Tips & Suggestions

Now that we understand the basics of how we got here and how the features of a bullet can affect the performance, we can dig right into the basic categories of pills on the market. As far as high-powered rifles are concerned for us, there's only two categories we need concern ourselves with, Match / Target and Hunting...

• Match Bullets - Of course any bullet can be a target bullet (left), but to be included in this category the primary concern must be match performance. Literally nothing else matters. Because the types of matches vary there are a huge variety of pills in the appropriate caliber, weight and shape for your intended use - but they all have one thing in common: The manufacturer doesn't care about terminal performance. They are, after all, designed to punch a hole in a piece of paper and bury themselves in the dirt, in that order. The only thing engineers are concerned with is the consistency of what happens before that.Their core and jacket designers need pay no heed to any master but one - winning a match. The meplat of the match bullet is typically tiny and cores often sit well to the rear of the bullet for balance (#1). If a concentric jacket is easier to draw on their machine when it is of a certain, uniform thickness or alloy (#2), they can use it. If they feel a pure lead or high-antimony core gives them an advantage somehow, they can use it (#3). If an extended boattail design achieves the desired aerodynamics, he can use it because he doesn't care that it makes it harder to retain the core for penetration. Internal and external ballistics right up to the point-of-impact, is all that matters to the match bullet scientist. That's why they are so darn good. Cores are never bonded as the bonding process itself is just another variable to screw things up. There's nothing about a match bullet that lends itself to hunting save for two little things - accuracy and ballistic coefficient - precisely the same two reasons so many hunters are tempted to use them. Don't be fooled, it is a siren-song.

• Hunting Bullets - The important difference between target and hunting bullets is the controlled terminal performance required of a hunting bullet (right). Today's hunters are a tough crowd to play. We not only expect match-grade ballistics and accuracy these days, but these pills must perform in an infinitely repeatable, controlled-expansion manner when they strike flesh and bone. In order to accomplish that the entire design of the bullet, literally every feature, is designed to the goal of holding that little package together long enough at a specific range of impact velocities to do what it needs to do. Sometimes, as is the case with varmint hunting bullets, that's about a nanosecond. In others like deer, its maybe a foot or so, for larger game the goal is a full three-feet of penetration.

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In Part Three we'll continue with a discussion of the various methods currently in use to achieve the outstanding controlled expanding bullets in use today.

As I've been spending more time in the forums I have become somewhat curious about the bullet choices people are making out there. This series is intended as a primer to get people up to speed on what they're seeing in the marketplace, a brief history on where these innovations came from and what purposes they serve, if any, in the field. More importantly, it just may help you cut through all the hype and hyperbole and make the right choice(s) the first time.

I don't want to bore you, so this bit of background will be brief. Feel free to skip this section if you're already studied in it, if not it will help you to understand how we got to where we are at and what to look for / expect going forward. To this, I'll just gloss over some fundamental concepts and historical data and focus only on the concepts required for a working understanding of where the modern bullet originated and how it developed into those sleek, flat-flying projectiles commonly launched today.

Not long after you started walking, you probably discovered for yourself that the very best throwing rocks were the smooth, round ones. They don’t have as many irregularities for the air to to ‘catch’ and influence their flight, they fly straight and true. Not long after that, many of us experimented with the slingshot, metal bearings are usually the ammo-of-choice here due to their density. As it turns out, the heaviest common metal is lead, so once we started using chemistry (gunpowder) to throw rocks (balls), lead got the nod.

Sometime before the American Revolutionary War, bright young gunmakers discovered that spinning the lead balls in flight made them fly straighter, so they fashioned spiral grooves into the bore called "rifling." The next major breakthrough came as a French army officer Claude-Etienne Minié invented the bullet that would bear his name in 1849. The Minié bullet, a cylindrical lead bullet with a hollow base that expanded when fired, worked with even more devastating effect for two primary reasons - the expanding base sealed the bore tightly and evenly, plus its more streamlined cylindrical shape cut through the air better so it travels farther, faster and more accurately.

The next breakthrough we are concerned with here is the jacketed bullet. Simply stated, once velocities hit a certain point (e.g. the advent of smokeless power) it was soon discovered that the soft lead stripped past the rifling, so a wrapper, or guilding metal, was required around the lead to retain a bite on the grooves and keep the lead core more stable on impact.

Fun Fact  - Gilding metal is a copper alloy, a brass, comprising 95% copper and 5% zinc. British Army Dress Regulations define gilding metal as '8 parts copper to 1 of zinc'.

It was with all this newfound velocity that things got tricky. When lead started crashing into stuff at a few-thousand f.p.s., it of course tended to shatter because it was so soft and a bullet that shatters will no longer penetrate. So jackets got thicker and thicker, and bullets got heavier (for caliber) and heavier so they'd perform adequately. (Some even got the full metal jacket treatment, when no expansion was desired.)

