Something I never thought about came to mind the other day as I was buying bullets. For bullets that come in both a flat base design and a boat tail design of the same weight. The Hornaday 150 grain .308 bullet comes to mind. I was wondering about the flat base having more bearing surface on the rifling. Has anyone noticed one to be inherently more accurate?

Bech rest shooters use flat base bullets, at least most do.
I've read some where that boat tail bullets are not needed for 95% of the time. As I remember from the article, until you reach out to 500 to 600 yards there's very little difference.
With my 243 I used 70 and 80 grain BTHPs for groundhogs because they were the most accurate. In my 25-06 I used Speer 100 hollow points, flat base. In 308 I use a 168 grain BTHP in one rifle. In the other 308 rifle I use 150 grain flat base bullets.
Jim

+1 on what Arky said. I have 2 .223's. One prefers the 52gr Sierra BTHP and the other likes the 53gr HP with the flat base. Usually, when I'm starting out with a new rifle, I start out with flat based bullets.

quote:

Originally posted by Jacobite:
... Has anyone noticed one to be inherently more accurate?

Hey Don, Yes.

The problem is that some rifles just prefer one Style over the other when distance is short.

As the distance increases, there is a whole bunch of other variables that come in to play and a Boat Tail "normally" shoots more accurate way out yonder.
---

If you are shooting to see who buys the BBQ, then it is VERY important up close to have the "most accurate" one. Normally shooting at Game and Varmints inside 400-500yds there isn't enough difference to get concerned over.

But, that Boat Tail does make getting the Bullets into small cases a bit easier for those of us with large hands.

Good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills.

But wouldn't it be hypocritical for someone with the handle "Hot Core" to use a boat tail bullet??

three points here
1. Boat tails have better aerodynamics and shoot flatter but it's not noticeable until about 300 yards

2. I have never noticed one more accurate than the other

3. Boat tails tend to shed their core more easily than flat based bullets for big game hunting.

There are two special types of boat tail bullets.....the ones where the lead extends into the actual boat tail geometry and ones where the lead is contained ahead of the boat tail geometry. I avoid the former ones but the latter make fine hunting bullets.

I won't hunt with this type bullet:


But this type is a very good design:


The latter BTW is a Nosler solid base bullet and a superbly good cup and core bullet and ranks with the best of them for big game up to about 400 pounds.

quote:

Originally posted by olarmy:
But wouldn't it be hypocritical for someone with the handle "Hot Core" to use a boat tail bullet??

Hey olarmy, Then I'm "guilty"!

Huuummm, I do use both. Does that make me only half guilty?
---

Heck, I even do some Hunting with Bullets that are built EXACTLY like the ones Vapo won't use. They do create a problem though - dragging Deer out is tough on us old folks!

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:
Heck, I even do some Hunting with Bullets that are built EXACTLY like the ones Vapo won't use. They do create a problem though - dragging Deer out is tough on us old folks!

Roger uses them too....

Are those not sierra bullets?

Shoot the one that works best in your gun. There are many new boattails out there with bonded cores, interlocks, etc. so all the old rules get thrown out.

quote:

Originally posted by Jacobite:
Are those not sierra bullets?

Yes they are!

Actually my main deer bullet is the Nosler Ballistic Tip.

I think every rifle bbl. is diff. but it's easier to get flat base bullets to shoot better. That nice full bore flat base leaves the bbl. just a bit straighter. I don't think there is much benefit to a BT until well after 300yds. Then the extra BC helps w/ both wind & drop.

heh... boattails load in the case during reloading easier!!

the rest is choice

Gents
It's wonder that our fore fathers could bring down any game with a firearm prior to the boattailed bullet.
The whitetail in Virginia die very nicely at 100 to 125 yards using a store bought corelokt or silver tip.
The only use for 'premimum' bullet, that I have, is the Sierra HPBT for groundhogs in my 243 and I'm shooting them way out there. The 25-06 likes Speer 100 flat base HPs for the same purpose.
I'm a bit cynical as to the actual use of the 'premimum bullets' outside of the occasional elephant, rhino, buffalo, wooly mammouth, mastadon, etc.
I don't believe that the big game on this continent have gotten any tougher nor the average shooter has gotten to be any better marksman.
Jim

quote:

Originally posted by arkypete:
...I'm a bit cynical as to the actual use of the 'premimum bullets' outside of the occasional elephant, rhino, buffalo, wooly mammouth, mastadon, etc. ...

