noharleyyet
Well-known member
Monos share the glory with components and math. And I'm a sucker for a good sales pitch and peer reviews.
Accuracy advantages of lead free bullets?
- Thread starter Justabirdwatcher
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EastTNHunter
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I’ve gotten better accuracy out of the leaded than unleaded.
My Tikka T3 30-06 shoots the 165 TTSX really well, but probably a slight lean to the Accubond for accuracy.
Other rifles just won’t consistently shoot the TTSXs for accuracy, with multiple different weights
My Tikka T3 30-06 shoots the 165 TTSX really well, but probably a slight lean to the Accubond for accuracy.
Other rifles just won’t consistently shoot the TTSXs for accuracy, with multiple different weights
NVDesertHunter
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Really depends how far down the rabbit hole you want to go... If you are shooting factory ammo less than 500yds, you probably will not notice a big difference in accuracy.
If you are an extreme long range shooter and hunt at longer than "normal" ranges, most shooters are using CNC machined lead-free handloads
precisionrifleblog.com
If you are an extreme long range shooter and hunt at longer than "normal" ranges, most shooters are using CNC machined lead-free handloads
What The Pros Use – King of 2 Miles Edition
Earlier this week I traveled to watch the King of 2 Miles rifle competition (Ko2M) at the NRA Whitti...
Dougfirtree
Well-known member
It just depends on the rifle. My 7mm-08 shot a little better with lead, but it's still under an inch with E tips, so..... My son's .308 shoots 130 ttsx's better than most lead bullets. Accuracy is not why I switched away from lead though, so I'm just looking for decent accuracy for hunting and I've generally been able to find that.
Justabirdwatcher
Well-known member
I'm a sucker for an accurate load. So far, my top three most accurate loads from this particular rifle, have all been with conventional bullets (Accubond, Interlock, Pro Hunter), followed by the "older" 120 TSX. After that, the 139 LRX has shown a little promise, but it's not really in the same ballpark as those first three. I was really hoping the 120 TTSX or 140 E-tip would shine. I'd like to make the switch, but I'm one of those shot placement trumps all guys. For now at least.
Watching a few lead core vs. mono demonstrations in ballistic gel, combined with the fact that I leave so much carcass in the field for scavengers to finish off, has me wanting to switch. I don't want to be feeding lead to the birds and don't particularly want to eat anymore myself. I had enough lead exposure in the 70's to probably explain all the problems I have today. LOL
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MTLabrador
Well-known member
I took the advice of @JLS and @mtmuley with some 143 Hammer hunters in my .280 and from an accuracy standpoint they kick ass. It took about 12 rounds to find a sub MOA load. I’ve had great luck with Barnes, but when I run out of my current stockpile in .30 I’ll switch to the 181 Hammers in my .300 win mag as well.
Dougfirtree
Well-known member
I hear you. But, food for thought: Is there really a difference between a 1/2" group, a 1" group and a 1.25" group? I only trust myself to shoot out to about 350 yards, so for me, I'm not sure there is. Good luck!
D
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That’s a determination the end user must be satisfied with.
Justabirdwatcher
Well-known member
That's right. My brain tells me that there is no practical difference inside of 400 yards, but it's tough to give up loads that are consistent 3/4 MOA out to that distance for loads that are 2x as big. 6" groups at 400 yards? Mmmm, that's not real confidence inspiring to me even though I would probably be happy with a 6" group from my longbow at 30 yards. LOL
I have read in plenty of places where folks loved the accuracy of monos and I have to say that at least so far, I'm not that impressed with their accuracy compared to conventionals.
MThuntr
Well-known member
Here you go. Not sure if .48moa is acceptable or not. I'm pretty sure I could do better with a little heavier rifle.
I can't find the pics of the target from my 300WSM but it'll shoot .65moa groups with 180 grain Etips at 2930fps with an SD of 4.5
Working on my 7mm-08 with 140Etips shooting around 1MOA
Might be worth ditching "factory" non-lead bullets for a smaller company like Hammer, Badlands Precision or Cutting Edge. My experience is limited to Hammer and they are very easy to work with. I have contacted Badlands Precision about testing their 180 and 196 bullets in my 300WinMag but they have not responded yet.
I can't find the pics of the target from my 300WSM but it'll shoot .65moa groups with 180 grain Etips at 2930fps with an SD of 4.5
Working on my 7mm-08 with 140Etips shooting around 1MOA
Might be worth ditching "factory" non-lead bullets for a smaller company like Hammer, Badlands Precision or Cutting Edge. My experience is limited to Hammer and they are very easy to work with. I have contacted Badlands Precision about testing their 180 and 196 bullets in my 300WinMag but they have not responded yet.
