Mono’s for 6.8 western handloads

[AirborneA$$hole]

Hey y’all, I’m going to be working up some handloads for my 6.8 western because I’d prefer to shoot mono’s, and ammo isn’t available hardly anywhere anyway. Before I get started though, I need some input on good monolithic bullets chambered in 270. Right now I am considering:
-150gr Cutting Edge Lazer
-140gr Badlands Precision Super Bulldozer
-130gr Barnes TTSX
Or just use the Winchester copper impact? I just feel like I can get a lot more velocity than the 2830 fps of the copper impact chambered in 6.8 Western.

 

[35WhelenAI]

Retained velocity is the factor to pay attention to. What is the retained velocity of each at the longest range you may shoot? Light monos start fast (no secret there) but shed velocity due to lower BC. Barnes 129 LRX in .277 would be an option as the LRX's have a lower expansion threshold, 150 gr Cutting Edge Lazer says it is a single feed bullet, and 140 Super Bulldozer is about the same length, but no mention of single feed or not.

One way or the other, mono's are where things are headed. Not if, but when. There is a lot of press currently with raptors such as the Bald Eagle having lead poisoning from eating carcass's of waterfowl and other game shot with lead bullets/shot.

Hammer has a good design to shed the petals deliberately, similar to a lead core bullet losing weight as it expands and penetrates, and maintain the shank for penetration.

 

[jhm2023]

The single feed Cutting Edge bullets are single feed due to the position of the seal tight band. Hammers are a great option for terminal performance though not the best bc depending on how far you're looking to shoot that may not matter. The Cutting edge MTH is pretty good too and I've had the chance to see what they do to a 7.5' grizz from a 7 rem mag, worked quite well. I personally only take shots on game at 600 yards or less so all of my bolt guns get fed Hammer Hunters and I push them pretty fast.

 

[AirborneA$$hole]

Retained velocity is the factor to pay attention to. What is the retained velocity of each at the longest range you may shoot? Light monos start fast (no secret there) but shed velocity due to lower BC. Barnes 129 LRX in .277 would be an option as the LRX's have a lower expansion threshold, 150 gr Cutting Edge Lazer says it is a single feed bullet, and 140 Super Bulldozer is about the same length, but no mention of single feed or not.

One way or the other, mono's are where things are headed. Not if, but when. There is a lot of press currently with raptors such as the Bald Eagle having lead poisoning from eating carcass's of waterfowl and other game shot with lead bullets/shot.

Hammer has a good design to shed the petals deliberately, similar to a lead core bullet losing weight as it expands and penetrates, and maintain the shank for penetration.

I’m not necessarily worried about single feed, it’s too easy to have a couple extra rounds in a shell holder. The 150 grain cutting edge lazer has a pretty good BC and it sheds petals like the hammer bullets. I’m not so sure how I feel about using the hammer bullets though, I’ve read a lot of mixed reviews. Some people say they are great, others say they don’t expand like they should and basically just pencil through. I’m kind of leaning towards the cutting edge lazer, I think it would retain more energy at longer ranges anyway. I might also try the bulldozer bullets, I’ve only read a couple reviews but they said they are tech drivers. Thanks for the input!

 

[AirborneA$$hole]

The single feed Cutting Edge bullets are single feed due to the position of the seal tight band. Hammers are a great option for terminal performance though not the best bc depending on how far you're looking to shoot that may not matter. The Cutting edge MTH is pretty good too and I've had the chance to see what they do to a 7.5' grizz from a 7 rem mag, worked quite well. I personally only take shots on game at 600 yards or less so all of my bolt guns get fed Hammer Hunters and I push them pretty fast.

I live in Nebraska, so although there are some opportunities to shoot pretty far, I would say most of my shots are going to be 600 yards or less. If it’s at all possible, I’d like to try to wait until the game gets closer or see if I can close the distance a little bit. So, you have had good experiences with the hammer bullets? Which line? All of the questionable reviews I have read are about hammer hunters. How fast are you pushing them?

 

[jhm2023]

I’m not necessarily worried about single feed, it’s too easy to have a couple extra rounds in a shell holder. The 150 grain cutting edge lazer has a pretty good BC and it sheds petals like the hammer bullets. I’m not so sure how I feel about using the hammer bullets though, I’ve read a lot of mixed reviews. Some people say they are great, others say they don’t expand like they should and basically just pencil through. I’m kind of leaning towards the cutting edge lazer, I think it would retain more energy at longer ranges anyway. I might also try the bulldozer bullets, I’ve only read a couple reviews but they said they are tech drivers. Thanks for the input!

I'm curious for what reason or why people are saying the Hammers don't expand. The hammers shed their petals and the caliber diameter shank continues on and would obviously leave an exit hole in the skin the same size as the bullets diameter. I've also seen people claim that hammers deflect inside the animal based on seeing dirt kick up off to the side. I suspect this is a petal exiting at an angle. I wonder if some cases are improperly stabillized bullets not entering animals at the correct angle. I beleive a while back hammer had the wrong required twists listed for some bullets but have since fixed that.

I'm pushing a 124gr HH at 2,900 from a 22" barrel 6.5 creed and a 155gr HH at 3,450 from a 26" 28 Nosler. Once my 7max is done I'm hoping to push the 143gr HH at 3,100 or faster from a 20" barrel. Time will tell on that one.

 

[AirborneA$$hole]

I'm curious for what reason or why people are saying the Hammers don't expand. The hammers shed their petals and the caliber diameter shank continues on and would obviously leave an exit hole in the skin the same size as the bullets diameter. I've also seen people claim that hammers deflect inside the animal based on seeing dirt kick up off to the side. I suspect this is a petal exiting at an angle.

