Badlands bullets

[Geno C.]

I’m just getting started with my 375 Snipetac. Forming brass now and going to try cutting edge 377s and badlands 350s. I have a couple friends that shoot the badlands but haven’t really heard of many others. Who on here shoots their bullets and how’s your results been? The cutting edge is leaving a crazy amount of fouling and I’m pretty sure it’s from that sealing band. Flatline and badlands don’t have that so I’m thinking,(hoping) they’ll not foul as bad.

 

[Sandow the Heretic]

The "sealing band" as you call it is the drive band and is the only part of the bullet that is full bore. Usually drive band bullets in larger calibers are faster at max safe pressures and have less fowling then bullets without them. Some barrels seem to like brass over copper bullets or visa versa. I'd play with that first. Everyone uses pretty much the same alloys for bullets unless there is someone crazy enough to still use beryllium copper lol

-Alex

 

[Geno C.]

I started with Lehigh 330 brass bullets and the barrel didn’t really love them.

 

[Geno C.]

I wasnt entirely sure I was correct but just checked. The sealing band is larger than the caliber.

 

[Sandow the Heretic]

Yeah, the drive band is usually slightly overbore. I't isn't much metal to swage and seems to help a bit with centering. If you look at bore rider designs they usually have the borolette slightly wider than the tops of the lands for the same reason. In the 50s at least a lot of us slug the bore and then try to get bore riders that are 5/10000" wider at the borolette and drive band. More variation in land to groove for us that the little guns though.

If your barrel is fowling badly with both brass Lehigh and the copper cutting edge bullets then you then you may have the misfortune to simply have a rough bore. Any chance that you can run a borescope down it?

-Alex

 

[Geno C.]

It’s possible to scope it eventually. I’ll give it a while to see if it settles down first though.

I’m thinking there badlands will decrease it though.

 

[Sandow the Heretic]

I've never seen a barrel that fowls less over time but good luck with that.

The only thing I've seen occasionally work in barrels that fowl badly is annealed brass bullets. They need to be inert gas annealed and I'm not aware of anyone that currently does that by default. It was something that Lynn McMurdo was doing for a bit. The only caveat is that it needs to be done on bullets with slightly longer drive bands to keep them from shearing. He said that with the softer brass the engraving pressures dropped enough that the max safe velocity stayed the same so the only substantive change was the fowling reduction. It has been a while but I want to say he went from a 100/1000" drive band to a 120/1000" in a 50. No clue how soft he was going though.

If you have a bunch of brass projectiles that you done care for, sending them off for heat treating isn't going to be expensive and might be an interesting experiment.

-Alex

 

[47chevycoe]

I played with the badlands 338 bullets before I sold my 338 lapua. I actually met with the owners of the company....great people. They shot group wise about the same as the Berger 300 hybrids (1/2 moa) at 100. I’d recommend giving them a try.

 

[Geno C.]

I ordered some. Hopefully they be here soon

 

[badassgunworks]

we are using the badlands in several calibers work great, very accurate, super high velocities due to short bearing surface, transonic very well. and next to no fowling compaired to other solids. but we also use good barrels so don't see much fowling any way

 

[Geno C.]

we are using the badlands in several calibers work great, very accurate, super high velocities due to short bearing surface, transonic very well. and next to no fowling compaired to other solids. but we also use good barrels so don't see much fowling any way

That’s good to hear! I would think mine would ship soon and I’ll be able to compare.

 

[ELR researcher]

Bottom line is what shoots best in your rifle. Fouling, unless extreme, is manageable, results not so much.

 

[Geno C.]

I won’t shoot anything that won’t shoot small! I’m hoping to avoid excessive fouling and still shoot good

 

[Geno C.]

Little short on my order so George called and asked if I wanted the partial to ship now and the remainder later or all at once. I won’t be ready for them in the next week so I said to just ship them all together.

 

[badassgunworks]

Little short on my order so George called and asked if I wanted the partial to ship now and the remainder later or all at once. I won’t be ready for them in the next week so I said to just ship them all together.

you will like them great bullets