Yesterday a military retired friend was using his mil-spec .308 rifle, Rem-700 action, with 172gr mil-spec ammo, and I was using my factory Browning X-bolt in 6.5 Creedmoor with handloaded 140gr Hornady ELD-X, graphed at 2695 fps. His was not graphed.
We were shooting at 18 x 18, painted white, steel plates from 300 to 1000 yards.
We noticed my rounds impacted the plates with a dark hit that was smaller than the hit at longer ranges, the size getting noticeably larger at 600 and beyond while his rounds impacted with a smaller size than mine no matter what distance it was hit.
Bullet construction obviously plays a role as well as the weight and velocity difference, but I wondered if the ELD-X greater expansion at the farther distance had something to do with the reduced velocity at that point, i.e., is there an "ideal" velocity that provides optimal expansion?
The question is interrupted by the understanding that the ELD-X is not designed to expand as does the ELD version, but my friend's bullet was a military grade -perhaps not designed to excessively expand at any distance-?
We were shooting at 18 x 18, painted white, steel plates from 300 to 1000 yards.
We noticed my rounds impacted the plates with a dark hit that was smaller than the hit at longer ranges, the size getting noticeably larger at 600 and beyond while his rounds impacted with a smaller size than mine no matter what distance it was hit.
Bullet construction obviously plays a role as well as the weight and velocity difference, but I wondered if the ELD-X greater expansion at the farther distance had something to do with the reduced velocity at that point, i.e., is there an "ideal" velocity that provides optimal expansion?
The question is interrupted by the understanding that the ELD-X is not designed to expand as does the ELD version, but my friend's bullet was a military grade -perhaps not designed to excessively expand at any distance-?