Min. velocity for SP bullets in rifle

[Moloch]

Hi!

Just a quick question about the expansion of soft point bullets.
I shortened my Mauser 8x57 down to 17'' and according to Quickload the muzzle velocity with my bullet of choice drops down to 2400 fps (it was a tad over 2650 out of the original 24'' barrel) with my handloads. (I'm using the PRVI / PPU 197 grain SP round nose bullet)

Now my question: I know it depends a lot on the bullet design, the thickness of the jacket and softness of the lead core, but whats considered the minimum velocity for soft point bullets to expand properly?

I've heard people claiming that SP bullets in their 1400fps-ish 357 expands hell of a lot, but I've also heard stories about 2200 fp/s being the absolute minimum for rifle bullets / bullets in general.

Is 2400 enough for good expansion out to 150-200yds? Or should I drop the bullet weight down to 175 to get the muzzle velocity up into the 2550 fps area?

 

[Art Eatman]

The old thutty-thutty with its 2,200 ft/sec muzzle velocity seems to have few problems with bullet expansion.

Damfino. Buy a chicken and set it out at 100 yards. Shoot into the body, and see what happens.

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

Any answer you get is going to be a Wild Ass Guess unless someone has data specifically for that bullet.

Trouble here is that you're talking muzzle velocity. The bullet doesn't care how fast it was going when it left the gun, it cares how fast it's going when it hits the target.

I've never heard of 22-2,400 being a minimum for standard cup and core bullets. Monolithics are typically 1,800-2,200 minimum impact. Cup and core bullets have too many variables to give any good answer unless someone has tested that bullet or the manufacturer chimes in.

 

[SSA]

A heavy, roundnose 8mm hunting bullet at 2400 to 1700 fps impact velocity.
I would expect it to work just fine.

 

[JD0x0]

Depends on the bullet. Some rifle bullets can open up as low as 1300fps while others need a minimum of 1800fps. It all depends on the bullet construction.

I like to think of 2000fps as a minimum, even though bullets can open up and be extremely effective at lower velocities, 2000fps or higher is the generally accepted area, where hydrostatic shock becomes much more severe and tends to do significantly more damage. Also with most expanding bullets, you don't need to worry about your bullet opening up at 2000fps. The possible exception may be some all copper bullets, which generally work best with the highest velocity safely attainable.

 

[Bart B.]

Contact the bullet company then ask them. They've probably got the best answer.

 

[Moloch]

Thanks for the replies!

PRVI/PPU ammo is made is - as far as I know- made in Serbia so contacting them might be difficult; but I'm going to send them an email anyway.

''Trouble here is that you're talking muzzle velocity. The bullet doesn't care how fast it was going when it left the gun, it cares how fast it's going when it hits the target.''

True, but I don't think that if the bullet expands adequatly at 50yds it would completely fail at ranges around 150 - 200yds. Its not that much more range for a full sized rifle round. Ain't talking about no 223 here.

And good point about the 30-30, its not a super fast round either and its one of the most successful hunting rounds ever made. I guess most of the hunting with the 30-30 has been done with a SP bullet.

 

[jmr40]

Many bullet makers list the minimum speeds for reliable expansion. I take it with a grain of salt. It seems that many show the same minimum speeds for their entire lineup.

There is no way I believe a Nosler Ballistic Tip and Partition both perform the same at the same speeds.

Here is just one example from Nosler. Scroll down for velocity info. You can choose other bullets and do the same.

http://www.nosler.com/accubond

Based on my research and observations most conventional bullets are fine down to 1700-1800 fps. The solid copper bullets need at least 2000 fps to reliably expand.