Here are the not so scientific results of my test with the 135gr A-Tips which B23 was nice enough to send me. Bullets were shot into a bin filled with the same apron leather as before but with cardboard layered in every 2" as well. I filled the bin with water and let it soak for 2 days before my testing. I started shooting at the top of the in and worked my way down trying to keep up with the water level as it drained out of the bin through the bullet holes. I also shot one each of the 140gr A-Max and 143 ELDx to see if the results this time would match the results I saw the last time I did the testing.
6.5 Grendel
- 135gr Hornady A-tip
- Muzzle velocity 2170 fps
Impact velocity was roughly 1900 fps. Retained weights on the two recovered bullets were 134.8gr and 124.0gr including the recovered tips. One bullet lost the tip after about 5" of penetration and the the jacket and core separated a few inches deeper in. The second bullet penetrated roughly 15" before losing the tip and I found the rest of the bullet at roughly 16". For comparison, the only bullets which came close to depth of penetration were some of the 338s which tumbled and penetrated backwards with no expansion. Even those didn't go this deep.
For the sake of consistency, I tried to test the 135 A-Tip under the same conditions that I tested the other 6.5 bullets a while back when I was doing the testing. This time I shot all the bullets at a slightly higher muzzle velocity to help with stability, but set up the bullet trap at 250 yards to still give an impact velocity similar to what I had before.
The results I saw today with the 140gr A-Max and 143 ELDx mirror what I saw before when shooting those bullets at the same material with similar impact velocities. The 140 A-Max retained 131.8gr total, but the jacket and core separated. The 143 ELDx retained 125.1gr and was very similar to the last test I did with them when the same bullet retained 135.4gr and 119gr with similar impact velocities.
Two bullets doesn't make a valid test, but right now it looks like the A-tips really won't expand predictably. I have two left of the 5 that B23 was nice enough to send me so I'm trying to decide whether to duplicate my test with the same velocity or try these two at a slightly higher impact velocity.
I added these results to the old thread I had on LRH from the bullet test I did a few years ago. Here's a link to that thread for anyone who's interested.
https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/a-tips-on-game.222373/page-3#post-1662627
