What are your thoughts on using Flat base bullets like Nosler partitions or Boattail bullets like a Hornady SST?

Has anyone seen a major difference in bullet flight and presicion from bullets with a flat base and those with a boattail?

I use the boat tail designs because they shoot good for me in my particular rifle. Keep in mind they were designed for longer range shooting than flat bases? I have heard that in some rifles the boat tails don't stabilize until after 100 or 200 yards and will actually group tighter at farther ranges than they will at 100 yards?
I also have heard that if boat tails don't work in your gun the flat bases are supposed to be really accurate. I would give both a try and see what happens. I would start with the SST or Interlock boat tail. Esox357

I have been experimenting with most of Hornady's bullets. I haven't noticed enough of a difference from flat bases to boattails to affect how I feel. I was mostly looking other people's experiences for any knowledge they have.

I like what will shoot in my rifles. My 300WSM won't shoot a flat base bullet and my 243Win won't shoot a boattail bullet. I don't know if my other rifles are picky like these two or not.

What luckyducker said, but for shooting out to 400yds, you'll find that flat base bullets often give better accuracy.

The boattail has a slight (very slight!!) ballistic advantage over a flatbase bullet. But MOST shots in the hunting field are taken at ranges considerably less than those at which the boattail advantage begins to become significant!

Shoot whichever gives you the best groups!

I much prefer a flat base bullet in just about all cases.

Even Sierra, who probably sells more boat tail bullets than anyone in the world, will readily admit that it is easier to get a flat based bullet to shoot accurately.

And, a boat tail bullet (no matter who makes it) has a better chance of slipping the jacket upon impact on game than a flat based bullet.

I shoot a LOT of boat tailed Sierra's in competition, but stick to flat based bullets if they are available for hunting.

Unless you are shooting "way out there", you will not see much gain in shooting boat tails.

My two 25-06 rifles are a prime example of the difficulty in getting boat tails to shoot some times. Both of them have shot 117 grain Sierra flat base bullets great, while they shoot pretty poor groups with 117 grain Sierra boat tails.

Again, if you are shooting long distances at targets, the boat tails are great. For hunting, at least, I will take a flat based bullet every time.

What is the basis for comparison? Accuracy, terminal performance, ease of loading? The BT (may) have a slight balistic advantage but don't necessarily shoot better because it's much more difficult to make a concentric BT than a FB. IMHO, BT's tend to shed the jacket easier, unless bonded or homogenious,than FB. BT's easier to load straight.

Regarding bullet types, this much I've learned. Sometime in the 80's Nosler dropped their solid base, a bullet I picked out because it looked good. I found a replacement, the partition. Later I decided to save money with Hornady bullets. Nosler brought out the ballistic tip, and sometime in the last ten years they became a much better and tougher bullet.

My point? Well each rifle is a law unto itself and each rifle has a preference. The best rifles shoot both equally well. That and the fact that of all bullets I loaded, none required more work to shoot accurately than the Barnes X and XBT.

Whether it's a flat-based or boat-tailed bullet is generally of secondary interest to me. I choose a bullet on the basis of its application and the performance expectation I have of that particular projectile. I try and use the bullet best suited to the task at and and work from there. And, within reason, I'll sacrifice a little velocity for superior accuracy any time.

And while it's true that BTs retain velocity at longer ranges better than their flat-based counterparts, it doesn't necessarily mean that the more streamlined bullet will group any better. Barrel harmonics play a significant role, and I have plenty of flat-based loads that will group as well as any other bullet out to the limits of the cartridge's effective hunting range.

I was hoping to spark a few comments about ballistic coefficients, accuracy, etc. I have found that at the distances that I regularly shoot (less than 300yards) that boattails do shot a slightly tighter group. But when I hunt I don't have the steadiness of a benchrest, so the boattails (to me) have no advantage over flat base bullets. So I load for the type of bullet I will need for the species that I am after whether it be 139grain Hornady SST for antelope or 150grain Partitions for deer & elk.

Ever rifle is diff. & high BC just isn't that much of an effect out to reasonable hunting ranges.
My .338-06 shoots the 210grNP into much smaller groups than the 200grNBT, so you can probably guess which one I hunt with.