I'm pushing a 124gr HH at 2,900 from a 22" barrel 6.5 creed and a 155gr HH at 3,450 from a 26" 28 Nosler. Once my 7max is done I'm hoping to push the 143gr HH at 3,100 or faster from a 20" barrel. Time will tell on that one.

Now that you say that, you are probably right… It would make sense that the “deflection” people are seeing would be one of the pedals that broke off, considering the pedals are going to radiate outward in different directions once they separate. So obviously, you have had pretty good experiences with the hammer hunter then?

 

[jhm2023]

Though I don't yet have a lot of animals on the ground with Hammers, the ones I have taken weren't down at the shot or less than 10 yards.

For example of the petals exiting at an angle possible causing people to think they don't track right. Here is an exit on a black bear and you can see where the base and the petals exit in what I imagine would be some what of a cone pattern after the exit the animal. The is from a Lehigh controlled chase which works very similar to a Hammer.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[35WhelenAI]

I was skeptical of the Hammer's from some reports I read initially, but no personal experience. I am not skeptical now that I see they do the job from the majority of reports, as I read more.

Here's a thought that got me thinking about Hammers and why they may do what they do.

A petal is very small, not a lot of mass when all is said and done, when talking about (for instance) a 150 gr projectile that retains 70% shank weight. Each petal may weigh 8-ish grs if they are equal. When the Hammers shed their petals, if the petals don't break right off at the same time (even though they all break off) that's a recipe for the bullet to veer a bit one way or the other like a rudder steering a ship, which could also create what looks like a tumbling bullet scenario.

I would think it very well could be the bullet shank changing course and being what guys see as kicking up dirt at a different angle or position relative to what it "should". I don't envision a petal having the velocity combined with mass to make much visual impact in a hillside.

I may be all wrong, but that makes more sense to me than the a tiny petal making a very visible impact on the far side of an animal at many 100's of yards from the shooter.

 

[AirborneA$$hole]

Though I don't yet have a lot of animals on the ground with Hammers, the ones I have taken weren't down at the shot or less than 10 yards.

For example of the petals exiting at an angle possible causing people to think they don't track right. Here is an exit on a black bear and you can see where the base and the petals exit in what I imagine would be some what of a cone pattern after the exit the animal. The is from a Lehigh controlled chase which works very similar to a Hammer.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Nice. That’s about what I would imagine the wound channel to look like, similar to a cone shape. Well, I’m convinced to at least give them a shot.

 

[wildwilderness]

My experience with Hammers have been good. The easy accuracy from them might be the best thing.

 

[Termite]

Have you found 6.8 dies? If so where did you buy them? I can’t find them anywhere.

 

[CoStick]

129 lrx

 

[35WhelenAI]

129 lrx

Despite my litany above about Hammer's and the possible explanation(s) for the observations guys have had, and not having any reason to not use them, I have been using Barnes mono's since the early 90's. From the original X, then TSX and now the TTSX, I can't say a bad thing about them. Pronghorn, whitetails, muley's and elk have all been dispatched without drama.

The 129 LRX is on my reloading shelf for some 270 Win load development and with an expansion threshold of 1400 fps (read that on this forum, as per a Barnes rep) I wouldn't hesitate to use it at longer range. Midway USA has had then in stock for quite a while now.

 

[AirborneA$$hole]

I was skeptical of the Hammer's from some reports I read initially, but no personal experience. I am not skeptical now that I see they do the job from the majority of reports, as I read more.

Here's a thought that got me thinking about Hammers and why they may do what they do.

A petal is very small, not a lot of mass when all is said and done, when talking about (for instance) a 150 gr projectile that retains 70% shank weight. Each petal may weigh 8-ish grs if they are equal. When the Hammers shed their petals, if the petals don't break right off at the same time (even though they all break off) that's a recipe for the bullet to veer a bit one way or the other like a rudder steering a ship, which could also create what looks like a tumbling bullet scenario.

I would think it very well could be the bullet shank changing course and being what guys see as kicking up dirt at a different angle or position relative to what it "should". I don't envision a petal having the velocity combined with mass to make much visual impact in a hillside.

I may be all wrong, but that makes more sense to me than the a tiny petal making a very visible impact on the far side of an animal at many 100's of yards from the shooter.

Well, I’m no rock scientist but that makes the most sense of all the explanations that I’ve heard. My next question though is exactly how much the bullets may deviate because that could potentially cause a problem. Say you take a shot and it ends up being farther back than you wanted, and after an inch of penetration it deviates hard and ends up a gut shot? Just a possibility I thought of, Just thinking theoretically

 

[AirborneA$$hole]

Have you found 6.8 dies? If so where did you buy them? I can’t find them anywhere.

I ordered mine from Lee Precision. They were out but I signed up for their “in stock” email notifications and within 10 days they were restocked. I did the same for a reloading press that got restocked in like 2, maybe 3 weeks max.

 

[35WhelenAI]

Well, I’m no rock scientist but that makes the most sense of all the explanations that I’ve heard. My next question though is exactly how much the bullets may deviate because that could potentially cause a problem. Say you take a shot and it ends up being farther back than you wanted, and after an inch of penetration it deviates hard and ends up a gut shot? Just a possibility I thought of, Just thinking theoretically

I've read the different and out of the ordinary reports once in a while that something must be at work. You read something once, could be an accident. Read something similar a second time, could be a coincidence. Read something for a third time and it starts to be a pattern that could be explored/explained further. So, waiting to hear if there is a more plausible or proven explanation?