Can't wait.

I used water filled jugs behind the last block (a 6x6x12) and they worked well so I will probably do the same. Still, it won't tell the whole story if the bullet leaves the gel. My nephew is working on making me a custom mold that will allow me to make up to 24" long blocks but it isn't ready yet.

I assume you are referring to a 6.5PCC upper?

Hi Altair,

In order of preference, I would like to see either the 85 gn Nosler BT. or 100 gn GK.

Here is my reasoning. The Barnes 80 TTSX, they have been used to great success taking several hogs. Kurt also posted photos of a deer that he took using the 25x40 and posted photo of the recovered bullet. Good penatration with a classic Barnes four pedal mushroom. Just what you would expect form Barnes.

By the way, I have worked up some loads for the 80 gr Barnes. I am getting about 2800 fps from my 16 inch (1:10) barrel and the accuracy is very good. Less than 1 in at 100 yards using an unmagnified EoTech. I am very impressed with this bullet except for the price.

Graycard has shot several 100 gn GK into a freash killed hog and recovered the bullets. They showed typical GK performance... Good penatration with the Pb core separated on the opposite side from skin-strech pull back.

Several ground hogs a prairie dogs have fallen to the 85 gn but not bullets have been recovered. I would be curious to see this bullets performance in gel.

Last thing, could you post the link to the page that has you 87 gn HotCor tests

Thanks

EDIT: I sent you an email about another bullet possibility not sure if it was sent by the AR15.com system

The rubber mulch avalable st the big box stores work great for catching bullets. I usually pack my water jugs in a container that leaves 6 inches of clerance on the sides, then fill that area with the mulch.

I can remedy this with the next one i shoot if youd like ill bring some jugs filled with water and hang one in front of them


not sure how "good" that would be but i can try.

I def want to see the 85gr and maybe even the sierra 75gr HP

in the x40 can you runa 125gr NBT? or is it too long

A little late to this thread, but I'm glad I caught it.

My first preference would be to see a test of the 80-grain TTSX in the .25-223, but I understand the reasons (outlined above) why it's a fairly low priority. Also, there's been a lot of gel testing already done on the Barnes bullets at all different velocities - sample HERE.

That being the case, my vote will go for one of the 100-grain bullets from the .25-223 at 2450-2600 fps. It will be very interesting to see whether the greater weight offsets the lower velocity as it pertains to penetration, and whether there is expansion.

I'd like to register my vote for the 85gr Nosler BT in 25-223.

Since more people wanted to see the 100gr SGK I shot the block this morning with a 100gr SGK loaded over 22.0gr of H4198 which gave me a MV of 2496fps. The block was 10 feet from the muzzle (per FBI protocol) and I checked the block calibration with a BB going 598fps (that was as close as I could get to 590fps with my BB gun).

Overall I think the bullet performed well. My gel block was only 13" because the mold swelled in the middle, cutting about an inch off the overall length. I used water jugs behind the block to catch the bullet and the bullet passed completely through one and was caught in the second, so the 100gr SGK might have a but too much penetration for the FBI standards for duty ammo. For hunting, however, that isn't a bad thing.

I don't have measurements yet and I have to leave soon but when I get back tonight I'll try to take some measurements. I'll also try and get some cleaner pics as the block was starting to get condensation from the humidity and it made it harder to see the cavity.

Right side:


Top:


Bullet:



BB penetration:


ETA: I did some quick measurements:

100gr SGK
Neck Length = 1"
Cavity = 1" to 11"
Max cavity = 5.75" @ 4.75" of penetration
Penetration = 13" gel +2 water jugs
Retained Weight = 65.6gr (65.6%)
Recovered Diameter = Max .617", Min .589", Avg .603"

To compare
87gr Hot-Cor:
Neck Length 0"
Cavity 0" to 12"+
Max Cavity = 5.625"+ @ 5" penetration
Penetration = 12" of gel +1 water jug
Retained Weight = 21.1gr
Recovered Diameter = Avg .394"

ETA:
I just realized I didn't post pics of the sectioned block.

I cut the block every 2" to get more accurate measurements. I found small frag all along the wound track but the bulk of it was around 4-6" (3rd section) which also coincides with the maximum cavity. I found the cavity started at about 1.5" (not quite as short as I initially thought) and extended to about 11".

Penetration.....Cavity
2"......................3.5"
4"......................6.125"
6"......................6.125"
8"......................5.25"
10"....................2.625"


Some pics of the block after I sectioned it:

Front:

2"

4"

6"

8"

10"

I've seen the same separation with water jug testing as well but it may be a function of the test. The sample size is certainly too small to draw conclusions though. Also, the Core-Lokt bullets claim that the cannelure locks the jacket and core together. Perhaps that is true.

Regardless, in my water jug testing the bonded bullets hold together very well and the solid copper Barnes bullets have 100% weight retention as long as you don't exceed the impact velocity where the petals come off.

I'll be trying to melt the block and re-use it. If that goes well I may be able to get several loads tested in the next few weeks. We'll see.

Finally got around to sectioning the block and taking more accurate measurements. Here's what I found:

Penetration - Cavity
2" - 3.5"
4" - 5.625
6" - 5.5"
8" - 3.875"
10" - 1"

I was right about the short neck length and the fragmentation, which you'll see below, was more impressive with this load than with the 100gr SGK. Of course, penetration was less and retained weight was less due ot this as well. Here are the pics:

0"-2"

2"-4"

4"-6"

6"-8"

8"-10"

10"-12"

I shot a 75gr V-Max at 2853fps from my 16" .25-223 into a gel block today. Unfortunately my camera is not working so no pics yet, but I'll get them as soon as possible.

Not surprisingly the V-Max did not penetrate 12" (the only one so far from the .25-223 that I've tested). Here are the quick measurements:

Neck Length - 0"
Max Penetration - 8.75"
Max Cavity - 5.75" @ 6.75" of penetration

I didn't see any large piece that I would consider the core still intact. It appeared that the bullet completely fragmented into small pieces. That is great for varmints, but clearly not a useful bullet for medium game hunting or self defense.

The BB penetrated 4.25" this time, which is on the upper end for calibration, so I may be nearing the end of this block's usable life.

I conducted my first test on the 7.62x40. I tested a 110gr V-Max going 2553fps. Here are the results

Neck Length = .75"
Max Penetration = 12+ inches
Max cavity = 7.5" @ 6" of penetration
Cavity = .75" to 9"
Cavity at
2" = 4.75"
4" = 5.625"
6" = 7.5"
8" = 5.125"
10" = 1"
BB Penetration = 3.75"
Expanded Diameter
Max = .656"
Min = .587"
Avg = .6215"
Retained Weight = 77.8gr (70.7%)

I didn't expect the V-Max to exceed 12" of penetration in gel so I was pleasantly surprised. It didn't have much left as it looked to just barely have entered the water jug behidn the 12" block, but it made the minimum 12". I suspect penetration will increase as velocity drops. I hope to test this by doing an identical test with this bullet from my 10.5" 300BLK SBR at 2150fps. I was very impressed with the max temp cavity of 7.5", which is hands down the largest I've gotten doing these tests.

Here are the pics:

Block:

Bullet:

0-2"

2-4"

4-6"

6-8"

8-10"

10-12"