Fox Classic hunter bullets?

Got the bullets in the mail today. They look pretty interesting. Will have to do some testing and load development and see how they shoot and hold up.

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I recently purchased 2 boxes for my 9.3 cartridge. I'll give-them-a-go and see how they perform on paper. The reason I purchased them is that they are 200 grain, which is most uncommon. These bullets are tipless and should open-up easier, accompanied with higher velocities.
 
Given how new the availability of the Fox bullets are, I thought I would share my preliminary load development results with the 9.3 mm 200gr Tipless and 9.3 mm 250 tipped classic hunter bullets that Prophet River sent to me.

I am working on loads for a Brno ZG-47 9.3x62. I have chosen to run Varget for both loads even though there are likely better powders for both but Varget works for both, I have a big tub of Varget, and alternate powders are hard to find and/or pricey.

I had to use Gordon's Reloading Tool and a little McGyvering to figure out the loads for the 200 gr Tipless because they are so new no data was available. In the end, I was able to run these between 2700 and 2900 fps with no appreciable pressure signs although based on the not so scientific recoil feel of the top loads, I wouldn't want to increase my charges much. My best loaded seemed to be just over an 1 inch at 100 with the lowest charge (~2690 to 2710 fps). All other loads were between 1.5" and 2.5", With a significant change in POI. I will likely try the best load again and maybe a full work up using H4895.

Gordon's Reloading Tool has the 250 gr Fox bullet in their database, so there was less figuring required for the initial work up. I am still in the process of firing my loads but I have shot my bottom 3 of 5 loads so far. Notably, this bullet is super long (photo below next to a 9.3 mm 250 grain Accubond) and in a standard length commercial M98 magazine, a lot of powder room gets eaten up. The loads recommended by Gordon's seem low to me (lower than most loads for 286 gr bullets) but I am assuming this is related to the bullet type and length. So far my loads have been from 2190 to 2330 fps (all of which feel and appear to be pretty light). However, These loads do appear to be dropping less at 100 m than 285 gr PPU bullets fired from the same gun and are grouping out of this world good (for me). My best was the second lightest (approximately 2225fps) at less than 0.5" at 100 m and my worst was 2330 at 1.25" at 100 m. All 3 of the loads fell within a 2" circle. I am hoping to build this load up to around 2450 to 2500 fps but if the accuracy falls off, I am fairly comfortable running this just over 2300 fps for my purposes.
 

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track said:
I recently purchased 2 boxes for my 9.3 cartridge. I'll give-them-a-go and see how they perform on paper. The reason I purchased them is that they are 200 grain, which is most uncommon. These bullets are tipless and should open-up easier, accompanied with higher velocities.
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Yeah, the lightweight 9.3 bullets were what really caught my eye too. Other than Norma bullets which are crazy expensive and hard to find there isn't much in the way of lighter options in the 9.3.
 
Yep, i almost bought a couple boxes of 9.3 200 or 220 gr, curses, they are all gone, but i picked up sum 100 of the 6.5 123gr and 100 7mm 130gr and a 100 for the .358win, and lastly a couple boxes of 40gr .224 for the .22 Hornet, so far only tested 40gr in the hornet, 2nd shot in I had a case separation on the old brass, so testing not conclusive, but 2650fps and two shots touching at 50m.
 
Got out to the range. They have potential.

Tried the 160gr first. First three shots went well. Hovering around 1/2". Then I pulled the 4th shot which was to the left. 5 Shot group ended up being a tad over 1.1" Velocity was 2860 fps out of the 22" barrel

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The 180's could be tweaked. That one came in around 1.5" group. Velocity 2750 fps.

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Those 8mm are shooting pretty darn well for you by my book; 2860 FPS seems like a pretty solid speed for those.

I am impressed with the five shot groups which are too rich for my blood (too little time to cool the barrel for me and too little money to spend on components). I only ran 3 shot groups while building up my velocities in the 9.3x62 with the 250 gr bullets but the majority of the groups (ranging from 52 to 56 grains of Varget stepped up in half grain increments) were less than an inch. However, even with 56 gr Varget, my velocities have topped out at around 2450 (about 100 FPS less than book despite my 24 inch barrel) with no pressure signs and pretty mild recoil. I am going to tiptoe up to 57 grs to see if I can get up enough velocity to replicate the trajectory of my 308 running 180 grs (~2550fps), which would be handy when switching guns during hunting season.

They are funny looking bullets but they make for a fairly handsome round, to my eye.
 

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remington jim said:
They are a Strange design - shape and have Terrible BCs BUT prob will still kill game Well . I will stay with my LRX and TTSX bullets .👍
Have Fun Guys . RJ
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Tough to fault your approach. In particular, once you have load developed it's a challenge to move on. However, it is also a little tough to get excited about the reloading room when you move from exploring loads to "ammo-factory" mode. I am pretty sure my revolving door of guns is about 10% for the sake of trying a new gun and 90% for exercise of working up a good load. A goofy new bullet is the perfect fix for a lull in the reloading habit, especially, when it comes in unique weights.
 
thymallus arcticus said:
Tough to fault your approach. In particular, once you have load developed it's a challenge to move on. However, it is also a little tough to get excited about the reloading room when you move from exploring loads to "ammo-factory" mode. I am pretty sure my revolving door of guns is about 10% for the sake of trying a new gun and 90% for exercise of working up a good load. A goofy new bullet is the perfect fix for a lull in the reloading habit, especially, when it comes in unique weights.
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I'm in the same boat. I like playing with new bullets and loads and have endless options on hand.
 
thymallus arcticus said:
Tough to fault your approach. In particular, once you have load developed it's a challenge to move on. However, it is also a little tough to get excited about the reloading room when you move from exploring loads to "ammo-factory" mode. I am pretty sure my revolving door of guns is about 10% for the sake of trying a new gun and 90% for exercise of working up a good load. A goofy new bullet is the perfect fix for a lull in the reloading habit, especially, when it comes in unique weights.
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Right on ! 👍 RJ
 
Three would be a handful to feed. The need for that much reloading would probably start to stress me out. If I get silly and buy a few new guns in quick succession, it gets under my skin having guns sitting around but not dialed in, not to mention actually trying get them shooting target level good.

I see on the website that Fox makes target bullets too but I didn't investigate them to see if they had the same shape as the hunting bullets; the shape would seem particularly goofy in a target gun, but I guess if they were cheap enough and of the same shape as the hunting versions, they would make good practice bullets, but maybe not serious competition bullets.
 
I picked up some sample packs from Prophet River in .224 .243 .264 .284 and .308 but have not yet had a chance to load and test them, it's still trap shooting season so load testing for my rifles is kind of on the back shelf, with the hunting season opening today probably going to be a while before I get around to testing them. I think barnes load data would work given the fox design, the BC for them is low so I don't really expect them to be a long range bullet but they should do very well out to 300 yards or so as they probably will shed velocity quite fast.
 
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