Bullet test, sort of

[beemanbeme]

In another thread I mentioned that I had some 150gr Grand Slams that I was gonna try at .300 Savage velocity to see if I could use them for hunting our 100# deer here in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.  Another fellow asked me to post my findings. Sooooo.

I have stated before that I felt that the Grand Slam, --now I'm talking about the old style double core type,-- was a bit hard for some of the smaller game like antelope and small deer.  And you had to be careful with your shot placement.  But then, I have only them in a 7mag at 160grs and a 300WM in 200grs.  This was when I was hunting elk, mulies and antelope in that order and didn't want to haul an arsenal out west.  I have used them in a 145grs in a 7-08 and a .280 for mulies only and they seem to work fine.

But I have never tried them in 150grs in .308, nor in a .300 Savage.  So I loaded up some winchester brass with 43grs of Varget @2700+ fps and set up 5 water filled milk jugs at 100 yards.  Wow!  The first two jugs were shattered.  I mean hunks of milk jug everywhere. Jug three was pretty torn up but still reconizable as a milk jug.  Number 4 was split and 5 had a hole in one side and out the other and the bullet was lost.

This kinda surprised me as a couple of weeks ago, my bro-in-law and I were loading some ammo for him and we shot at some milk jugs with a 140gr .277 slug and it went into but not out of jug number 4.  I didn't expect a .300 savage to outdo a .270.

This got me to thinking that the GS was indeed too hard so I set up 5 more jugs to establish a benchmark using a .308 150gr Core Lokt bullet at slightly under 2700fps.  Let's see how far that bullet would travel into the five jugs.  Danged if it didn't go thru all five jugs and was lost.  Sloppy experiment on my part but I never dreamt that the .300Savage would out penetrate the .270.  At least in water.  I guess I'm gonna have to get more jugs.

Anybody got any ideas on this?  I know the core lokts will work.  I've even got some 150gr round nosed bullets that I know will work.  I just sorta wanted to use the GSes but I certainly don't want any wounded deer running around. 

[jhalcott]

  You realize the REAR core of those bullets is quite a bit HARDER than the front one.? These compare favorably with Noslers partition bullets for penetration. I would not worry about over penetration IF (big IF) the bullet is well placed. You can miss a deer with a cannon and kill it with a .223! Those first 3 milk jugs tell the story, LOTS of expansion on them. The next 2 jugs are just what you should expect on a broad side shot. At least you KNOW that a less than perfect shot,say a steep quartering shot, will STILL  work with the grand Slams.

[DDelle338]

  Thanks Beeman,
  I think your test indicates that I need to load some up for my .300sav. If it likes them, shoots them as accuratly as the Sierras, I'll use them for both that and the .243.

[Lone Star]

You realize the REAR core of those bullets is quite a bit HARDER than the front one.?

Nope, not any more.  Current GS bullets have one-piece cores; in fact 6mm and .257" GS bullets have always had one-piece cores.


.

[beemanbeme]

I didn't know about the smaller bullets but I know about the two piece cores in the larger calibres.  I've seen sectional drawings of the "new and improved" Grand Slams where the expansion is controlled by the contour of the jacket. 
In some of the heavier bullets, the softer front portion didn't seem to be that soft when used on light game such as antelope.  That's why I was "testing" the bullets in water. 

[303Guy]

........ 150grs....... 43grs of Varget @2700+ fps ........  I didn't expect a ....... .300Savage would out penetrate the .270.  ......

A slower bullet should out penetrate a quicker one due to the lower initial explosive dumping of energy and higher retained bullet weight and velocity.  I have done a bunch of bullet tests using different mediums and found that the slower the bullet the better it penetrates - sometimes!

An interesting medium I have used is sea sand sandwiched with carpet over soft rags to catch the bullet.  Perhaps something like bundled rags could be used to catch your bullet?

303Guy

[Lone Star]

I didn't know about the smaller bullets but I know about the two piece cores in the larger calibres....

I thought we had discussed that in another thread.   Speer discontinued the two-piece cores some time ago, all GS bullets are now one-piece.  The jacket construction controlls expansion, not differing core hardness.

.

[beemanbeme]

Perhaps we did??  But, being something of a Luddite, when I find something that works for me, I tend to develop a hoard.  I have a considerable stock of dual core Grand Slams in various calibres and weights.  The .308 150gr dual core Grand Slams came to me over two years ago in a trade.  I have a considerable stock of Woodleigh bullets as well a NP's in 7mm  and .308. Most in heavier weights.  Believe it or not, I have over 2000 Remington Bench Rest .224 bullets.  How long has it been since they made those?  At the time, they were the best of the best.

[jhalcott]

  Beeman, I too have some hoarded bullets. That's why I forgot about the change in the GS bullets. It's been a while since I purchased any new ones.!