Could you please give me any comments/information on these projectiles, as they seem on face value to be a great design.

Blair.

Haven't used them myself, but I've heard some mixed opinions about them. The first production bullets a couple of years ago had some inconsistency in their performance. Some worked great, some acted like FMJs and some factory loads even had a way too mild powder charge in them.

I saw a bullet two years ago which had been shot into a whitetail's shoulder. It was found somewhere in the rear end of the animal and the bullet had obviously first opened a bit like it should, and then the opened "trumpet" had torn open from the side and the bullet had taken a 90-degree turn inside the animal. The bullet looked like a piece of copper pipe torn open from the side with an axe or something like that. The hunter wasn't very pleased with the bullet, although the animal had died in that case.

It has been told, however, in many gun magazines here that Lapua has repaired the Naturalis design and last hunting season those reports of bad performance were not so common anymore. I believe the latest design has quite a good reputation at the moment. I have a box of them in 7,62x53R, but I haven't shot anything with them yet. In the upcoming moose season I'll probably rely on my NP's in 7x65R or hard-cast FP's in my .45-70, but wouldn't hesitate to use the Naturalis also.

JTH,

Thanks for the feedback.

I was looking at the posts on the MRX by Barnes and the Naturalis came to mind.

Appreciate the reply.

Blair.

Hi Blair

You can go on top the Lapua website and download a massive mpeg about the naturalis bullet. I think they a predominantly designed for short to meduim distances on large game animals as you would expect from any flat based round nose soft point.

Mark

I used it widely in a .308Win and the 6,5x54MS with great succes on wildboar and red deers and few roes. I never found a bullet and all animals died quickly. For me, it is the best lead free bullet on the market and similuar results you can find in the german hunting magazine"DJZ".

I am using a factory load in .300 Win.Mag. and until now there was nothing comparable to them. Every shot animal, from roe buck to really large red stag with more than 220 kg's died quickly. And there was very little bloodshot meat... Personally I think that the Naturalis is the best leadfree solid on the market at the moment. The only shortcoming of this bullet is due to the ball. coeff., so it is not a long-range bullet, but up to 250 meters more than good enough...

What do these bullets sell for in the States?? Here they are expensive as gold - or pretty close at around $1.50 a piece...

- mike

Sounds like they had some of the same problems Barnes had when they introduced the X bullet, over the years they make modificaitons and the X bullet is one of the better ones on the market. Lapua will do the same over time. They do listen. They are a little on the expensve side here in the States just like the Barnes X or Nosler Partitions would be more so in Europe. I can buy 9.3 x 62 from midway so loaded at $ 66.00 USD a box. About what I would pay for 300 Weatherbys from Weatherby. They are not for target shooting or punching holes in paper. You zero you rifle and go hunt.

Guys,

Thanks for the information.

I read somewhere that Lapua is coming out with a more pointed version because of the BC problems?

They cetainly sound as though they have plenty of knockdown power

Cheers,

Blair.