Hey Jim, I've been giving it a bit of thought and can't remember a time that I had a problem using regular old Standard Grade Bullets on a Wooly Mammoth or a Mastodon.

Good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills.

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:

quote:

Originally posted by arkypete:
...I'm a bit cynical as to the actual use of the 'premimum bullets' outside of the occasional elephant, rhino, buffalo, wooly mammouth, mastadon, etc. ...

Hey Jim, I've been giving it a bit of thought and can't remember a time that I had a problem using regular old Standard Grade Bullets on a Wooly Mammoth or a Mastodon.

Good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills.

Back when I was a kid we hunted wooly mammoths a lot and we used to take the bullets apart and put pine pitch between the core and cups and reassembled them to attain an additional amout of "bonding" as we often incurred separations of same on the mammoths. Had we known about tin to make solder we'd have invented bonded bullets way back then!!!!

As the Mammoth went by the wayside there was little use for the "pitched" bullets and we just used the standard cup and core since!

I too, was distressed with the jacket and core separation, so I got rid of the jacket and and shot cast bullets.
Wingo, bango problem solved.
The simplest solution is usually the best.
Jim

Jim,
Apparantly you drove your Mammoths over a cliff and then shot them at close range with those cast lead bullets....here on the plains we had to shoot them at longer range and the jacket bullets were necessary to achieve the velocities needed to kill them at longer distances.

I read somewhere (probably on this forum) that the ridge(?) where the boat tail starts to taper down is hard to keep perfect so that the bullet leaves the crown square. I did have one nosler ballistic tip that you could see this defect on. I shot it in a marked case with a load that is proven to group well and it was a flier. maybe some truth to it.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
Jim,
Apparantly you drove your Mammoths over a cliff and then shot them at close range with those cast lead bullets....here on the plains we had to shoot them at longer range and the jacket bullets were necessary to achieve the velocities needed to kill them at longer distances.

Nahh
You flat landers are just impatient. Want to get the shooting and kill over with quickly. Where I like to take my shot, light a smoke, stand up and watch the bullet get there.
It takes confidence to do that.
You on the other hand need to shoot, see it happen and be ready for the second shot.
Jim

quote:

Originally posted by arkypete:

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
Jim,
Apparantly you drove your Mammoths over a cliff and then shot them at close range with those cast lead bullets....here on the plains we had to shoot them at longer range and the jacket bullets were necessary to achieve the velocities needed to kill them at longer distances.

Nahh
You flat landers are just impatient. Want to get the shooting and kill over with quickly. Where I like to take my shot, light a smoke, stand up and watch the bullet get there.
It takes confidence to do that.
You on the other hand need to shoot, see it happen and be ready for the second shot.
Jim

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:
Heck, I even do some Hunting with Bullets that are built EXACTLY like the ones Vapo won't use. They do create a problem though - dragging Deer out is tough on us old folks!

Roger uses them too....

Hey!! I almost missed this one.

When I was bringing up six kids in Colorado, venison, elk, trout other wild game and home raised cattle were were our main diet along with a couple neighboor's chickens.

I go out amoung the deer every week now, but haven't had to drag one out in 13 years . My kids are in their 40s and 50s and I have to sacrafice myself now by eating prime rib, choice Porterhouse, and occasionally a tender Boston butt roast. Once in a while a kind young buck will drop off some antelope steaks or an elk tenderloin.

VD is right though I do use them and they all go through paper or splatter on steel plate. One bullet did dispatch a 125 lb. Halibut in Alaska a couple of years back.

Lately, because of a great buy, I've been using a number of HP FB Berger bullets. Let me tell you those things could spoil an ole hand.

roger