"Arch trajectory" of heavy bullets is better for targets then hunting??.... Huhhh?
Maybe you guys here at the target forum can provide a more knowledgable opinion about this. I was getting ready to have a PD varmint rig made for the 6x47 Lapua case. I planned on using the very high 400BC 87grain VMax bullet at about a muzzle velocity of 3,150 FPS. I thought that it would make a hard hitting, flat shooting bullet that has plenty of good ballistic especially for those far 450--700 yard shots. (Of course, I'd like to shoot closer to if I so desire.) Now after reading this man's opinion, I'm having second thoughts
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A good member on these forums writes....
"I have shot an un-godly number of chucks......
I used a 6mm Rem with an 85g bullet. I do not consider this to be a flat shooting round. Unlike shooting paper, the extremely heavy bullets have a tendency to shoot low or high on varmints due to their high arch trajectory. A long barreled 6mm Rem with a over max load of IMR 4064 or R#19 with the 80g Sierra blitz is booking about 3600 in a 26" barrel and is a great load for chucks, but the 28" 243 AI with the 70g Nosler bt is better.
Out to 500 yards, the 243 AI with a 70g Ballistic tip at 3850 is really impressive at how flat it shoots and bucks the wind. You will need a 28" bbl to achieve this trajectory.
If you want to go one step higher, then the 6mm AI will shoot the 70's at 4150 out of a 26" bbl with bug hole accuracy which should get you to 650 yds easily.
When you are shooting chucks, more often than not, you do not get a second shot to compensate for wind or shoot'en high or low. I tried shooting the 85's in the 243 AI @ 3600 fps and at and around the 450 mark, I gimped up a lot of them shooting them low. The 70g Ballistic Tip at 3850 out of the 243 AI out to 500 yards just stomps the 105's or 107's in trajectory. After 550, the heavier bullets will take over, but the heavier bullets are a real downer when it comes to bullet preformance, I have not shot the A-Max bullet."
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It really sounds logical and seems to make sense. But what do I know? I'm impressed that this gentleman is sophisticated and advanced enough in this sport to know when he has missed the varmint due to an "arching bullet". After reading a cazzilion threads and archives here and on other sights for a long time now, this is the first such testimony I have read mentioning this. Should I rethink my barrel twist and bullet weight choices?
Maybe you guys here at the target forum can provide a more knowledgable opinion about this. I was getting ready to have a PD varmint rig made for the 6x47 Lapua case. I planned on using the very high 400BC 87grain VMax bullet at about a muzzle velocity of 3,150 FPS. I thought that it would make a hard hitting, flat shooting bullet that has plenty of good ballistic especially for those far 450--700 yard shots. (Of course, I'd like to shoot closer to if I so desire.) Now after reading this man's opinion, I'm having second thoughts
:____________________________________________
A good member on these forums writes....
"I have shot an un-godly number of chucks......
I used a 6mm Rem with an 85g bullet. I do not consider this to be a flat shooting round. Unlike shooting paper, the extremely heavy bullets have a tendency to shoot low or high on varmints due to their high arch trajectory. A long barreled 6mm Rem with a over max load of IMR 4064 or R#19 with the 80g Sierra blitz is booking about 3600 in a 26" barrel and is a great load for chucks, but the 28" 243 AI with the 70g Nosler bt is better.
Out to 500 yards, the 243 AI with a 70g Ballistic tip at 3850 is really impressive at how flat it shoots and bucks the wind. You will need a 28" bbl to achieve this trajectory.
If you want to go one step higher, then the 6mm AI will shoot the 70's at 4150 out of a 26" bbl with bug hole accuracy which should get you to 650 yds easily.
When you are shooting chucks, more often than not, you do not get a second shot to compensate for wind or shoot'en high or low. I tried shooting the 85's in the 243 AI @ 3600 fps and at and around the 450 mark, I gimped up a lot of them shooting them low. The 70g Ballistic Tip at 3850 out of the 243 AI out to 500 yards just stomps the 105's or 107's in trajectory. After 550, the heavier bullets will take over, but the heavier bullets are a real downer when it comes to bullet preformance, I have not shot the A-Max bullet."
__________________________________________
It really sounds logical and seems to make sense. But what do I know? I'm impressed that this gentleman is sophisticated and advanced enough in this sport to know when he has missed the varmint due to an "arching bullet". After reading a cazzilion threads and archives here and on other sights for a long time now, this is the first such testimony I have read mentioning this. Should I rethink my barrel twist and bullet weight choices?