.243 / 6mm wet newspaper vs 90g Prvi, 105 Hdy BTHP, 107g SMK

[bobnob]

Been working on this new 243 AI and have a few decent loads worked up. Have a fireforming load with the 90g Prvi soft point, the 105g Hornady BTHP has become a nice solid load and of late the 107g SMK is impressing me a lot.

So like some of the other tests I’ve done I tested two of each of the above, in wet newspaper, at two different muzzle velocities to simulate impact at 50 yards and 200 yards approximately.

1 Prvi 90g SP - velocity 2975fps
2 Prvi 90g SP - velocity 2450fps
3 Hdy 105g BTHP - velocity 2850fps
4 Hdy 105g BTHP - velocity 2550fps
5 Sierra 107g SMK - velocity 2850fps
6 Sierra 107g SMK - velocity 2600fps

I soaked the newspaper overnight then left it to drain for a few hours before packing it.

I’ve posted some photos below of the “wound channels” as the bullets travelled through the paper. Top left is the Prvi at the faster speed, bottom left the slower. Centre are the Hornadys, faster at top and slower at bottom. Far right are the SMKs, again with the faster at top and slower at bottom.

This pic is 1.5” into the pack. Both of the Prvis have started to expand. The match bulllets, not much.

This pic is 4 inches into the newspaper. You can see all six bullets have opened up and are punching a nice wide hole through the pack...

This image is 8 inches into the medium. It looks to me like the Prvi bullets are slowing down now and the wound channel is correspondingly smaller. The four match bullets, especially the SMKs, are now punching quite a hole in the paper.

All six bullets were recovered more or less intact. Here’s how they measured when recovered…

Prvi 1
Depth: 10.2”
Recovered wt: 49g 54%
Expanded diameter: .466”

Prvi 2
Depth: 9.8”
Recovered wt: 71g 79%
Expanded diameter: .483”

Hdy 1
Depth: 10.5”
Recovered wt: 33g 31%
Expanded diameter: .453”

Hdy 2
Depth: 11.8”
Recovered wt: 62g 59%
Expanded diameter: .555”

SMK 1
Depth: 10.8”
Recovered wt: 54g 50%
Expanded diameter: .580”

SMK 2
Depth: 13.2”
Recovered wt: 67g 63%
Expanded diameter: .505”

So what do people think of these results? On the surface of it they all look like they’d be effective killers on medium game; pigs, deer etc.

The Prvis both opened up quicker and also held together pretty good for a very cheap hunting bullet. The Hornadys have a pretty good rep for killing and seem to be a decent bullet from this test.

The Sierras surprised me. They penetrated more - probably because they didn’t open up at all until a few inches into the pack - held together pretty well and retained good weight, and punched a pretty good hole through the paper.

Anyway draw your own conclusions; in any case I would be keen to hear what you think and see if you have any experience with which to add some value!

 

[bobnob]

Thought I would add this. While I find the final expanded diameter of the recovered bullet interesting, I don’t think one should infer too much from it.

I suspect that throughout the trajectory through the test medium, all the bullets expand wide, then bits break off. They may continue to expand again after those bits have broken off.

I’d hazard a guess that during their penetration, all six of these bullets at some point were expanded to twice their original calibre.

I’ll take the 243 AI on the next pig hunting trip and see how some of these fair up. In the meantime I might see if I can track down a few goats around here to see how they go on thin skinned game. I have to say that at normal hunting ranges I suspect the little soft points will be the quicker killers. We will see I suppose!

 

[TackDriver284]

Nice test. I choose my bullets carefully, after reading / learning experiences from others and the wise, and i use a hunting bullet strictly for hunting and a target / hollow point bullet for knocking steel or paper shooting. I don't recommend using hollow point bullets / target bullets for hunting, sometimes they grenade on impact, no penetration, or pencil through. I don't want those worries etching in my head when I am hunting, but feel confident by using a hunting bullet in hunting situations and leave target bullets for the range.

 

[SJB358]

Thought I would add this. While I find the final expanded diameter of the recovered bullet interesting, I don’t think one should infer too much from it.

I suspect that throughout the trajectory through the test medium, all the bullets expand wide, then bits break off. They may continue to expand again after those bits have broken off.

I’d hazard a guess that during their penetration, all six of these bullets at some point were expanded to twice their original calibre.

