Hornady 32ACP 85gr XTP's.... in a 308 :D

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So, I finally made it to the range today to test my 308 varmint loads.

I ran a box of Hornady 85gr XTP's intended for the 32ACP through a .308 Lee size die (for sizing cast bullets). I lubed them with a moly/alox lube I made so as not to gall the die. I loaded them over charges of surplus WC-735 powder at several different charge levels, using H-322 data for the 110 VMAX bullets as a rough guide. I didn't seat them very deep - they're very short - so I crimped them nice and tight with a taper crimp die.

I wasn't sure how fast I could drive these little bullets with their HUGE hollow point - especially with the 1 in 10 twist my barrel has. As it turns out I needn't have worried, they're very sturdy little guys. The top load chronied 3350 fps with no pressure signs, and grouped about 1 1/2" at 100 yards. Impressive! The most accurate load I found was just over 3000fps - it grouped an amazing 3/4" at 100 yards :D And they fed well from the magazine, to boot!

I fired one into the ground, and was surprised how well it held together. There was fragmentation, but I was able to recover some sizable chunks - a lot more than can be said of the 110 VMAX.

Lastly, I set a water bottle out at 25 yards or so, and shot it. The result was very impressive. When a 22-250 hits a water bottle with a varmint bullet, the bottle gets shredded but usually stays in one piece. The 85 XTP detonated the bottle. Little pieces of clear plastic strewn around a 30' radius :)

Should be a fine varmint round :D :D
 
I was surprised. I was expecting them to start blowing up midair around 2500-2600 fps (triple the MV of the 32 ACP). And they're certainly overstabilized at 1 in 10.

Next time out, I'm gonna see just how hard I can drive them. Extrapolating charges down, I should be nowhere near max and there are certainly no pressure signs yet. I expect I should be able to get into the 3600 to 3700fps neighbourhood before I start running into pressure issues. (you can, after all, run 110gr bullets at 3300 safely)
 
...the things that go through your head when you cant sleep...

Thinking a bit more about the massive amount of force we're applying to this bullet from the rifle, as opposed to a pistol for which it was designed:

In the pistol, at 1 in 16 and 850fps, we get 38250 rpm.
In the rifle, at 1 in 10 and 3300fps, we get 237600rpm.

In terms of linear rotational velocity, the pistol loading gives us 3084fps, compared to 19159fps in the rifle. My calculus is a bit rusty, or I could find the rotational energies as well.
 
Grizz Axxemann said:
Got any left? I wanna se what they do to a gopher :D
Click to expand...

No but I'll load some up tomorrow night (or tonight, technically)



.....damn, I shouldn't have had that coffee this evening, must sleep....
 
Those XTPs are so frangible in my old 32-20 @ 2200 I am having a hard time believing they will survive a 308 or 303 @ 3200.Gophers literally explode from the 32-20.But I consider them somewhat pricey.
Rich
 
yup there definately going to make a mess of whatever it hits. I heard a guy say out of a 303 that he had them cut a coyote clean in half. I have played with them out of my 7.62X39mm sks, but could not get them to feed, and they darn near disitigrated in wet newspaper, just the base left.
 
Well, I took them out gopher shooting today. On the plus side - they are incredibly destructive to the little ####s. Got a couple 'haircut specials' (decapitations) and a few body shots. The wet 'splot' sound of a hit is quite pronounced :D Quite impressive. On the minus side - they're no different than a 22-250 with varmint bullets.

Wind has its way with these bullets, as expected, so shots beyond 150 or so are difficult. