light bullets for big bores?

M

majormarine

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i just wonder how well do light bullets, like the Hornady 125 gr SP, perform on 8mm mauser?

i was told that i should stick with heavier bullets for the larger caliber guns, like 308 win, 303 brit, 7.62x54r, 8mm mauser, etc, because the heavier bullets are what they are designed for.

for my application, i would like to have some lighter bullets for these guns, because first of all, they make cheaper plinking ammo. secondly, i can shoot more in a session because of the reduced kick. also, it's easier to introduce novice's to the big bores, etc, etc...
 
Not sure about the 8mm, but I've been playing with 110gr Vmax in my .308 with great accuracy. Only good for plinking and varmints, but I use heavier bullets for big game anyway. I just thought they'd be fun to try on a yotes or two. :)
 
While I prefer heavy bullets, I have had really good accuracy with the 125 gr Sierra and the 130 gr Speer in the .30/06. My experience with 110's was not so positive. I didn't expect much from them, and when I didn't get much I admittedly didn't give them much of a chance. I could try them again, but I don't really need that light a .30 caliber bullet. Gate reports pretty good results with the 130 gr TSX.

As long as a bullet's center of mass coincides with it's dimensional center, and provided the bullet is long enough that it can rotate around a linear axis, it should only be a matter of finding the correct load for it to shoot well from a barrel known to be accurate, within it's practical velocity range.
 
In my 30-06 I shoot 110 SP Hornady over 53.0 IMR 3031 as my standard load. It groups 5 shots under 1MOA. Besides, I use Hornady 100 GR Short Jacket over 20.0 IMR SR 4759 as reduced load for offhand plinking. It groups under 1.5 MOA (not offhand, certainly).
 
I shoot the Sierra 125 back to 300 yads in my 308. The 130 Speer, too. very accurate with 4198 or 3031.


In 8mm I plink with the Sako 125 gr bullet. Good for shooting standing practice at the gravel pit.

For 35 Rem, 356 and 358 and 35 Whelen I load 200gr TMJ pistol bullets for plinking. Work like a charm. Cheap and reduced kick.
 
i hate to nitpick but, all the calibers/bullets mentioned are considered "smallbore", light bullets in a bigbore would be something like a 300gr. bullet in a .500 Nitro. or 50/90........anything below .375 is smallbore, up to .416 is medium bore, .45 and up is bigbore, this is the std. British sys. dev. in Africa.
 
things to consider when moving to lighter rounds and their performance:

-to make a round smaller you (obviously) cannot change the diameter, so you must make it shorter: Shorter bullets of the same diameter are (generaly speaking) going to be less stable than longer, and may require a different barrel twist rate to stabilize for accuracy.

-Shorter bullets are also going to have a more blunt ogive, bringing down the ballistic coefficient.
 
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