SGB Results. Left to right: Factory SGB, Penetrator Modifi cation, Hollow- Point Modifi cation
the fl at-nosed bullets also exhibited an improvement in accuracy with a slight reduction in group size. This improve- ment was not as pronounced as with the hollow-point bullets, but it did seem to aid in the overall accuracy. On the tar- get, the main group was round in shape and accurate enough for solid 50-yard shooting. FEDERAL 712 MEDIUM TESTING When testing the newly formed
bullets in the medium, I was expecting a big improvement with the modi- fi ed hollow-point shape in the bullet compared to the tiny factory opening. These expectations were met with a solid surface splash upon the bullet’s impact, but the hollow-point opening quickly mushroomed and peeled off the bullet. This same result occurred with the unaltered factory opening, and both hollow-point designs left a lead ring, broken in pieces, a bit more than one inch inside the fi rst wax block, leaving the bullet core to travel an additional four inches, coming to a stop in the third block. For a squirrel hunter, I think this is acceptable terminal performance, but for larger game, the small and light bul- let base may not cause enough damage to drop the critter in its tracks. It was the fl at-nose modifi cation of
the bullet that impressed me the most. This bullet punched a nice, wide path to a depth of four inches, and carried all of its original weight in a picture-perfect mushroom shape. I was able to break apart the block and get a photo of the
bullet still resting in the medium. Con- sidering the bullet’s path, it looked more like a plow that pushed its way through the medium, rather than a high-velocity bullet strike. Looking at the two basic modifi ca-
tions made to the Federal 712, I believe the fl at-nose modifi cation is the most promising direction to take. There really wasn’t any considerable improvement in accuracy with either modifi cation, so I consider the direction to be purely a terminal performance gain. CCI SMALL GAME BULLET The CCI Small Game Bullet (SGB)
has always been one of the best shoot- ing hunting rounds I’ve worked with over the years. Its level of accuracy has been near the top of all hunting ammu- nition, and the effects on a target are impressive. Much of this success is built around the solid 40-grain fl at-nose lead bullet and a listed velocity of 1,235 fps. Coated with a heavy wax layer, the SGB performs as much as a high-velocity target round as it does a hunting load. The high velocity and flat-nose
design is ideal for larger varmints, such as jackrabbits, raccoons, and close range groundhogs. This same fl at-nose design made it ideal for testing in that it offers a blank slate to work with, and I already had it in mind to outfi t this bullet with a cavernous hollow-point opening. For this test, since the bullet al-
ready had a fl at-nose design, I opted to use the Penetrator punch along with the hollow-point punch with the die.
The Penetrator punch forms a nose on the bullet, similar to the Federal Hydra- Shok centerfi re pistol bullets. Designed for use on fl at-nose or round-nose bul- lets, the punch creates a small post in the middle of the bullet, surrounded by a hollow-point cavity. The idea is that after the initial expansion of the hollow- point cavity from the bullet’s impact, the core will travel deeply into the target because of the more pointed shape of the bullet. The lead tip should compress slightly but remain on the bullet to aid in penetration. Starting with the Penetrator
punch, I worked carefully with the depth of the tool to create the best pos- sible shape and not crack the side of the bullet. If the punch is worked too deeply into the bullet, it cracks the sides of the bullet because of the steep angle of the punch. Derek mentioned that this tool is still under development and the angle may be changed soon to help the forming process. I ruined a few rounds trying to get the best shape, but eventu- ally I settled on a relatively conservative reshaping of the bullet. Switching to the hollow-point
punch, I formed a nice and deep hollow point cavity to a depth of 0.135 inch. The top of the bullet did show some distress when pressed too quickly, but a nice and easy motion with the press resulted in a fi ne looking hollow-point bullet. CCI SMALL GAME BULLET ACCURACY AND TERMINAL PERFORMANCE Starting with the factory loaded
SGB, I was shocked to see such a me- diocre level of accuracy from something that I had always considered to be a good shooting load. The fi rst few foul- ing rounds drifted around the target, but I didn’t think much of it because the barrel had just been cleaned. I con- tinued to shoot fouling rounds until the bullets settled into a group, then moved on to the fi rst 10-shot group for evalu- ation. That fi rst group measured over an inch with some vertical dispersion. The second group was about the same, still being over an inch, with most of the error in the vertical axis. It wasn’t just a fl ier that was opening up the groups, but plenty of shots were landing high and low on the target. Switching over to the modified
Results of Eley Club medium testing. Page 18 October — December 2011
hollow-point bullets, the groups looked much better right away. They were smaller, more uniform in vertical versus
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