McGuire Ballistics 168 Copper Rose

[meat_in_the_pot3]

I want to start by saying that I have never been a copper bullet guy, I have always shot cup and core lead bullets and never really had any intentions of going away from that. Recently I came across these McGuire Ballistics Copper Rose bullets and I saw the great BC and they caught my attention. I just recently built a 7 SAUM on a long action with a 24' Proof Carbon Sendero 1:8 twist, and dropped it in a Mesa Precision carbon fiber stock. I was putting this build together for a light weight all around hunting rifle, and had intended to shoot 190 Berger Hybrids. I put 150 rounds through it and started working on load development, it was during this time that I found the Copper Rose bullets.

I contacted Sam at McGuire Ballistics and after a few messages back and forth I gave him a call and he gave me the run down on the bullets he was building. Just from talking to him and His attention to detail and quality control that he guaranteed made me feel good enough to want to give them a try.

Once I got them in the mail Sam gave me an idea of where to start at load development wise and I took off from there. The first thing I noticed was these bullets were extremely easy to be a load together for. Right outta the gate I was shooting Sub MOA and it only got better from there. I found a good node around 2955 fps MV and from that point on I loaded up 25 more of them and set out to validate the BC. I started with 3 shots at 500 yards and shot a 2.5" group, at first I thought the BC might be slightly off and closer to .750, but then I realized I hadnt set my 100 yard zero offset in my ballistics calc. After setting that I jumped out to 800 yards shooting at paper and not steel because I wanted to get the most accurate depiction as I could as to what these bullets were doing. I set the G1 to .800 and ran a 5 shot group at 800 yards and had a 4" 1/2 MOA group right on the money as far as elevation goes, the .800 BC was true and accurate. After shooting at 800 I stepped out to 1,000 again on paper, and shot another 5 shot group with essentially the exact same results. Nearly 1/2 MOA at 1,000 yards with 100% bullet stabilization, and I was getting to 1,000 with only 6.4 mils of correction with a 100 yard zero. This was much better than the 190 Bergers or the 180 Hornadys that I had shot prior.

I was very happy with the results in the 7 SAUM and during this time I also finished up at 7 PRC, again Proof carbon barrel, 1:8 twist. I did some quick load work up again with the 168's, running the same .800 BC and I had the exact same results outta both rifles that I ran them through. These bullets fly great and there is no BS in the advertised BC.

Something else that really impresses me maybe even more than how well they fly is how great they function on impact at 1,800 FPS. I have attached a pic of the results of an impact test at over 1,000 yards shooting into bags of water to simulate a soft tissue impact on game. Even without a hard bone impact these bullets entirely do their job. After shooting these in the .284 Cal stuff I put in another order for .277's as well as .264's and I am going to try them in a few more rifles. If cost is a concern a guy could certainly do his load development with these bullets and shoot something different for a practice round to spend time on the range. With as much money as we put into our long range guns, and tags, fuel, gear, everything it takes to put a hunt together, in my opinion spending money on good quality projectiles should be the least of your concern, because when the time comes to fill a tag that you may or may not have thousands of dollars into, I would like to give myself the biggest advantage possible and know without a doubt my bullet is going to perform when it counts. If you look at it from this view point, paying a little bit more money for a good bullet you know is going to be lethal should be entirely worth the time and money spent to put a load together to hunt with. Along with there is a lot to be said about supporting a small business and a good honest dude who you know is gonna stand behind his product. I couldnt be happier with my experience so far with the McGuire Ballistics Copper Rose Bullets.

[zwickeyman]

Thats a good looking bullet. How tough compared to a Barnes?

[meat_in_the_pot3]

From my experience it’s a much better bullet than Barnes and the load development is way easier


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[Stein]

How is it better?

[meat_in_the_pot3]

Higher BC- far better performance on impact- more consistent- higher quality control- it’s made out of a better grade of copper, and much easier to load for- I’ve never been able to get a Barnes to fly as well as a lead bullet, especially past 4-500 yards. With these I had no problems


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[meat_in_the_pot3]

I really don’t even feel that it’s in the same class as a Barnes bullet to be honest with you- it’s a better quality projectile all the way around


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[Stein]

Are you shooting the hollow points or pointed?  I could see the pointed being a tad better BC, but the hollow points have to be nearly identical since they are extremely similar to Barnes.

I wonder why the pointed are so much more expensive, like 50%? 

Always looking for better alternatives although I have found Barnes to be very consistent with both weight and length relative to other bullets.

[meat_in_the_pot3]

I am shooting the pointed- I haven’t shot any of the hollow points yet but I am going to order some and try then- behind that point is a hollow cavity that is somehow machined out- the way it was explained to me the time it takes to do the tips that way is where the extra cost comes from- and also where the high BC comes from as it creates a better balance point for the bullet- Also each bullet is hand measured tip to tip and off the Ogive as well as weight checked before they are shipped- so the whole box is identical when you get them- I ran these out to 1,300 yards lastnight using a point .800 BC at the velocity I am running them at and it stayed true to there. In comparison a 168 Barnes is .550 I believe- and I never saw better than a .510 in the 168’s I tried


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[jrebel]

So your (or bullet manufacturer) is claiming that the BC of that bullet is G1 BC of 0.800....??  That would be one of the best BC bullet produced, I'm a little skeptical but want to follow your post to see what you figure out with other bullets. 

I will say that a lot of the new Monolithic bullets have really impressed me and they have come a long way in the last few years.  I have been loading Hammer Hunters and they are down right amazing on game.  I feel once you understand Monolithic bullets and how to load for them, they are very easy to load and produce very accurate rounds. 

[meat_in_the_pot3]

Yes I believe it is the best BC on the market, and like I said I have validated this on paper out to 1,000 yards partially expecting it to not hold up and it is in fact true

[meat_in_the_pot3]

I shoot 4-5 times a week typically, and I have steel out to 1,500 yards, paper target stands out 1,000. I am always building loads and doing load development for other guys with the bullets they want to shoot- I can honestly say that I havent ever shot a bullet that shot this well. I am getting out to 1,000 yards with only 6.4 Mils of Adjustment- Thats almost a full Mil better than the Bergers I was shooting at the same velocity.

[jrebel]

When I look at their website, I can't find the tipped version......what am I doing wrong?  Are their tips plastic or aluminum? 

[meat_in_the_pot3]

There isnt actually a "tipped" version, theres a hollow point version and theres a non hollow point version, its all 1 piece of copper but somehow they are machining out a hollow void behind that tip

[Stein]

So your (or bullet manufacturer) is claiming that the BC of that bullet is G1 BC of 0.800....??  That would be one of the best BC bullet produced, I'm a little skeptical but want to follow your post to see what you figure out with other bullets. 

That was my thought, the pointed version is shaped extremely similar to a LRX, same weight yet has a remarkably higher BC (0.75 vs 0.55).  I think one of the only 7mm bullet with a higher claimed BC would be the 190 A-tip.  Beating a 190 lead core with a 168 copper would be an accomplishment to say the least.

[meat_in_the_pot3]

I agree, and I can tell you I didn’t expect it to hold true intially and have never been a copper bullet guy but I can’t deny the results- they are a great flying bullet and that BC held 100% true


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