Long range loads and penetration.

[Coasthunterjay]

What bullet out past 500+ yrds would have the best speed and hit the hardest and still be VERY ACCURATE on Big game? Either a 180 or 200 Grain bullet.......Just bullets not calibers......if you need a cal, lets say 300 Win mag. But thats not important.

Accubond? Barnes(if barnes what type)? Scciroco? Tipped or non tipped? Lead or copper styles?

Any recommendations....? Would like to know what you think!

[Bofire]

At long range Ballistic Coff. rules, heavy bullets. go look at loads 1000 yard shooters use. 600 yard shooters, all use bullets heavy for the caliber.
Carl

[MasterMisser]

i would agree with bofire. the heavier the bullet the more energy its going to have when it makes contact with the target. but there are alot of different factors that come into account when your looking for the best overall performance out of a bullet. i would recommend buying a ballistic program. there are alot out there let me know if you need any recommendations.

[FALFire]

MasterMisser is correct here, you have asked a question that is too broad and could invite answers that don't apply to your specific needs. Be more specific and maybe you will get some usefull info.  IE: I shoot a 300 Win Mag and I want to shoot X brand bullet beyond 500 yards on moose, will this X bullet be reliable at that distance? Or what kind of bullet,  velocities and pound feet of energy do I need to take a 900 pound Bull Moose at 500 yards. Otherwise, it's a guessing game that may or may not yield good results.

[MasterMisser]

on another note... dont be specific about the type of bulllet you decide to try. every gun shoots the same ammo differently. if we both had identical guns. your gun might like the nosler 180 grn accubond and mine might prefer the 200 grn sierra matchking. i would recommend trying multiple brands of ammo with all different types of bullets until you find a bullet that gives you the desired groups. then practice shooting it at different yardages to see how accurate it is at extended ranges. once again I'm gonna suggest getting a ballistic calculator. this is a very good tool to have and anyone shooting beyond 600yards should use one. besides they are cheep...

[Coasthunterjay]

All i want to know is if i want to shoot an animal at a billion yards(not that i am going to because im not, but for paper reasons for now.....) what round would be the best in all (X) factors....

Im not an idiot i just have never used anything but nosler ballistic tips and nosler accubonds(last year only), so i just dont know........

But i have been pushed to using barnes TSX and was interested because of the cool ballistic mold youtube that they have and well basically i have also heard that out past 500 yards that most copper bullets like the nosler E and the Barnes that they tumbe and have sometime had ballistic performance problems at long ranges...

So maybe a Tipped XXX might be a good candidate? And accubond?

And what is the benefit of shooting a 200 grain bullet over a 180?

[Little John]

GET FREEEEKEN CLOSER!!!!  Maybe the wind will blow and you shoot his horn off Or gut shoot it

[littlebuf]

id go with the barnes, i think there called MXR's but im not sure. if you look them up there the one with a tungston core and they were made to be lethal on big game at long distance.  

[demontang]

I have been shooting the accubonds and they seem hard to beat, They have a great BC and seem to hold to gather very well. I havent tried the barns yet but have hear good things, I would look at the different BC of the bullets and see which one you gun likes. I can hold a .5" group with the 225 (.338cal) accubounds but the other bullets I have shot I cant seem to keep the groups that small. If you plan on shooting at an animal I would make sure you know you weapon and how to read the wind.

[JoshT]

The biggest factor here... since this is a totaly arbitrary question with waaaaaay too many variables... is impact velocity. Impact velocity will dictate how the bullet acts when it arrives on target.... initial velocity and BC will dictate what that velocity is... and at what range the velocity has dropped below what is required for the bullet to expand. Depending on the bullet... that could be anywhere from 1400fps to 2000fps... but no too many bullets that will hold up to the rigors of a .300 mag... will expand very well below about 1400fps.

If you want a real answer... lets talk about a real cartridge. I know that the 200 AB, the 208 Amax, and the 210 Berger all work well out past 500 yards in the .300 RUM... because I've either shot them into critters myself... or seen the damage done by other guys who've done the shooting. But... it seems to me that we need to get a lot more specific... before we can even begin to have a valid answer to this question.

[TheHunt]

I would have to agree that a heaver bullet is the ticket.  The heaver bullet will provide you more down range energy.  Lets say you are going to shoot at a 450 lb black bear at 600 yards.  The energy to kill the bear is what you need to look at.   

I saw a video of someone shooting a 300 grain MatchKing at some long distance (900 yards) and taking out a deer.  The wound showed the energy the 300 grain bullet provided at that distance.  So you need to find out what provides the required energy to your required distance and game you want to kill.

Good post by the way...

I am doing the same with my 338.   (Here are the bullets I am testing:  Nosler Accubond 250 grains, Barnes 250 grain MRX Boat Tail , Sierra 250 grain MatchKings)

[Intruder]

In general I agree.... long range bullets are gonna be on the heavy side for the particular gun/cal.  However, ya can't just say it's all about weight or BC.  Spreed is really important too.  There's a balance between speed/weight/BC that has to be achieved for your particular gun.  Additionally, IMO bullet construction is a big factor when you take long range shooting and translate it to long range hunting shots.     

[Gutpile]

Swift scirroco would be a great choice. 180 grain. Look for the highest B.C. ; Berger VLD's, Swift Scirroco, Hornady interbond, Barnes T TSX, Nosler Accubond. Any of those in 180 grain. Before I get slammed, I'm not condoning shooting at extreme ranges but if I were to shoot that far those are the bullets I'd look at and I'd just load up the ones that gave the best accuracy.

Those Barnes T TSX give great accuracy for me as do the scirroco's and interbonds.

I'm not 100% sure but I think scirroco and berger have the highest B.C. although any of these bullets are very high.

All of these bullets are made to hold weight and penetrate. Penetration is good!   

[thinkingman]

My suggestion would be an all-copper constucted bullet like Barnes TSX in 180 or 200gr.
First, all copper will be long for its' weight....and longer bullets usually have better ballistics.
Second, the Barnes all copper bullets have less variance to effect accuracy at that range.
That said, make sure you have a high twist rate for stabilization at that weight(length, actually) and have a lot of practice before you start shooting at things that bleed.
Second for Berger VLD, and Swift Scirocco.

Personally, I think it's a bad practice to shoot animals at that range, but you didn't ask that question.

[JoshT]

First, all copper will be long for its' weight....and longer bullets usually have better ballistics.

Length is good... but shape is much more important. And, the BC that Barnes lists for their bullets is rather optimistic in my experience.

Second, the Barnes all copper bullets have less variance to effect accuracy at that range.

What?