that page yet. Or at least I wasn’t. Using the 40-grain and 55-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet data as an ex- ample, he pointed out that the 40-grain had a BC of .221; the 55-grain a BC of .267. But, turning to the actual loads and velocities, he pointed out that the 40-grain bullet started out a lot faster, 4,181 fps vs. 3,897 fps for the 55-grain bullet.
“The 40 is going to shoot flatter out to at least 300 yards. You can then take those velocity figures and look up the tables in the back of the book and check how much the bullet drops at 300, 400 and 500 yards.” Turned out it wasn’t much dif- ferent. We checked the 40-, 50- and 55-grain bullet trajectories, and because there was so little change, John thought there must be a misprint. But it didn’t seem to be.
John slid his laptop computer on his lap. “So let’s check wind drift. Wind drift is more unpredictable than bullet drop.” He opened the Sierra Bullets In- finity Ballistic Program on his computer, plugged in the loads, entered a mythi- cal typical day, then we watched the figures. At 500 yards a 40-grain bullet drifted 13.83 inches; the 55 only 12.68. Then John pointed out the “energy” column. At 500 yards the 40-grainer still had 378 foot pounds of energy, while the 55 had 505.
“So the 55 has more energy, drifts a little less, and falls a bit less at 500 yards. But the 40 still shoots flatter to 300 yards. Which one’s the better bul- let?” he asked. “What if I used a 100-grain bullet. Would it resist wind drift even more?” I can’t tell you how dismayed I was to find there not only wasn’t a 100-grainer for my new rifle, but if there was I wouldn’t like it, since my 22-250 has a 1:14 twist. I’m not a competitive shooter, and not one of those less-than- half-inch-fanatics, but I prefer to scatter shot with a 28 gauge. John started to reach for his pad again, and I thought, oh no, we’re not going here. Rifle twist. At least not tonight.
“So,” I said, “knowing that the most important thing to me when draw- ing down on a coyote is not having to use a slide rule to determine how high I should hold over and am too cheap to put a rangefinder rifle scope on my three hundred dollar 22-250 rifle, what would
Eventually, John dug out some bullets and placed them on the paper: one with a secant ogive. One with a tangent ogive. I have to tell you, I did go to high school. And college and grad school. But math was never my forte. But I think I’m starting to get this bullet shape stuff. It’s still not as clear as the “aha” moment when I realized MOA had nothing to do with a clock face. But I’m learning.
www.varminthunter.org Page 103
Spot your shots up to 1000 yards. TargetSight video camera systems
for long-range shooters:
I got tired of wasting ammo and time trying to spot hits at long ranges. A video system is the solution, but the few on the market were way overpriced and below my quality standards. So, I created my own. My TargetSight systems are:
• Fully wireless to 1000 yards
• Light weight and portable, fitting into a 24-inch range bag
Complete systems starting at $750. Free shipping!
No need for pit assistants, driving or walking to the target with our high-quality color monitor at your fingertips.
be the best bullet to use?” “That’s the question, isn’t it?”
John said.
“The answer is ‘flat,’ isn’t it?” I said, feeling pretty sure I was right. “It all depends on what you want,” he said with a shrug. As my friend Dober says, “long
story short” I’m starting my literature search with the 40-grainer. Maybe, though, it will be windy out on the
• Completely self-contained, including Sony 27x zoom camera, four-hour rechargeable batteries (AC power can be adapted, too), 9-inch color monitor, tripod, digital transmitter and receiver
You’ll quickly pay for a TargetSight system in ammo, time and frustration saved. —Dan Norgrove
TargetSight
VIDEO CAMERA SYSTEMS
509.982.0077 •
www.target-sight.com
range. Or next winter when coyote fur is prime. If we take it out on the prairie, I can count on wind. Probably a lot of wind. A few 55 loads wouldn’t hurt. Or I could put a different barrel on the gun, with a higher rate of twist and put a 69- or even 80-grain Nosler Custom Com- petition HPBT up there. I reached for the manual. What the heck is a HPBT?
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196