Fun Fact  - Round-nose bullets stabilize at a lower r.p.m. than sharp bullets of the same weight and diameter, the twist rates can be slower. That's why many heavy-for-caliber pills are round-nosed - so they stabilize in the standard twist barrels. In fact the .30/40 Krag, as well as the immediate predecessor of the .30 Govt. 1906, the .30-03, fired 220 grain round-nosed pills. The key 1906 upgrade was the improvement to the lighter, pointed, 150 grain spitzer bullets common today.

Many other important observations were made during this progression, as you'd expect, but that's essentially the short version of how we got here. Literally all of the improvements since that .30 caliber, 1906 round have been performance enhancements of the same fundamental features found on bullets to this day. To better understand them, lets take a quick look at what a modern bullet looks like.

1. Point (Tip)
2. Meplat
3. Ogive
4. Cannelure
5. Shank (Bearing surface)
6. Heel
7. Base (Flat)
8. Boattail Base
9. Core (Lead alloy)
10. Jacket

Why is all of this vital to know? Because changing the size, shape, position or material composition of each of these critical features not only changes how your bullet flies, but also how it reacts terminally when striking our anticipated target. If you don't know how each of these features of a bullet can affect your day you will be relying on little more than trial and error to achieve your desired results, as you will see in Part Two.

Here's a brief synopsis of how each feature can effect performance.

1. Point - We are all aware that pointed bullets shoot "flatter" but did you know the size and composition of the tip can also effect expansion?
2. Meplat - One of the more important features if you are concerned with terminal performance (expansion), the wider the meplat the faster it will expand, all else being equal.
3. Ogive - The curved portion from the shank that terminates at the point. This is where a great deal of the research is being done to improve long-range ballistics. Longer, more gentile ogives are more streamlined and retain velocity better, but are inherently less-stable than shorter pills and therefore require a faster spin.
4. Cannelure - The rolled, serrated ring around the middle of the bullet has but one useful purpose - to crimp the mouth of the case into to hold the bullet. It does nothing else of consequence and should be avoided unless necessary.
5. Shank - That parallel portion of the bullet that engages the rifling. The length of said engagement is called the bearing surface. Longer bearing surfaces raise internal pressures due to friction - short bearing surfaces may not orient or stabilize the bullet well, so a balance must be struck.
6. Heel - The concentricity and uniformity of this corner at the base of the bullet is critical to accuracy. Irregularities, nicks or dents, even leaving case mouth burrs when bullet seating, may allow hot powder gas to escape differently on one point than another at the instant of release from the muzzle, causing a flyer. In a coattail bullet, this critical function is moved forward to the shoulder of the 'tail and the shank where it is more protected and easier to control during manufacture - this could explain at least part of the reason they have a reputation for accuracy.
7. Base - The south end of a north-bound bullet.
8. Boattail - tapered portion at the rear of the bullet, usually thought to improve long-range aerodynamic performance as well as consistency (see "heel").
9. Core - The dense internal section of a bullet, usually made of an alloy of lead and antimony. (Pure lead is usually too soft). The hardness of the alloy is critical to terminal performance - too soft it blows-up, too hard it shatters.
10. Jacket - The guilding metal (copper-zinc) envelope that encloses the core. Jackets are often tapered and / or scored (drawn thinner at the front) to at first encourage, then thicken at the base to slow the expansion rate of the bullet. Cores are sometimes bonded to jackets, and jackets with solid base, partitions and other internal structures are often used with varying affect on terminal performance as well (more later).

There, we've gone from The Origin Of Man to the late-20th century in just a few paragraphs! Relatively painless, was it not? Now that we're all on the same page, we can go on to the really fun stuff and keep it all straight...

Any .270 or .30-06 (left) rifle is an excellent choice for rebarreling to .280 Ackley or .35 Whelen (right) if you want to see a nice improvement in field performance. The .280 AI is a 7mm Mag ballistically, the .35 Whelen approaches a .338. They also burn less powder than their belted twins, work well with 22" - 24" barrels and hold one more in the magazine. Feeding issues are nonexistent as they use the same .30-06 based cartridge cases and are good for non-handloaders as outstanding factory loads are available.

By rebarreling your rifle with a premium barrel rather than simply buying a new rifle with a standard factory barrel you are right to expect a significantly better result in not only enhanced ballistic performance, but also a big improvement in accuracy, appearance and pride of ownership. On top of it all, you'll enjoy this level of performance tailor-made to your specific requirements, are able to convert an old hunting rifle to a more modern tactical or target rifle, a heavy rifle to a featherweight sporter, etc..

Because of this we are getting several questions daily about possible cartridge options when rebarreling so I've prepared some guidelines below. The reasons for doing this are numerous, but as a serial barrel-switcher I've learned from my own mistakes that some conversions are far easier to pull off than others.

Here are a few options for improving your rifle's accuracy and ballistic performance:

The (l-r) .222, .223, .204 Ruger, 6mm-204 and 6.5 Grendel were all designed to work well in the same receivers and magazines. The 6mm-204 will get about all there is out of a case this size - 2800 fps with a Sierra 85 gr. Gameking bullet. The 6.5 Grendel will require a new bolt face on your bolt action or MSR because the case is of larger diameter, but it takes your rifle solidly into the 200 lb. game class and significantly improves down-range performance with its streamlined 123 grain bullet (A-Max or SST) @ 2580 fps..