I’ll take the 243 AI on the next pig hunting trip and see how some of these fair up. In the meantime I might see if I can track down a few goats around here to see how they go on thin skinned game. I have to say that at normal hunting ranges I suspect the little soft points will be the quicker killers. We will see I suppose!

Awesome test.

I can’t see any of the bullet pictures though?

That 105 HPBT is a good one. Pretty good Bullet in the 243 and they are very well priced. Looking forward to seeing your hunting results.

 

[bobnob]

Point well made Mark. Hard to disagree with that.

My only bugbear is that there are few / nil VLD designs that are also meant for hunting, unless you count the Berger VLD 105g Hunting bullet.

I wish Nosler would produce an ABLR in the 105-110g grain range to suit fast twists. This rifle has a 1-7” barrel and other than fire forming loads, I won’t be bothered with bullets with a poor drag profile generally.

 

[bobnob]

I can’t see any of the bullet pictures though?

.

Bugger. I posted them from Image Shack.

 

[bobnob]

Try this Scotty...

The top centre is the fast Hornady. The core fell out when I was scraping the newspaper off it but it was recovered in one piece.

You can see the SMKs are the most mangled, but on average they penetrated further.

The two Prvis fared pretty well. I’ve used them and the 100g versions quite a bit on pigs back in the day in Factory ammo. Always worked well but velocities were modest compared to other brands of the same weight.

 

[SJB358]

I see those pictures Bob. That 105 is deadly on light skinned animals.

 

[TackDriver284]

Point well made Mark. Hard to disagree with that.

My only bugbear is that there are few / nil VLD designs that are also meant for hunting, unless you count the Berger VLD 105g Hunting bullet.

I wish Nosler would produce an ABLR in the 105-110g grain range to suit fast twists. This rifle has a 1-7” barrel and other than fire forming loads, I won’t be bothered with bullets with a poor drag profile generally.

I have nothing against Berger, I use them mostly for target shooting, from Hybrids to VLD's. I used a VLD-H once on game. I shot a 9 point buck, with a 7 Mag, while it fed with its head down and took the 168 grain VLD-H bullet on top of the neck. I aimed to hit the top of the neck angling towards the vitals, when it hit it dropped like a rock. When I skinned it and found one pinprick entry hole and the vertebrae was all smashed up. No recovered bullet either. I wanted to try a double lung shot, but would only face me for 10 minutes and it was spooky.

As for the ABLR, it was so fussy in my 7mm Mag and could not find a better group than 1.5 MOA at 100. So I tossed it after several tries, and settled with the regular 160 AccuBond which shot real well. The ABLR has been fussy for some, and the ABLR has shot good for some, but I was the unlucky one. The ABLR is a great bullet with its high BC.

 

[SJB358]

As for the ABLR, it was so fussy in my 7mm Mag and could not find a better group than 1.5 MOA at 100. So I tossed it after several tries, and settled with the regular 160 AccuBond which shot real well. The ABLR has been fussy for some, and the ABLR has shot good for some, but I was the unlucky one. The ABLR is a great bullet with its high BC.

Don't feel too bad Mark, the ABLR's were stinkers for me when I first started shooting them when they came out. Hit and miss is the best I could describe it. Lately, since I have really gave them a run at the lands, they have been incredible shooting bullets.

 

[TackDriver284]

As for the ABLR, it was so fussy in my 7mm Mag and could not find a better group than 1.5 MOA at 100. So I tossed it after several tries, and settled with the regular 160 AccuBond which shot real well. The ABLR has been fussy for some, and the ABLR has shot good for some, but I was the unlucky one. The ABLR is a great bullet with its high BC.

Don't feel too bad Mark, the ABLR's were stinkers for me when I first started shooting them when they came out. Hit and miss is the best I could describe it. Lately, since I have really gave them a run at the lands, they have been incredible shooting bullets.

I could try a comeback and experiment the ABLR on the 6.5 Creed one day, but got the 143 ELDX next in line. :mrgreen:

 

[FOTIS]

Nice work.

In 6mm caliber my favorite is the 90 gr AccuBond. I have used them at 2950 fps up to 3540 fps from my 240 magnum. Just hammers stuff! Have never recovered one bullet from game.

 

[bobnob]

Yeah Fotis that would be far from a bad fallback option for deer and pigs, just would be nice to have that accuracy and solid terminal performance in a more slippery package.

Any word of a 6mm ABLR?

 

[FOTIS]

Not this year. Just a 70 grain AccuBond in .224