Fieldtester looks deeper, so you choose smarter
youtu.be/5JSzxN3FpBY How do ammunition companies make sure their cartridges pass the quality control test? James Marchington joins RUAG ammo at Bisley for a day of batch testing. For more from RWS in the UK, go to RUAG.co.uk For the NSRA, visit NSRA.co.uk This item appears in Fieldtester, episode 12 Fcha.nl/fieldtester12
youtu.be/bgJKA9BbggY Foxshooter Doug Pocklington uses Norma V-Max 58 grain factory ammo in his .243 Tikka rifle. He likes it because it’s accurate and effective, and the bullet breaks up instantly when it hits anything. That eliminates any problems with ricochets, even on some of the stony fields where he operates.
The National Smallbore Rifle Associations is calling on all shooters to make their voices heard about the government’s consultation [PDF] on changing the law on lead ammunition. The NSRA does not agree with the current proposals. It says they are ‘disproportionate and, in many areas, not adequately evidenced’. It also
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTwPP8DTlMY Ammunition choice is critical to Mike Robinson. He’s a deer manager, and wants to achieve reliable, quick, humane, one-shot kills on the deer he shoots. But he’s also a chef and restauranteur, so it’s important to minimise any wastage of meat or carcass contamination. That’s why he uses just
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhKNwWxKzxU Who makes zinc bullets? What are they used for and how long have they been around? Firearms expert Andrew Venables answers these questions and more. History of bullet development by Andrew Venables Why do we cling to the pre-1900 lead bullet design when the 20th and even 21st centuries
youtu.be/OM0o97qkwiE We test six copper rounds for accuracy. This is part of a project run by Tim Pilbeam where 13 deerstalkers keep diaries of how copper bullets perform for them. Stalkers include Steve Goodwin, Steve Bull, Alison Otway of OtwaysMeatandGame.co.uk, gamekeeper Rob Beeney and David Sadler set about finding out
How many times have you asked yourself whether you want to dine out or at home? You’re still going to have food, but there’s something satisfying about eating a meal you spent the effort cooking. The same goes for bullets. There’s also the extra cofidence it gives you. Factory
With the shift away from lead, Barnes Ammo’s Tipped TSX has become “the bullet of the moment”, according to Raytrade’s Richard Ryan. It’s certainly popular with Fieldsports Channel viewers. The TTSX is the most popular Barnes bullet that Fieldsports Channel viewers buy, according to our rifle ammunition research. The
How does Sako’s new Powerhead Blade bullet work on deer? The non-toxic load is a winner on the range and in ballistic gel. Roy Lupton takes it out in the fallow rut in the South of England to try it out on a fallow buck. Find out how he gets
Ballistic is a much over-used word. You may associate it with nuclear weapons. The word is pointlessly used to describe long-range missiles with nuclear warheads. It has nothing to do with the power of the payload. When you use it with the word ‘missile’, ‘ballistic’ means there is a
What’s the difference between target and hunting rounds? Sako Cartridges’ Aki Suvilahti says the biggest difference is in the manufacturing process. The hollowpoint boat-tail bullets that Sako makes for its hunting cartidges have to be manufactured more precisely than solid target ammunition. “Production consistency is all about accuracy,” he
To a non-shooter, all bullets seem the same, but there are hundreds of different calibres out there. ‘Calibre’ is based on (but not always the same as) the diameter of the bullet in millimetres. Are you choosing the right calibre for your shooting? You’ll probably get different answers from
You pull the trigger – and a lot of chemistry and physics takes place in a split second. Aki Suvilahti from cartridge manufacturer Sako says there are, generally, three different types of primer. For calibres such as .222 and .223, there is ‘small rifle’ primer, which has low energy.
Hot or not? That’s the question Paul Childerley puts to Aki Suvilahti of Sako Cartridges. Paul likes hot rounds in his chosen calibres of .22-50, 70-grain .243 – but like all shooters, he has doubts. “So,” he asks: “lighter bullets, faster charge, is it good or is it bad?”
