark]

I gave up on Speer hunting bullets in my grendels a few years ago because of inconsistant accuracy. Good luck with the new Deepcurls. Let us know how they shoot.

[Bennybone]

I plan to record my hunts, it amazes me how 250lb + boars can absorb hits from 30 cal guns and walk away. Getting to the vitals consistently is the problem at longer distance and what I have experienced is that the shoulder plate can soak up a bullet and lead to lost quarry.

In addition to loading some 140gr deepcurls I will seek a lighter option and see how they like those.

It should prove to be a fun Spring season upcoming.

BB

[JASmith]

I normally favor the heaviest useable bullet for the bigger targets. I am also attentive to the amount of holdover that needs to be used when shooting beyond about 200 yards when the muzzle velocity is as low as 2200-2400 ft/sec.

While you are working up loads for your DeepCurl, try shooting some into paper at 300 yards to be sure things are OK there too.

Second, look at user reviews for the 100 gr TTSX at Midway and elsewhere. Should that bullet tickle your fancy, the higher muzzle velocity might support a single aimpoint out to the three-hundred yards, depending on the size of vital zone your are visualizing. Recoil will be a lot less too.

Above all else, keep us posted -- we're all learning together!

[Hoot]

The flat base of the Deepcurls allows you a little more powder capacity. With the longer barrel to take advantage of slower burn, I'd highly recommend loading them ahead of 26gr of AR-Comp and play around +/- a grain for best group even though you'll be happy right there. It'll beat Varget by at least 100 fps from a 24" barrel. Deepcurls will initiate expansion at a lower speed than the same weight Barnes, but their expansion will not be as consistent from one to the next as Barnes are. No cup and core is as consistent as a solid.

Hoot

[JASmith]

Hoot's comments reminded me that measuring the length of the 140 grain DeepCurl and comparing with lighter bullets might help with powder capacitiy questions. I couldn't find the DeepCurl length at JBM (http://www.jbmballistics.com/ballist.../lengths.shtml) or on the Speer website. But lengths of similar Hornady bullets was interesting:

120 GMX 1.403"
123 Amax 1.240"
140 gr IB 1.253"
160 gr RN 1.257"

The .264 Speer 140 gr Grand Slam at 1.120" is even shorter.

We know that folks are about as comfortable as possible with the powder space when using the 123 gr AMAX. We also know that folks are uncomfortable with the available powder space when using the 120 gr GMX. But, if your measurement comes in around 1.25", you've got about as much capacity as available with lighter, more popular in the Grendel, bullets.

Let us know what you find out!

[Bennybone]

Good information guys - Thanks.

Will keep you apprised. Probably looking at a March unveiling on these loads.

BB

[rcvisket]

I am by no means a hunter since the largest game wandering round my parts is a urban fed squirrel. i bought the 123 Lapua scenars for my gun and am wondering if there is a better load for 1000 yard precision. All of my friends that i shoot with are very much still brain-washed from the Corps and went with 308. i went this route because the M118LR we shot there were not good enough for the shooters. I have an LW 20" 1:8 twist. i would like to bump up some grains for my loads but still go transsonic past 1000 yds. any ideas? and yes im spoiled i love a great G7 BC.

[LRRPF52]

I just loaded a 130gr Berger VLD into a Lapua case to 2.300", and it fit in my CProducts mag barely at that COAL. I then chambered it to see if it would chamber, and it did in my AA Grendel barrel. If you could get the 130gr VLD to 2500fps, you'd have a solid 800yd shooter. In calm or light winds, it could do really well at 1000yds as well.

[XcountryRider]

Anyone loading 140gr Berger VLD or 140gr Nosler ballistic tips?

[TheOTHERmaninblack]

I just loaded a 130gr Berger VLD into a Lapua case to 2.300", and it fit in my CProducts mag barely at that COAL. I then chambered it to see if it would chamber, and it did in my AA Grendel barrel. If you could get the 130gr VLD to 2500fps, you'd have a solid 800yd shooter. In calm or light winds, it could do really well at 1000yds as well.

Looking forward to hearing range reports. Looks like a slippery devil. Midway is sure proud of them though.

[LRRPF52]

I only seated one in an unprimed case to see what max COL I could get. I don't think I've ever loaded them up to shoot in the Grendel, since I shoot them in my .260 Rem AR10. It's extremely easy to shoot groups with the .260 Rem from 700yds on out well past 1000yds if you have good ballistic data. Modern PDA's and software that allow you to input your specific environmental conditions have been a game-changer for the long-range shooting community.

I'm very happy and comfortable with the 123gr A-MAX for shooting distance right now, especially after taking it out to 1200yds from my little 16" Grendel. The temp and altitude kept me supersonic to 1318yds in those conditions. In Utah, it's difficult to find a place to shoot distance that is less than 4000 ft ASL. I rarely shoot under 4400ft ASL here, and do a lot of shooting at 6600ft ASL as well. I have to go out of state or over the ocean to shoot close to sea level.

As far as 130gr pills go in the Grendel, I have shot the 129gr Hornady SST a bit to see how it would group at 200yds for a hunting load, but I haven't done a lot of load development with it.

[Mav714]

Ok so I have some 130 Barnes. Using IMR-8208, RL-15, etc what kind of powder loads should I start with. COAL?
Thanks. Oh 20 inch barrel