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 gunshops.
Shooting them through a dozen hunting rifles in different calibres, they ask: are they accurate and do they expand and do the job?
“There are horses for courses,” says Venables. He warns against using bullets recommended for large game in continental Europe: relatively big game such as wild boar and red deer. He says these are the wrong rounds for smaller UK deer. He says: “You are going to get a lot of energy coming out the other side of the animal and you are getting limited expansion.”
The main result of this test is that UK importers should focus on fast, light-for-calibre copper rounds. “The message is: if a bullet looks like a brick it isn’t meant to be a long-range bullet,” says Andrew. “If a bullet’s designed to expand extremely well at extremely long range, it’s going to over-expand and blow up at normal stalking distances. Think about what you’re shooting and hunting, think about the result you expect. Prepare for what you are actually going to do. Don’t get ‘magnumitis’ and equipped for some fanciful long-range shot, and then end up shooting something in the chest at 60 metres and ruining half of the animal. Let’s be real out there.”
Accuracy and mushrooming test, 100 metres
Barnes VOR-TX
175 grains in .30-06. Shot into water bowser at 100m, petals to twice its size
Barnes TSX BT
130 grains in .270. Shot into water bowser at 100m, petals to twice its size
Barnes TTSX (handloaded)
150 grains in .30-06
Handload with Barnes TTSX 150-grain. Shot into water bowser at 100m, petals to more than twice its size
This is Andrew Venables' choice, expanding to almost three times its size, even when shot into a water bowser at 250 metres/yards
Hornady GMX
80 grains in .243, shot from a Browning A-Bolt. Shot into water bowser at 100m, petals to twice its size
80 grains, shot from an RPA. Shot into water bowser at 100m, petals to twice its size
165 grains in .308. Shot into water bowser at 100m, petals to twice its size
It performs well on the 250-metre bowser, too, which makes it Andrew's second choice for game at that range after his handload.
Hornady Superformance
120 grains in 6.5x55
Lapua Naturalis
90 grains in .243, shot from a Browning A-Bolt. Shot into water bowser at 100m, mushrooms to twice its size
90 grains in .243, shot from an RPA. Shot into water bowser at 100m, mushrooms to twice its size
170 grains in .308. Shot into water bowser at 100m, mushrooms to twice its size
170 grains in .30-06. Shot into water bowser at 100m, mushrooms to twice its size
The .243 was the only significant under-performer at 250 metres, showing little or no expansion (on the left), compared to the same round shot at the water bowser at 100 metres (on the right)
Lapua Naturalis extracted from the 100-metre water bowser
RWS EVO Green
.300 Win Mag
.270 WSM. Shot into water bowser at 100m, does not mushroom/petal
Shot into water bowser at 100m, does not mushroom/petal. "It's trying to be the best of both worlds," explains Andrew. "If you shoot it into a small animal, the front section blows up. If you shoot it into a large animal, the front section still blows up and the rear section (pictured) penetrates more deeply."more
RWS HIT
130 grains in .270 WSM
165 grains in .300 Win Mag
Sellier & Bellot XRG
180-grain in .308. Shot into water bowser at 100m, petals to twice its size
Sellier & Bellot XRG Blue. Shot into water bowser at 100m, petals to twice its size
The bullet on the left shows expansion at 100 metres/yards, the one on the right at 250 metres. This shows that this round is better at closer ranges. "Generally, ballistic tip bullets with a reasonably high ballistic coefficient (BC) perform better [than this]," says Andrew. He recommends the round-nosed XRG for short-range work.more