I see that Midway is having a sale on Federal loaded ammo amd most of the selections use one of the above bullets.

I searched the archives here and came away with the impression that many people have trouble getting the XLC's to shoot well, am I correct?

The TBBC's and Hot-Cors seem to have good reputations, the Hot-Cor especially for long distance shooting after the bullet has dumped some energy, they tend to fragment if too close.

Would this be a good choice for a 7mm Rem used for elk at longer distances? What about the TBBC's, where do they fit in in terms of performance vs. distance?


Thanks, Rob

I shoot 225grn TBBC's from my .338 Win Mag. I haven't shot anything with it yet (something I hope I change next month ), but they shoot better than MOA in my gun. Which, by the way, didn't like 250grn NP's at all.

Can't tell you how they kill, but they shoot well in my gun.

quote:

Originally posted by Recoil Rob:
I see that Midway is having a sale on Federal loaded ammo amd most of the selections use one of the above bullets.

I searched the archives here and came away with the impression that many people have trouble getting the XLC's to shoot well, am I correct?

The TBBC's and Hot-Cors seem to have good reputations, the Hot-Cor especially for long distance shooting after the bullet has dumped some energy, they tend to fragment if too close.

Would this be a good choice for a 7mm Rem used for elk at longer distances? What about the TBBC's, where do they fit in in terms of performance vs. distance?


Thanks, Rob

Of the ones you mention, it's hard to beat the TBBC's. They're on a par with Swift A-Frames and North Forks.

quote:

Of the ones you mention, it's hard to beat the TBBC's. They're on a par with Swift A-Frames and North Forks.

Add to that the TSX, the Nosler Partition, and the woodleigh and that's the short list of bullets that I've never (or rarely) read any negative feed back on the AR forum. That's a heck of a statement for those bullets.

Another vote for TBBC's----AND--if it's on sale factory loaded it's probably a bargain. I think as reloaders they are about a buck a bullet for just the components. Add to that the cost of powder, brass and primer and you proably couldn't reload them as cheap as buying them already loaded at the factory.

Federal is having a problem wiht the Trophy Bonded bullets as they produce them. The took the design acquired from the originator Jack Carter, and changed the jacket material from copper to gilding metal to make it easier for them to produce them. Unfortunately, it apparently makes a great bullet an also ran. Terry Wieland and Tom Turpin document this in a pair of articles in Gun Digest 2006.

This has been reported to Federal, who have not acted yet.

I have used the .308"/180 gr TBBC on deer (in a Federal loading) and they expanded more than I expected, even if the deer was a 300 pound Northern whitetail at 75 yards.

jim

jim

Of those mentioned I have used the .257 115gr XLCs and the .284 160gr XLCs and both shoot quite well in my rifles.
I have not used any "HotCore" on game since the mid '80's as they were piss poor on game in my experience. There were many others that performed better for the average bullet.( Hornady Interlock, Rem Cor-Lok, and even the Sierras worked better. I've found no reason to try them again. There's just to many other good bullets.
I have not paid for any TBBCs.

I have tried the Nosler Partition, Woodleigh Weldcore PP as well in the "premium" catagory and think quite highly of them. In fact I bought several boxes of the .308 Woodleighs when they were on sale a month or so ago, and last fall they had Woodleighs for the .338 on sale for less per box than standard bullets! I don't think there's a much better bullet for big game.

Nate