Hunting & Fishing non lead

[0481]

I live in the most f'ed state in this great country. Some areas we cant hunt with lead bullets. I am looking for a non lead bullet that has the same flight as the 175smk in .308
Some damn bird here is causing the problem.

 

[Chucky]

Re: non lead

I would look at the barnes bullets. I have had great success with the 150 and 168's out of my .308 and I know a lot of guys that swear by them as well.

 

[0481]

Re: non lead

thanks for the quick reply

 

[kill_goose]

Re: non lead

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: chucky</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I would look at the barnes bullets. I have had great success with the 150 and 168's out of my .308 and I know a lot of guys that swear by them as well. </div></div>

+1

I have no experience with the barnes but everyone I know, and I mean EVERYONE I know loves em.

 

[MikeeBooshay]

Re: non lead

How far you planning to shoot? In most of my 308's the Barnes Vortex 150's shoot the same dope as BH 175's out to 400 yards.

And are great for critters too!

 

[0481]

Re: non lead

I currently have dope out to 600 yds. shooting a remy 700 vsc. Let me make it clear i dont shoot dinner that far out. I am looking for a round that i dont have to do a whole redope of the rifle. I will but dont want to.
For thoese of you that are shooting the barnes bullets what are you pushingv it with? I currently use imr 4064 for the smk's

 

[bohem]

Re: non lead

Take a look at the Nosler E-Tips, Nosler makes great stuff, the bullets have excellent published BC's and on paper they've been pretty good for me in the 180gr trim.

 

[SavageSlayer]

Re: non lead

I have the same problem you do with these Condors. Even though there has never been a condor killed in CA by lead poisoning we have this "knee jerk reaction" law that says because it is possible for a condor to ingest lead from a gut pile we have to ban lead ammo.

Anyway...I use the Barnes 168 gr. T-TSX. It has a great BC at .470 and I can shoot 1/2 MOA out to 300 yards with it in my Savage 10 FP .308 win. if I do my part.

JBM Ballistics Calculator says this about the 168 gr. Barnes T-TSX and the 175 SMK. I put 2700 fps velocity for both.

T-TSX ----------- SMK
100 0 ----------- 0
200 -4.0" ----------- -4.0"
300 -14.4" ----------- -14.2"
400 -32.2" ----------- -31.7"
500 -58.7" ----------- -57.6"

I don't know about you, but a 1" difference at 500 yards seems pretty negligable

My loads are Laupa brass, CCI BR-2 primers, and 44.1 grains of Varget. COAL is 2.810" and velocity is right at 2700 fps. This load is accurate and devastating. I have taken two whitetails in OK with it and one pig in Monterey county. Here is a pic of the pig and the recovered bullet.

The recovered weight of the bullet was 167.0 gr. and it has an expanded diameter of .601". The pig was quartering away when I shot and the bullet hit about 4" behind the rib cage on the left side and traveled the length of the body, destroying the liver and lungs, and came to a rest under the armor plate in the front right shoulder. All in all it was about 32" of penetration.

My buddy uses the Nosler E-tips to great effect. He took two pigs on the same trip with a .270. Both were broadside shots and were complete pass throughs. They were devastating as well and are very accurate in his Tikka T3 lite.

Either bullet is a good one and I'm sure they will both shoot lights out. There is also the Hornady GMX. I have no experience with these but I am sure they work just as well. I don't think you will be dissappointed with whatever bullet you choose.

 

[0481]

Re: non lead

thanks money. buy the way was that a guided hunt or private property?

 

[0481]

Re: non lead

Buy the way T-money what is your twist rate?

 

[HillbillyfromAL]

Re: non lead

I use the Barnes TSX 180 and it shoots great.

 

[SavageSlayer]

Re: non lead

That was a guided hunt and it was a guranteed hunt. No pig no pay and wasn't crazy expensive like most are. If you want more details just PM me and I will let you know.

My twist rate is 1:10

 

[rm76]

Re: non lead

Do you guys that are shooting the TSX find that distance to the lands is critical for best accuracy? One reputable source told me that the TSX would not group well for him unless his seating depth allowed a considerable jump. Was just wondering what others have found.

 

[HillbillyfromAL]

Re: non lead

Mine are 2.830 COAL but the lands are about .02 away. At 1-600 yds I can't any difference in-between them and the 175gr SMK except about a MOA more drop at 6 with it bucking the wind just about the same.

 

[0481]

Re: non lead

i have a 1:12 twist in 26" flavor. looking to see if the 168 will stableize in flight

 

[rpk762]

Re: non lead

I have used plenty of the barns bullets but if they will shoot the same in your rifle as 175 gr bullets is anyone’s guess. I have a few rifles that will not shoot a barns X bullet no matter what I do. Others it does not matter primer some powder and cram a bullet in and wow. Only your rifle will tell you what it likes.

 

[oregon]

Re: non lead

+1 Barnes. They do well with game and fly well in some hunting rifles. Usually shoot from a model 700 Remington ADL twist (fairly sure, while please correct me if wrong, the new X-Mark pro and older ADL / BDL model 700s are all usually 1:10). Have seen do good in some .308, 30-06, 300 WM, 300 RUM, and 7mm RM loads in some guns. They take elk and deer down very well when well placed. While other decent guns as posted above may not like Barnes as well as another - this is true when try any new load in a rifle. Suggest you buy a few Barnes and try them at a range if curious to see how they perform in your rifle(s) compared to others at the distance(s) you shoot. For specific load information we usually start with the information at:

http://www.barnesbullets.com/

specifically for .308 at:

http://www.barnesbullets.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/308WinWeb.pdf

And when making any new load double and triple check compared with other information on loads you know work to make sure reasonable and not a typo somehow before creating.

If have further questions from the Barnes website as of today is the following information for Load Data at Barnes:
<span style="color: #000099">For immediate access to ALL new Triple-Shock, Varmint Grenade, MRX, Banded Solids and other load data as it becomes available from the Barnes ballistics lab, click here to become a Copper Club Member! For assistance with troubleshooting, or additional load data for a particular cartridge and bullet weight, please call customer service at 1-800-574-9200 or email [email protected]
</span>