And that is exactly what a Hammer is. mtmuleyCNC machined lead-free
What The Pros Use – King of 2 Miles Edition
Earlier this week I traveled to watch the King of 2 Miles rifle competition (Ko2M) at the NRA Whitti...
MJE2083
Well-known member
I recently finished up some testing in my 7WSM with Barnes TTSX. Not an overly large sample, but thus far the Barnes is not as accurate as my normal Nosler Ballistic Tips. Still acceptable for hunting, best groups are slightly over 1moa.
Justabirdwatcher
Well-known member
That's kinda what I'm finding, from TTSX's to LRX's to GMX's - all just a "little worse" than the lead core I've tried. I can't complain about the 120 TSX's I've worked up, other than their pretty poor BC and reputation for not expanding very well.
D4570
Well-known member
Have you tried any other powders with the lead-free???
The only powder I have found that shoots lead/nonlead the same was varget.
ALL our copper loads use different powder then what we would use with lead.
I also find with at least Barnes I have to run them FAST need or at the top end of a load to get the best
out of them.
The only powder I have found that shoots lead/nonlead the same was varget.
ALL our copper loads use different powder then what we would use with lead.
I also find with at least Barnes I have to run them FAST need or at the top end of a load to get the best
out of them.
Nailed it.
So far in the small handful of rifles I’ve tested them in, they are just another bullet. Some rifles like them right away and make it easy. Others give me grief and take a long time to find something i can be happy with.
simple rundown:
.30-06, loved 165gr GMX. Doesn’t like 150gr e-tips....YET!
.338-06, loved both 185gr and 210gr TTSX’s
.243, loved the 85gr TSX
7mm-08, fair results with 139gr GMX
I feel like I’ve had just as good of percentage of success with non-lead as with copper jacketed.
simple rundown:
.30-06, loved 165gr GMX. Doesn’t like 150gr e-tips....YET!
.338-06, loved both 185gr and 210gr TTSX’s
.243, loved the 85gr TSX
7mm-08, fair results with 139gr GMX
I feel like I’ve had just as good of percentage of success with non-lead as with copper jacketed.
rtraverdavis
Well-known member
I’ve got a Nosler hookup, and so I’ve been trying like hell to get 180 E Tips to shoot in my new 300 WBY, and have had to mess around quite a bit with different powders and seating depths. It’s been a challenge and taken a lot more work to find a decent load than I’ve ever had with lead-core bullets, but for the reasons @406LIFE stated, I plan to run through the rest of my Accubonds for my other rifles and switch to all lead-free. On my last trip to the range this was my best group:
Which would be acceptable to me, as long as it’s repeatable. I’ll shoot a group of five of this load next week, and if accuracy doesn’t hold, I’ll be making a call to Hammer. I’ve only read how easy load development is with Hammers.
Which would be acceptable to me, as long as it’s repeatable. I’ll shoot a group of five of this load next week, and if accuracy doesn’t hold, I’ll be making a call to Hammer. I’ve only read how easy load development is with Hammers.
GlockZ
Well-known member
I shoot Barnes bullets for everything, but I did have a few hiccups with accuracy in the beginning. First thing I did was a little research and found that most mono-type bullets like to be pushed very fast, so I worked up the loads to near max loads. Second thing I did, was to scrub my rifles clean, I went over and above my normal cleaning routine. Between the 2, my groups shrank drastically, most of the time now, as long as I do my part, I'm seeing around 1/2 MOA out of my rifles.
Buckyranger42
Active member
I picked up factory Nosler E-Tip 180gr 30-06 ammo. I haven’t shot it yet and I’m very interested to see how it does, especially with the understanding the all copper bullets will be the lead-length equivalent of ~200gr. My ‘06s have 1:10 twist. I know it is very rifle dependent and I picked them up for an awesome deal so if they don’t shoot well I’ll just use them for “plinking”.
antelopedundee
Well-known member
Does anyone here crimp their lead-free bullets? Was planning to try some Barnes 80 grain TTSX in a 25-284. The bullet in the pic is about .050 off the lands and is still too long to fit in a Remington 700 short action magazine. I can seat it a bit deeper and crimp it while I'm at it. Right now I'm at 57 grains of Reloder 22 or IMR7977 and can probably move up a couple more. I'd like to get just one critter with it.
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