132 BitterRoot Bonded core 7mm-08

[lanman]

I previously built a "rig" to hold my jugs.. I have caught a LOT of bullets in it from my 35 Whelen and my 338WM.. the rig has never had a problem..
I shot a 132 grain BBC out of my 16.5" barreled 7mm-08 and the displaced water busted both side rails on my rig. I think that says a lot about the construction of the bullet..

the bullet was found in Jug #4, weighed 124.8 and retained 95% of its weight and measured .612 across the front. .612 for a 132 grain bullet seems like a LOT to me.. It sure moves a lot of water.

The Bitterroot is in the lower left in this picture

amazing little performer..
I wish they were more readily available.

 

[DrMike]

Pity that the BitterRoot Bonded Core is no longer available. That is superb expansion.

 

[SJB358]

Pity that the BitterRoot Bonded Core is no longer available. That is superb expansion.

I agree with that Mike. I really like them. Either at slow speeds or over 3000, they seem to perform the same. That wide frontal area has to cause alot of destruction. You can't seem to make them lose weight.. Even the few I found in the dirt in rocks had expanded well and lost very little weight.

 

[lanman]

Pity that the BitterRoot Bonded Core is no longer available. That is superb expansion.

I agree with that Mike. I really like them. Either at slow speeds or over 3000, they seem to perform the same. That wide frontal area has to cause alot of destruction. You can't seem to make them lose weight.. Even the few I found in the dirt in rocks had expanded well and lost very little weight.

Scotty, after all the 338WM and 35 Whelen bullets I have caught on my trap, the little 7-08 busted it on both sides with a 132 BBC.. that says a lot

 

[gerry]

That is an interesting weight for a 7mm bullet, should work very well on game by the looks of it.

 

[SJB358]

That is an interesting weight for a 7mm bullet, should work very well on game by the looks of it.

The story goes that 130 BBC's for the 270 were swaged down 132's. Not a fact, just what I've learned through stories.

 

[BF375]

That is an interesting weight for a 7mm bullet, should work very well on game by the looks of it.

The story goes that 130 BBC's for the 270 were swaged down 132's. Not a fact, just what I've learned through stories.

SJB: That would be correct. Bill Steigers did not make a 132 7mm for sale to the public. The 270-130's started out as 132 7mm's and were swaged down to .277.

A couple of his clients asked him to make a 130 7mm for use in the 7/08 and 7x57. I was one of those clients,and the other is a close friend from Boise, Idahf course as we see they worked perfectly well in other 7mm cartridges as well.

One Idaho client ended up moving them at over 3500 fps from a 7mm STW and killed some game with them. They still worked well at those velocities.

Retained weights in the 98% range are common. I have bullets recovered from animals that generally retained about that much weight in 270,7mm,and 375. It is a pity they are no longer made.

 

[JD338]

That is some impressive performance.
Interesting history on the 132gr weight.

JD338

 

[SJB358]

I am not sure what kinda rocket ship it would take to tear one apart, but I can't hurt a 160 at 3200 from my MSM, even after finding one in the rocks and dirt behind my backstop.. Pretty awesome bonding in those things and the jackets are really thick at the base.

 

[BF375]

I previously built a "rig" to hold my jugs.. I have caught a LOT of bullets in it from my 35 Whelen and my 338WM.. the rig has never had a problem..
I shot a 132 grain BBC out of my 16.5" barreled 7mm-08 and the displaced water busted both side rails on my rig. I think that says a lot about the construction of the bullet..

the bullet was found in Jug #4, weighed 124.8 and retained 95% of its weight and measured .612 across the front. .612 for a 132 grain bullet seems like a LOT to me.. It sure moves a lot of water.

This is interesting.

We accept as dogma today that fragmenting bullets inflict a high degree of wounding trauma,and rightfully so.

But we are somewhat dismissive of the wounding capacity of a bullet that expands to a wide frontal area, driven at high velocity, and retains enough weight for momentum to keep that broad frontal area moving forward through game animals,and that does not fragment....at all. This might be because not many bullets are constructed to work quite that way.

That a lousy little 132 gr 7mm bullet expanded to 60 caliber....and blew out the sides of a box that withstood the frontal area of larger, heavier 338 and 35 caliber bullets should give us pause. I wonder what it tells us about high velocity, weight retention and frontal area as elements in wounding trauma?

I have not dug out my collection of recovered bullets to measure, but believe I have some 140-7mm BBC's ,recovered from animals, that show similar expansion(.60 cal. +) and frontal area. I have had a lot of instant kills with them.

 

[SJB358]

I have some of the pictures you sent early on. That is what got me on this kick.

The expanded 250 BBC from the 375 was the one that really made me sit up, close my mouth and listen.

 

[BF375]

Scotty I suspect that one would have taken Ianman's recovery box apart.... :wink:


You should post it if you can. Some may find it interesting.

 

[SJB358]

Scotty I suspect that one would have taken Ianman's recovery box apart.... :wink:


You should post it if you can. Some may find it interesting.

Yeah. No worries. I'll put them up. You'll have to add the word picture on them. The only one I remember about is the 375 bullet.

 

[SJB358]

Here are a couple of BF375's bullets. I'll let him add the words as far as what they came from.








Here is a picture of the jacket on the BBC

 

[BF375]

Thanks Scotty. We may be slightly off topic but the bullet in your first photo is a 160 gr 7mm BBC fired from a 7 Rem Mag and started at a bit under 3100 fps. Animal was a 6x6 bull elk and distance was about 200 yards, down hill slightly and facing away. I aimed over the shoulders to the back of the neck; It traveled the length of the neck,breaking vertebrae,and chopping things up along the way, and was recovered under his chin.

Retained weight was 158-159 grains.


In the lower photos we have a 250 gr 375 caliber BBC from a 375 H&H started at over 2900. It is one of three I fired into a 9ft + brown bear at about 180 yards. The other two exited, one breaking the off side shoulder,and the other blowing a big exit through the lungs. The recovered bullet weighs 243 gr. and has an expanded frontal area of .70 +.

That bear was anchored on the beach from the first shot but they die hard and I fired twice more so long as he showed signs of life.

The smaller bullet to the right is a 140 gr BBC from a 280 Rem at 3080, into a good sized black bear,through the ribs and lungs at 70-80 yards. He collapsed to the shot and never got up. Bullet was on off side ribs. It weighs 136 grains.

As we can see the BBC gave reliable and consistent performance of this type across the caliber spectrum,even into animals. The only other bullet I have used myself that I have found as reliable for expansion and penetration is the Nosler Partition. I have shot more game with them than the BBC.

 

[DrMike]

Excellent performance on each of those bullets.

 

[andrewctillman]

Thanks everyone for sharing Bitterroot stories. I call them"the original and still best" bonded bullet ever made. Many of Bills customers became life long friends, as was I. Some here may recall my long article on Bullet Performance In the 375 H and H Magnum he published in the Bitterroot Bulletin circa 1982? A test of every 375 bullet made from point blank out to 500 yards at both standard and improved velocity.

I killed many american bison with the 338 and 375 BBC's. 338 was minimum caliber to kill them humanely w one shot (both nosler Partition and BBC). 375 improved w 250 gr at 3150 fps or 275 at 2975 or 300 at 2800 fps would cause brain hemorage with a heart shot! the peak and sustained over pressure caused by the large expanded frontal area is what busted up the stop box and caused the temporary cavity to become a permanant wound volume.

My 375's were routinely over .75 caliber and unlike competing bullets were almost completely round with no spaces between the expanded petals which greatly increases their actual FA.

Really no other bullet like it before or since.