Archive for the 'Ammunition' Category

BLUF: The 77 grain bullets did more damage in the meat targets.  But as always, check the ammunition you’re using for zero, accuracy and precision.

Here are some interesting articles on the 6.8 SPC: [1] (in which our own Georgiaboy61 figures prominently in the comments), [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], and [7].

Points.  Some discussions focus on the 6.8 SPC and 6.8 SPC II, stating that most rifles released today chambered for this round are for the 6.8 SPC II, even though that’s not the SAAMI spec round.

Next, it’s my understanding that a 6.8 SPC upper receiver can be coupled with any milspec AR-15 lower receiver.

Finally, within 100 – 200 yards, it appears to be fairly well established that this is a fine round for whitetail deer (perhaps not mule deer).

Comments and observations on this round, and/or any of the points above?  It seems that this would be a fine option for deer hunting without purchase of a new complete rifle.

Field & Stream.

The .30 Remington AR was introduced by Remington in 2008, just in time for the Obama-inspired AR buying frenzy. It couldn’t have come at a worse time. Everybody wanted an AR15, but not for hunting, which is the 30 Remington AR’s forte. The same stupidness that would eventually lead Remington to bankruptcy pushed the cartridge into obscurity. Some early advertisements for the 30 Remington AR listed the cartridge’s 300-yard velocity as its muzzle velocity. Even more foolishly, Remington never offered a blister-packaged complete upper receiver and magazine to allow shooters an easy conversion from an AR-15 in .223 Remington.

Designed specifically for the AR-15 platform, the .30 Remington AR will push a 150-grain bullet to almost 2600 fps and a 125-grain bullet to about 2800 fps. Nothing else in the AR-15 platform comes close, and with that rifle twice as popular now as it was a decade ago, it’s time for this cartridge to return and make the AR-15 all that it can be for the hunter. Some folks get it through. Every year Melvin Forbes at New Ultra Light Arms sells several .30 Remington AR rifles in his less than five-pound bolt-action Model 20-Short rifles. I have mine and the deer in West Virginia hate me for it.

I have little interest in the rest of them, but I sure would like to see a comeback for this particular round.  I missed this when it came out, probably because no one chambered a rifle for this round.

He seems to think not, but I’m very impressed at the performance of the .22 magnum.  I certainly wouldn’t have a problem carrying a .22 magnum revolver as an ankle gun for personal defense.

Whew!

Hmm … I have three comments.

First, I’m very impressed with the expansion of the Buffalo Bore PD ammunition.

Second, I’m not sure I’d claim that Buffalo Bore didn’t use +P brass on this round until they confirm that.

Third, as for the so-called “Glock Smile” (a term which I’ve never heard before), I’ve shot Buffalo Bore ammunition as well as Double Tap ammunition in 1911s and never seen this before, including with 450 SMC (Short Magnum Cartridges, super hot .45 ACP cartridges from Double Tap with a rifle primer versus a pistol primer), rated at 1120 FPS for a 230 gr. bullet.  I’ve Never seen it before.  Maybe it’s called “Glock Smile” because of the way it seats in the chamber?

I don’t know.  I don’t do Glocks.

In previous posts we’ve discussed barrel twist and stabilization of heavier 5.56mm rounds.  I’d say that 1:9 twist is just fine for 77 grain bullets based on his results.  Then again, Rock River Arms makes good machines.

Shooting Illustrated.

As the velocities of metallic cartridges increased and as rifle cartridges become significantly more powerful than handgun cartridges, things begin to change. If a shooter wanted a rifle, they generally wanted a rifle cartridge that would drastically extend the reach and hit harder than a handgun. Still, some revolver cartridges continued to be popular in rifles. With modern munitions, however, a popular revolver cartridge like the .357 Mag.—delivering about 1,200 to 1,400 fps out of a 4-inch revolver—will push the same bullet as much as 400 fps or faster out of a 16- or 18-inch-barrel rifle.

This created a problem for bullets. Modern projectile technology would allow ballistic engineers to create a bullet for .357 Mag. that could perform quite well at handgun or rifle velocities. What was challenging was to create something that would deliver expansion, maintain its weight and deliver decent penetration when fired from a short-barreled handgun as well as a rifle. You see, velocity is the driving force behind terminal performance, and bullets are typically designed to work within a certain velocity range. Extending that performance range so acceptable terminal performance can be had at impact velocities as low as 1,000 fps and as high as 1,800 fps has, at least until now, been similar to the search for Bigfoot.

I found myself trying to solve this conundrum of ammunition selection when I began working with a Ruger 77/357 bolt-action rifle I wanted to set up as a general-purpose rifle and as my companion to a concealed-carry and a general-purpose revolver.

[ … ]

Out of a snubnose revolver, the HammerDown load penetrated 15.5 inches and deformed with a frontal diameter 1.5X caliber. Out of the 4-inch revolver, the bullet penetrated 20 inches and across the front it measured 1.6X the unfired bullet diameter. And, out of the 18-inch barrel of the rifle, the 170-grain bonded bullet pushed to 22 inches and had a recovered frontal diameter that measuring 1.3X its original diameter. Unlike Critical Duty, which only showed a 400 fps (38 percent) velocity increase between the 2- and 18-inch barrels, the HammerDown load jumped from 1,102 fps out of the snubby to 1,773 fps out of the rifle, a 61-percent increase in velocity.

The point of all this is that if you’re a fan of the .357 Mag., and if you would like a single load suitable for hunting, predator defense and personal protection—a general-purpose or Bigfoot-capable load—you now have a fantastic option.

Left unmentioned are two things.  The first may be just an editorial preference, and that is that the ammunition design also incorporates certain features like chamfering at key parts of the cartridge to reduce misfeeds.

The second is the important one.  This is a designer, boutique ammunition, and the difficulty at the moment is finding ammunition at all.

Finally, just try to located a Ruger 77/357 or for that matter a Ruger 77/44 today.  They’ve been discontinued.

Oh, so then look for a Henry X Model in 357 magnum or 44 magnum.  Nope.  Cannot be found either.