New non-lead bullet available

[Harold1950]

I was looking at the Graf & Son website and noticed another (new) all copper bullet there. I had a couple of questions so I emailed them to the email address and got an answer quickly. The guy and I went back and forth, him wanting to know where I was based and then he asked me for my phone number and said he would call me. Long story short, we visited for a while about his bullet and related information, he emailed me some information he needed about my reloads using his bullet and said he would put the information in his data base and come up with a load for me to try. Then said our goodbyes.

Well, he called me the next day and said he had lost my address, I asked him if he meant my email address and he wanted my mailing address. Again long story short, I got a package from Graf & Son today with a plastic jar with 50 of his bullets in it for me to load and try in my rifle after I send him the info he needs to get me a good load. The bullets look like the Barnes TSX bullets, but these cost more but come with a money back guarantee. Just return 14 of the 50 with your receipt and you get a full refund. I went to their website and read all the reviews by hunters mostly in Africa and African big game. I'v tried to attach two photos of the so hopefully it will work.

They are hollow points and Mark said they "petal" out much like the Barnes bullet when they hit an animal and he could cut the "petals" to open easily on soft meat or could make them harder to penetrate deeper before they expanded.

Sorry for blurry pics

I sent Mark the information about getting his bullet "certified" in California.

Here is a better picture of the jar and 4 bullets, hopefully, you can see them. you can see the slits on the side of the nose, the first has none showing on the outside, the second and third have a small slit and the 4th one has a long slit from the end down the nose of the bullet.

 

[skizzums]

they look very nice, like a combination of Barnes and Lehigh Defense. Very cool that you can custom order your construction of the hollow-point, if that's a feature he will keep that could catch on.

Is there a link anywhere? you said you found this on Graf's? Does the company have a name?

edit: okay I see now from the pic. www.uscmp.net

well, that doesn't work actually, so a link would be great

 

[skizzums]

it appears this is the bullet, contrary to your jar...... or is just the same name.
http://www.auscopperprojectiles.com/collections/sidewinder

guaranteed sub-sonic expansion, that would make some blackouter's happy. I don't know at a buck fifty a piece though

180 would be pushing it in my pistol for reliable cycling. I can't say have tried though, but it's edgy even with the 208's. I am sure the hard-core sub gunner's have adj. gas-blocks though
http://www.auscopperprojectiles.com/collections/sidewinder/products/308-180gr-subsonic

I must say from a technical point, I am curious how the nose is made to be softer than the body, unless this is somehow easily achieved with annealing.

you gotta give this some credit for thinking outside the box though. not something I would have thought of:

Now, with a meplat the same on both ends, the same ogive but a very different shank design, i can have the best of both. You load the soft and the solid to the exact same length with the same load and they shoot to the same point of impact, Perfect for large and dangerous game.

note this is a different bullet than the sidewinder, these are big bore mag's "thunder"


I must say, it piques my interest. thanks for the info, let us know how they shoot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=85&v=1iD-5IEMoJo

 

[Harold1950]

Yes, this the website for the bullets

http://www.auscopperprojectiles.com/...ons/sidewinder

I am waiting for the load data from Mark. It is now the weekend and he is probably not working today. He said he could cut the grooves deeper for "soft" nosed or not so deep for the harder bullets. The groove is (I think he said) cut inside the hollow point and he could adjust the penetration/expansion rate by how deep he cut the groove. I guess less metal removed, the deeper the penetration before it expands and deeper groove, the less penetration and quicker it expands. I think that is how he explained it to me. A buyer/user/shooter could order the bullets how they want them to function. Here is the ad on Graf & Son

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/vendor/vendorId/254

 

[briandg]

I like grafs. It's interesting to hear this.

 

[Harold1950]

Update....I got the load data

I got the load data from Mark for my 7mm-08 and his Aussie All Copper 120 grain bullets. But unfortunately my Hornady LnL scale and powder dispenser took a dump and froze up so I had to send it back to Hornady. (Qudos to Hornady, they are replacing it under warranty even though I have had it for a while). So my scale is supposed to arrive at the end of today and I'll load up 3 rounds for each of the 3 loads Mark gave me but have to wait for warmer/dryer weather to try them out and see how they shoot (California is finally getting some rain).
For those interested (I believe Mark ran the information through the Quick load software), I will be using IMR4895 powder and the 3 loads are: 43.1 grains, 43.6 grains, and 44.1 grains. Only problem is that we put down 85 degrees shooting temperature and it is now at best in the high 60's- 70's.
So, if it ever warms up, I'll let you know how the bullets shoot/group at 100 yards.

 

[Harold1950]

Results at the range

Here is one picture of what the "Aussie all copper bullets did at 100 yards. POA were the red square and circles. Powder was IMR 4895. One primer was slightly flattened with the 44.1 grain load but I don't know if it is a pressure problem or not. The reason the targets look strange is because I had one target taped on another and the rounds hit below the target I was shooting at.

 

[Harold1950]

Picture #2

Sorry, can't figure out how to put them all in one post.

 

[Harold1950]

Last picture

Here's the last picture