Flat base bullets.

DeltaBravo said:
OK, I'm a little confused here - nothing new! What is so different about boat tails that two folks (Jerry and afrench) say they're not "smart" enough or on their game enough to use them? I'm shooting BTs and love them. What's so different/better/easier about the FBs?

I shoot VFS at my club (Austin Rifle Club) and while I'm giving up a lot to the 30s with my 6BR, I can hold my own and am improving with my wind reading skills. If I can get them up to a consistently high level, I think I can win a tad more frequently with my 6.

So please help me understand this! Thanks and Happy Holidays!!!!

Dennis
Click to expand...

Dennis,

the boattails just seem more touchy or sensitive to me. if i'm a little off on powder on seating depth, i feel like the FBs are more forgiving. and, that could entirely be just in my head...

i've committed to shooting BTs for an entire weekend at a few matches, and have shot some nice individual groups with them. but my aggs were worse than with FBs.

i'll probably start to play with them again this next year just to see if any of the bugs i've worked out will change my point of view on this.
 
I to was reluctant to shoot a BT at one time. Keep in mind im not a world champion by any means but I do shoot a bunch. FOR ME The BT just took a little different approach, compared to a FB. Not a lot different though. seating depth was a a bit different as was powder charge weight. keeping the load in tune was or is basic practices. Simple enough to figure out.
I wasn't even going to mess with a BT bullet, but I traded for some of Barts new 68GR BT on Sierra jackets and those babies flat freaking shot. I am about out now, so I will be making another purchase soon. I just hope the new jacketed bullets shoot as well as the sierras do. Lee
 
Guys think about this, a boattail bullet of any given jacket length or point radius has less of the straight cylindrical part that rides in the barrel and adjusts the bullet to fit in the barrel. There is a condition called "in-bore yaw". Yaw is from an old aeronautical term for "sideways". The more yaw the bullet has at exit the less stable its flight path is and the longer it takes the bullet to "go to sleep".

An older fairly well known bullet maker puts a lot of importance on how long it takes a bullet to go to sleep (thanks Mr WB) and seems certain the wobbly bullet is more effected by the wind than a smoothly spinning bullet. Makes sense to me!

Notice how the really knowledgeable shooters spend time and attention to the shape of hole a bullet is making in the target to see if it went through straight or slightly sideways.

You guys who shoot long range these newer VLD and Super VLD's with the greater unsupported overhang know these bullets are harder to get to shoot than the old LTB's. Why? For one reason the newer pointy bullets need to be given more attention to how well they are seated. Same thing on these newer double ogive bullets.
 
Jerry,

A lot of folks don't know this but, Ed Watson's first bullet die was a Simonson. He never made many bullets on it. His Rorschach dies showed up at about the same time. The Rorschach dies make a much prettier pointy bullet! The Simonson die makes a small diameter bullet that has an ogive that looks like a black diamond watermelon! Kind of like the movie Twins, comparing Arnold Schwarzenegger to Danny Devito! If you're looking for a LOW ogive bullet I can get you some to play with.

Bart
 
Bart said:
Jerry,

A lot of folks don't know this but, Ed Watson's first bullet die was a Simonson. He never made many bullets on it. His Rorschach dies showed up at about the same time. The Rorschach dies make a much prettier pointy bullet! The Simonson die makes a small diameter bullet that has an ogive that looks like a black diamond watermelon! Kind of like the movie Twins, comparing Arnold Schwarzenegger to Danny Devito! If you're looking for a LOW ogive bullet I can get you some to play with.

Bart
Click to expand...

Ha!! A Black Diamond watermelon, is that anything like a Tiger Stripe melon the Mr & Mrs Brady's served one time? Do you offer the Black Diamonds in 66 and 68 grain. I guess they are boat tailed by definition?

On the little ugly nosed bullets I'd like to try them. We could call them "Puguglys". I'm looking for a simple minded bullet that will stay in tune for simple minded shooters...like me!

(Hows the long range bullet project going? I hope I don't get started on this fat bullet vs skinny bullet thing too. Some of the Ross Sherman bullets were 2345)


Edit- Ha again, make some with a large meplat and we can call them butt-uglys!!
 
Last edited:
JerrySharrett said:
An older fairly well known bullet maker puts a lot of importance on how long it takes a bullet to go to sleep (thanks Mr WB) and seems certain the wobbly bullet is more effected by the wind than a smoothly spinning bullet. Makes sense to me!

Notice how the really knowledgeable shooters spend time and attention to the shape of hole a bullet is making in the target to see if it went through straight or slightly sideways.

You guys who shoot long range these newer VLD and Super VLD's with the greater unsupported overhang know these bullets are harder to get to shoot than the old LTB's. Why? For one reason the newer pointy bullets need to be given more attention to how well they are seated. Same thing on these newer double ogive bullets.
Click to expand...

Jerry,

I can confirm that bullets that still have inflight yaw are affected differently during flight than those without yaw. My testing of the relationship between meplat shape/uniformity and BC uniformity pointed directly to inflight yaw as the culprit. The lack of inflight yaw yielded a reduce ES in the BC. While bullets that still had observed yaw have a much higher ES.

Dave
 
Dave Tooley said:
Jerry,

I can confirm that bullets that still have inflight yaw are affected differently during flight than those without yaw. My testing of the relationship between meplat shape/uniformity and BC uniformity pointed directly to inflight yaw as the culprit. The lack of inflight yaw yielded a reduce ES in the BC. While bullets that still had observed yaw have a much higher ES.

Dave
Click to expand...

Dave, just got a note from my buddy in Kansas. WT 6-point 388 yds, 257 Robt AI we built, deer #7 so far! (Barnes 80g TSX BT 1 shot!)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top