MThuntr: I have been so happy for so long with the accuracy and lethality of Nosler Partitions in several of my Hunting Rifles (7mm Rem. Mag., 308 Win., 30/06 and one of my 270's) that I simply have not tried anything else in them.
The accuracy of my Remington 700 Classic in 7mm Remington Magnum using the 160 gr. Nosler Partitions is very impressive! And lethality wise the Nosler Partitions leave nothing to be desired on Black Bear, Elk and Deer!
I have shot my 7mm Remington Magnum out to 300 yards at my range on only one occassion. The bullets still maintained expected accuracy out to that distance!
I think the inherent accuracy of the Nosler Partitions that is built into them, at the factory (care in production, design and quality control) is one of its best points! The best selling point though is the lethality these bullets impart on game!
Noslers for me!
By the way I was just over to Forsyth (elevation 2,525'!) on the Antelope opener/Gumbo fest! We Hunted out of Ingomar. We went in to Forsyth one day to try and regain steering in our vehicles by pressure washing the Gumbo out of the wheel wells! $12.00 spent and only "temporary" relief there!
Neat little town you have there in some fine game country! Two of the four Antelope we finally brought to bag were shot at ranges in excess of 350 yards! So yes your question is pertinent and I wish I had a little more long range testing to quote for you.
Long live Yellowstone Country!
Ohh also this - last year my Antelope Hunting partner and I slept under the bridge on the west end of town (Forsyth) along the river. We had our Antelope in the rig already and it was the second day of last years Antelope season and we were heading home from Hunting over in Powder River Country. Our plan was to get up real early and drive along the Musselshell and view all of the abundant wildlife on our way back to Dillon, Montana!
Not 2 1/2 miles (W/B) out of Forsyth on Highway 12 what do we see coming out of the first cornfield on the left but a HUGE Whitetail Buck (160 B&C at least)! We stopped in the middle of the highway (no traffic) and watched him for 5 minutes at least. He was a dandy! I looked for him this year but only got by that area in mid-day and did not see him - or the corn field! I think they rotated crops this year?
Long live Forsyth
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I like to think that my use of boat tails gives me a balistic advantage, but know really that is just a prejudice.

There are light frangible bullets designed for varmint hunting of both designs. There are bullets of medium construction suitable for the killing of deer made with flat and boat tails. And lastly there are bonded core bullets made with the most modern of manufacturing techniques, suitable for the taking of the largest game in N America, built with either tail design.

Lots of benchrest competitions have been won with both, so there really is no difference in hunting accuracy.

When you get right down to it, I can only name one reason to choose one over the other for hunting at any range inside 500 yds.

Boattail bullets are far easier to start into a case while reloading.

I think it was Barnes, that shared with me the following:
Flatbase Bullets are usually more likely to shoot tighter patterns,compared to BT.
BT - he shared - are produced because customers like them - sex appeal. Pure marketing ploy

quote:

Originally posted by sheephunter:
I think it was Barnes, that shared with me the following:
Flatbase Bullets are usually more likely to shoot tighter patterns,compared to BT.
BT - he shared - are produced because customers like them - sex appeal. Pure marketing ploy

Yes. And, since boatail bullets are longer than flatbase ones of the same weight, if the twist of rifling in your rifle is in the least marginal, it will understabilize the boattail design before it does the same to a flatbase slug......

I ran a comparison of a 154 gr Hornady SST with the flatbase bullet of the same weight, in a 7mm RM at 3000 fps. The BT had .5" less drop, 150 ftlbs more energy, and 1 inch less deflection from a ten mph wind at 300 yards. Not much difference unless you shoot farther than that. At 500 yards the differences between the two are much greater. Most of us never shoot that far when hunting. They are much better for long range target shooting where correctly reading the wind wins tournaments. BT's make wind less of an issue at long range.

I load BT's because they are easier to get centered in the case.

quote:

Originally posted by MThuntr:
What are your thoughts on using Flat base bullets like Nosler partitions or Boattail bullets like a Hornady SST?

Has anyone seen a major difference in bullet flight and presicion from bullets with a flat base and those with a boattail?

MThuntr, The benchrest guys that shoot little tiny groups at 100, and 200 yards, almost to a man, shoot flatbase bullets......The guys that shoot little tiny groups at 1,000 yards, almost to a man, shoot boattail bullets. I use mostly flatbase bullets for the relatively few shots I take at game. For target shooting, and plinking, where I am apt to shoot a lot,(and consequently reload a lot,) I shoot mostly boattails....Like Idaho Shooter says, they start easier in the seating step, and probably, (for me,) have less runout. Grant.

after finding only a piece of the jacket in offside rib of muledeer last year at 175 yds (sierra 140 bt out of my 270) i called sierra & they said flat base held togetrher better. went to 30-06 this yearso i called hornady when i started working up a load for 150's. hornady also advised that flat base bullets held together better. shot a huge mule deer at 60 yds with their interlock quartering away & going downhill. bullet recovered under skin in lower neck. 97 grains & perfectly mushroomed. new 25 inch custom barrel chrono'd 2975 fps & bullet held together; sierra would never have done this i expect. higher velocity than 3000 fps, i guess i would go to speer trophy bond or nosler partition. i will avoid boat tails when i can; want bullets to hold together!/ chaz

I have never been able to tell the difference in the field. I have gotten both styles to shoot good groups.

The only boattails that I have ever had problems with are the old Barnes X bullets. I could not get them to shoot out of my 270.

But, I do not think that the style had anything to do with that.

quote:

I think it was Barnes, that shared with me the following:
Flatbase Bullets are usually more likely to shoot tighter patterns,compared to BT.

I have tried several bullets in each of my rifles and the most accurate bullets in my rifles are the nosler ballistic tip and the barnes tsx,both of which are boattails.

quote:

Boattail bullets are far easier to start into a case while reloading.


Idaho Shooter

This is the main reason I like boattails too, especially in 22 and smaller calibers.