Woodycreek
Handloader
- Aug 2, 2007
- 2,240
- 0
+1 on pics and load data for the 30-8mm. The 30-8mm sounds like an interesting wildcat 30cal.
LAZZERONI RIFLES
- Thread starter CZ
- Start date
The .30-8mm is basically just a .300 Weatherby Imp. I shoot 76gr of R22 with the 210gr Matrix/Berger bullets at 3100fps in a 27 1/2" barrel. I'm sure there are some other powders that would work well in it and possibly get a little more velocity but they weren't around when we were messing with the cartridge a lot 15 years ago. The R22 load has been a go to load since then so I tried it and it's pretty happy with it I'd say. I did try R25 and it didn't like it as well. It might like H-1000 though as my .338 Baer's love that stuff. My friends .30-8mm loves 155 Lapua's with 86 or 87grs of R25 at 3650fps.
We stopped hunting with the old Bergers after coming close to losing quite a few animals. Then they came out with the hunting version which it seems most people are happy with. I haven't used them on game. The one Matrix bullet we recovered, in the liver, was a good looking bullet. The nose peeled back to about the straight section of the bullet and the lead core was still there although you could pull it out and it actually had tissue under the core. I'm not sure why it didn't blow right through the elk though. The second shot through the lungs punched right through with about a 1 to 1.5" exit hole. The elk stood there after the first shot and fell after the second. It thrashed around got back to it's feet and went about 5yds before it was done. Matrix makes bonded bullets but they aren't the VLD's.
I'll see what I can do for pictures. My phone camera decided it didn't like the latest update I did and our normal camera took a crap a couple weeks ago. I might have to steal the wife's cell or wait until I get my new one.
We stopped hunting with the old Bergers after coming close to losing quite a few animals. Then they came out with the hunting version which it seems most people are happy with. I haven't used them on game. The one Matrix bullet we recovered, in the liver, was a good looking bullet. The nose peeled back to about the straight section of the bullet and the lead core was still there although you could pull it out and it actually had tissue under the core. I'm not sure why it didn't blow right through the elk though. The second shot through the lungs punched right through with about a 1 to 1.5" exit hole. The elk stood there after the first shot and fell after the second. It thrashed around got back to it's feet and went about 5yds before it was done. Matrix makes bonded bullets but they aren't the VLD's.
I'll see what I can do for pictures. My phone camera decided it didn't like the latest update I did and our normal camera took a crap a couple weeks ago. I might have to steal the wife's cell or wait until I get my new one.
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,556
- 6,666
Those are some enviable groups. You are to be congratulated for some fine riflery. Those are certainly some cavernous cases.
Very awesome. Sounds like the Matrix's are pretty cool bullets. Starting to hear more and more about them. Great shooting on your mates part. Very nice elk. Have you used many of the Matrix's? Any reason they are better/worse than other bullets out there? Scotty
In my rifle the Matrix bullets shoot better then the Bergers. The advertised BC is also a lot higher. I haven't worked out my drops yet to see if the BC is truly as advertised. I ran across Matrix bullets on the web and noticed some of their BC's were pretty high in 6mm, 270, 7mm, and .30. So about a month ago I ordered some .30 cal 210's and 7mm 168's for my birthday present. I even told my wife what she got me :mrgreen: . I talked to Marshall at Matrix about shooting game with them. He said they were plenty tough for shooting game. After I shot the groups I posted pictures of I emailed him and told him how they shot for me. He emailed me back and said go shoot something with them and a few days ago he emailed me again asking if I had shot anything with them yet. The friend that shot the elk had been shooting 150 AB's for quite a few years and wanted to try some of the Matrix bullets. So I loaded some for him and they shot better then the AB's. We both shot out to 550yds and even though he isn't nearly as experience as me shooting he still shot a group of about 7". We tried a couple different powder charges of H-1000 but didn't even play with seating depths in his gun. I loaded them about .040" off the rifling.
To me, from seeing how they performed on the elk, the Matrix bullets perform a lot like a tougher Sierra bullet. The core has a tendency to separate but the jackets are tough. I tried to bend the copper back on the expanded bullet and couldn't do it with my fingers. If I can get my friend to send me a picture of the bullet I'll post it next week. We are going deer hunting again tomorrow.
When I get some time I'll try the 7mm 168gr bullets in a 7 STW I built at the same time as the .30-8mm. It's got a 30" Brux Sendero contour on it. It didn't like the initial loads I tried with Berger 168's but the .30-8mm didn't like the 155gr Lapua's I tried initially either.
BTW Here are some crappy pictures of my gun from my wife's cell phone. The stock I got with a 7 RUM Sendero I bought. I wish it was a BDL but it's a sweet stock for shooting off of the bench. The forend is perfectly flat and 3" wide.
To me, from seeing how they performed on the elk, the Matrix bullets perform a lot like a tougher Sierra bullet. The core has a tendency to separate but the jackets are tough. I tried to bend the copper back on the expanded bullet and couldn't do it with my fingers. If I can get my friend to send me a picture of the bullet I'll post it next week. We are going deer hunting again tomorrow.
When I get some time I'll try the 7mm 168gr bullets in a 7 STW I built at the same time as the .30-8mm. It's got a 30" Brux Sendero contour on it. It didn't like the initial loads I tried with Berger 168's but the .30-8mm didn't like the 155gr Lapua's I tried initially either.
BTW Here are some crappy pictures of my gun from my wife's cell phone. The stock I got with a 7 RUM Sendero I bought. I wish it was a BDL but it's a sweet stock for shooting off of the bench. The forend is perfectly flat and 3" wide.
