Thank you for the suggestions snowcat. I shall take it under advisement and get to it eventually.

I'm going to have to get a Federal Grant to cover this can of worms.

Steel Maiden is quite the contraption for answering some questions. She will be tuned and improved. Recalibration with 1" of plywood to 7 inches of water coming up.

RIP,

Less wood probably will help separate close contenders. But what about indicators??

I had some old paneling about an eighth-inch thick and have used pieces of it for an indicator along the way in solid testing to see if I am still point-on without adding any flavor to the soup so to speak.....

Also will show you when (and where) those Barnes "X" petals come off when you get to blasting high velocity expanders...........

BigRx

RIP:

Very nice set-up!

I am hopeful you will have a chance in the next couple of weeks (before I head back to Tanzania July 19) to test those North Fork 500 grain, .474 Cup Points with the George Hoffman Memorial Load??? Please say YES!

Regards,

jjs

quote:

Originally posted by BigRx:
RIP,

Less wood probably will help separate close contenders. But what about indicators??

I had some old paneling about an eighth-inch thick and have used pieces of it for an indicator along the way in solid testing to see if I am still point-on without adding any flavor to the soup so to speak.....

Also will show you when (and where) those Barnes "X" petals come off when you get to blasting high velocity expanders...........

BigRx

Big Rx,
I am hoping to stretch the "score" of the .375/300gr@2500fps out to 10 instead of 7 water compartments, by dropping down to 2 boards per bag instead of three.

That also means more indicator "stages" along the way, even if each stage is only two boards instead of three.

Good point about the lost petals. That ought to be recoverable from the bag of water or from the board.

quote:

Originally posted by jjs:
RIP:

Very nice set-up!

I am hopeful you will have a chance in the next couple of weeks (before I head back to Tanzania July 19) to test those North Fork 500 grain, .474 Cup Points with the George Hoffman Memorial Load??? Please say YES!

Regards,

jjs

jjs,
You are Prometheus who brought fire to mankind in the form of "The George Hoffman Memorial .470 Nitro Express Load."

The very bullets of which you speak are being FedExed to me at this very moment.

Yea verily it shall be done, Mike has shipped, and Prometheus has spoken.

After the .375/270grFN@2900fps vs. the .375/300gr@2500fps using 1":7" (wood/water), next up is the .470 NE, Capstick, and Mbogo.

I will try the .474 CPS with 109 or 110 grains of H4831SC versus the .475 FPS with 108 or 109 grains of H4831SC, aiming to have them both around 2150 fps. Then the penetration and splash effects.

I am guessing the FPS will be a 9 or 10 on the penetration scale, with no damage to the Steel Maiden.

I am guessing the CPS will be a 7 or 8 on the penetration scale, but there is risk of damage to my contraption by the splash jackhammer.

RIP:

Very much appreciated! My Cup Points should show up today. Hopefully, I will have a chance to test the new .474 design this week...

Regards,

jjs

RIP,

quote:

I've got about $800 of hardware in this baby and must show a bit more respect!

Given the amount of money she is absorbing and the fact that maiden is clearly no longer appropriate, Steel Mistress comes to mind.......

HO HO HO GEEZ HO HO HO !

Gerard, you have a way with words, for sure.
Perfect!
Steel Mistress it is.

I knew I could trust your bullets for deflowering the maiden.

quote:

Originally posted by Gerard:
RIP,

quote:

I've got about $800 of hardware in this baby and must show a bit more respect!

Given the amount of money she is absorbing and the fact that maiden is clearly no longer appropriate, Steel Mistress comes to mind.......

lol!

thanks gerard. just want to say it is great to have you on this board and that you make yourself availiable to us gun nuts.

p.s.

will you make a bullet/velocity/game chart for us on your web site?
thanks

RIP,

Excellent ideas for the Steel Mistress and kudos for building her and testing various loads!

Just for shits and grins, I propose testing some "soft" bullets (if you have any lying around) for penetration/expansion/comparison tests, i.e. Hornady 300gr RN and Nosler Partitions for the 375 H&H (nominal velocity of 2550 or so) for us who will probably use their "boomers" for NA game 'cause we can't afford Africa just yet.

BlackHawk1,
Jolly good idea.
It would be interesting to me too, and also to throw in some Swift, Woodleigh, North Fork, GSC HV, and Barnes TSX.

It is a good thing that the Steel Mistress did not get knocked up, and I hope to keep it that way.

Another idea as an offshoot from Big Rx's thin partitions: maybe some side panels of more fragile material that would rupture as witness to the "hydrodynamic shock" of the expanding bullets passing by.

Recall my humble bullet testing beginnings, with 5-gallon water buckets with lids sealed, laid end-to-end:

A .423/380 grain North Fork Flat Point Solid at about 2500 fps stayed stable and nose first until it imbedded nose first in the lid of the ninth bucket, having traversed 8 others completely in a straight line: Over 9 feet of water and 16 bucket lids and bottoms were completely penetrated, A Woodleigh .423/400 grain FMJ=solid at 2400 fps fishtailed in the third bucket and ended up leaving a sideways impression in the bottom of the fifth bucket, no farther.

A North Fork .423/380 grain Soft Point Semi-spitzer busted three buckets in a row but bounced off the bottom of the third bucket, leaving a nose first impression of widely expanded bonded lead and retaining about 95% weight. That same load killed a 3 year-old bull bison and stayed under the hide on the off side shoulder, also retaining about 95% weight after traversing chest cavity quartering from rear, and breaking the offside shoulder.

These tests do have some similarities to live game shooting, and the Steel Mistress will be easier to get some bigger sample sizes and reproducibility, but no reproduction, mind you, she is not going to get knocked up.