If you’re still finding your way around your rifle, you may want to know what ‘head space’ is. Aki Suvilahti from Sako Cartridges explains. “Head space is a measure, in the rifle, from bolt face to chamber. It is in the part of the chamber that stops the
Deer manager Paul Childerley describes what a bonded bullet is good for: “More weight behind it, more stopping power.” Sako’s Aki Suvilahti perfers a more technical definition. “Bonding means that as there is lead core in the bullet, it is chemically fixed to this copper jacket,” he says, referring
From Fieldsports Channel’s Fieldtester Scroll down to watch our video reviews of top rimfire rifles The humble rimfire has long been a favourite of farmers, gamekeepers and pest controllers. It’s cheap to shoot, accurate and deadly on pests like rabbits and squirrels. Rimfires are versatile too. Shoot subsonic hollowpoint .22
In the first test of its kind, firearms experts Andrew Venables from WMSFirearmsTraining.com and Tim Pilbeam try out nine brands of copper bullets at 100 metres/yards and 250 metres/yards. With more UK venison processors demanding deer are shot with non-toxic bullets, they look at what you can buy in
Firearms expert Andrew Venables and deer manager Ben Heath put two copper bullets head to head. Commenting on YouTube, several viewers give their favourite copper rounds. They are .243, 80-grain “80-grain in .243 sounds good and it will be interesting when Andrew goes with the .308 110-grain and 120-grain
Andrew Venables has cooked up what he reckons is the perfect copper varminting cartridge, using the Barnes Varmint Grenade. He looks at how the Varmint Grenade works and how to get the best from it. Click here for Andrew’s film about the perfect copper deer bullet. For more from
Used by Fieldsports Channel’s Scandinavian viewers, who hunt deer and moose, the Norma Oryx is designed to knock down animals that have a reputation for being ‘armour-plated’. It is called the Oryx for that reason. The gemsbok is not an easy antelope to kill. Fieldsports Channel surveyed its viewers about
The Precision Hunter cartridge from Hornady is only the delivery vehicle for its ELD-X bullet range. Anything you read about Precision Hunter should dwell on the ELD-X and so that’s what we are going to do here. ELD-X stands for ‘Extremely Low Drag – eXpanding’. It’s Hornady’s all-range plastic-tipped hunting
Fieldsports Channel’s viewers are loyal to their ammunition brands and we have the proof Once they find a rifle cartridge they like, they stick to it. During the coronavirus lockdown of 2020, we surveyed our viewers about the kit they use. We received more than 3,500 responses. Of these, 616
Firearms expert Andrew Venables has a guilty secret (innocent secret?). He prefers copper bullets to lead bullets. In this film, he puts copper bullets through their paces on a range, showing how they win on both accuracy and fillability. Thanks to Tim Pilbeam for letting us use his range.
Meat damage is one of Andrew Venables’ primary reasons to move away from lead bullets. For him, the argument revolves around weight retention. “You’ve seen the x-rays, you’ve seen the ballistic media, the different pictures going around on social media. 40% of that bullet is left in the animal. Copper
Like every ethical hunter in the Western World, Andrew Venables wants a clean kill. The firearms expert reckons the bullet that does that best is not made of lead. It’s made of copper – because it’s such a fast bullet. “Having spent a lot of time shooting lead bullets,
In the 1990s, Andrew Venables was at a US gun show where a mini revolution was taking place. He had no idea at the time that the non-lead bullet Barnes was launching there would change his deer stalking. He says it took about two years for the Barnes bullet
by Charlie Jacoby In a world where leaving lead fragments in your gralloch can earn you a frontseat in the falconers’ hall of hate, it’s time to swap out your old lead bullets for modern lead-free alternatives. But which materials actually kill deer? Well, RWS decided to have a go
What are the best bullets for roebuck? Paul Childerley tries out Gamehead Pro cartridges from ammunition manufacturer Sako after a roebuck in the south-east of England, plus he visits the Sako factory in Finland to see how they are made. It is the latest in his Stalking Success series.
Sako’s secretive ammunition factory in Finland opens its doors to deerstalker and big game hunter Paul Childerley. Paul wants to find out which type of bullet does what, and which he should choose for different animals and different ranges. Sako demonstrates the distinctions with the help of its rifle ranges
Roy Lupton is out in the South of England, testing lead-free ammunition on a fallow buck. Then Roy cuts open the animal to see the damage, and how effective the bullet has been at killing it humanely. Roy is a falconer as well as a rifleshooter, and he is
What are the best bullets for whitetail deer? Paul Childerley tries out Super Hammerhead cartridges from ammunition manufacturer Sako on a whitetail hunt in Finland, plus he visits the Sako factory in Finland to see how they are made. It is the latest in his Stalking Success series. ▶ For
Roy Lupton is out in the South of England to test lead-free ammunition on a fox. He calls it in with a FoxPro Inferno caller and shoots it with an 80-grain softpoint from Fox Bullets. Then Roy cuts open the animal to see the damage, and how effective the bullet
Winchester designed a polymer-tipped bullet especially for whitetail deer that’s now available in Europe for roedeer. Charlie Jacoby goes stalking with Carl Harrison of Devon Stalking, and with the shooter with no hands Jamie Chandler to try it out on the range. Find out whether it measures up to softpoints
We’re in Germany at Europe’s biggest manufacturer of bullets, shotgun cartridges. We want to watch a .30-06 cartridge made from start to finish for Roy Lupton to use out deerstalking. The process is fascinating, and the scale of bullet production at RWS extraordinary. Come and join us on a tour
At the incredible Ulfborg shooting range in Denmark RWS product manager Hannes Dikhoff talks through the power and efficiency of the new lead-free bullet from the German ammunition manufacturer. This item first appeared in Fieldsports Britain, episode 188. To watch the whole show go to Fcha.nl/fieldsportsbritain188
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