Short Sction - Small
".17 Rem, .204 Ruger, .222 Rem, .223 Rem, .223 Ackley Imp, 222 Rem Mag Ackley Imp, .223 Wylde, 5.56 NATO, 6mm-.204 Ruger, 6x45, 6x47, .300 Whisper"

Short Action - Standard
".224 WBY, .22 BR, .22-250 Ackley, .220 Swift, 6mm BR, .243 Win, 6mm Rem, .250 Savage, .257 Ackley Imp, .260 Rem, 6.5-08, 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08 Rem, .284 Win, .308 Win, .338 Federal"

Short Action - Magnum
".223 WSSM, .243 WSSM, 6mm WSM, .257 WSM, 6.5 WSM, 6.5 Rem Mag, .270 WSM, 7mm SAUM, 7mm WSM, .300 SAUM, .300 WSM, .300 RCM, .325 WSM, .350 Rem Mag"

The (l-r) popular .22-250, .243 and .308 all use the same (.473") bolt face and are excellent choices for a new barrel. The 7mm Rem SAUM and the .300 Win Short Magnum are in the (slightly larger .535") short mag family. Converting your .308 to a short mag will require some bolt-face work (or a bolt-swap) and is best accomplished with new magazine parts or a DM kit to be assured of reliable feeding.

Long Action - Standard
".240 WBY, 6mm-06, .25-06, 6.5-284 Norma, 6.5-06, 6.5x55, 6.5x57, .270 Win, .280 Ackley Imp, .30-06, .338-06, .35 Whelen, .375 Whelen"

Long Action Magnum
".257 WBY, .257 Ultra, .264 Win Mag, .26 Nosler, .270 WBY, 7mm Rem Mag, 7mm STW, 7mm RUM, .300 Win Mag, .300 WBY, .300 H&H Mag, .308 Norma, .30-338, .300 RUM, 8mm Rem Mag, .338 Win Mag, .340 WBY, .338 RUM, .375 Ruger, .375 RUM, .416 Rem Mag, .416 Ruger"

(l-r) .264 Win Mag, .300 Weatherby, 300 Rem Ultra Mag, .375 Ruger, .375 Rem Ultra Mag, .375 H&H Mag. Since they all have the same .532" - .535" rims, rebarreling is all that's usually required on a 700. The author notes from personal experience, considering the .375 (and .416) Ruger's more modern case design and shorter length, it is a better choice for converting standard belted magnum rifles (like the .264 Win, 7mm Rem and .300 Win magnums) to take serious big-and-dangerous game bullets than the H&H.

Long Action Magnum XL
".30-.378 WBY, .338 Lapua, .378 WBY, .416 Rigby, .460 WBY"

The next thing to consider (assuming your cartridge will fit into the receiver) is to keep the smoothest, most reliable possible cartridge feeding. While it's true you can easily swap bolts out to make your .30-06 into a .300 Mag, the next question you have to ask yourself is whether or not your conversion will feed well. There's an easy way to accomplish this and a hard way.

The easy way to be sure your new cartridge will feed like greased-lightning is to treat your rifle to a new detachable magazine upgrade for the appropriate round if it's available. Literally all of the DM's we carry (M4, M5 and H-S) feed the next round from the center of the magazine, eliminating the various internal mag boxes, springs and followers that came with the rifle. Additionally, by bypassing the receiver's feed rails and ramp you are assured that it will feed perfectly, especially if, for example, you are upgrading from a .30-06 to a .300 Mag (or a belted magnum to an Ultra, a .223 to a .243, etc.) by having the bolt altered or replaced.

The 6.5 Creedmoor is an excellent choice for rebarreling your .243 or .308 Win rifle.

That said, some of the easiest ways to get improved performance and keep your standard factory bottom metal is by simply having the new barrel chambered for a cartridge that's based on the same cartridge family. For example, one of the flattest-shooting, most accurate cartridges in the .243 / .308 Winchester family is the exciting new 6.5 Creedmoor. Similarly, nearly any old .25-06, .270 or .30-06 can be easily rebarreled to the long-range powerhouse .280 Rem Ackley Improved and some very fine 140 and 160 grain factory loads had for it directly from Nosler that feed perfectly in unaltered receivers.

With the ideal case shape and dimensions (.534" x 3.340") for most of today's long action rifles, the 26 Nosler is an excellent candidate for rebarreling factory belted magnum (or ultra magnum) rifles. We're hearing a lot about it since SHOT!

This of course is a partial list however I think you'll find the vast majority of factory rounds as well as wildcats well-represented - just compare the dimensions within each category to your proposed cartridge.

Any gunsmith that specializes in rebarreling will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have, as will we by phone, email or chat. Just remember, as a rule of thumb, the closer your new round is to the important dimensions of case rim diameter and cartridge overall length as the original round, the easier your conversion will be.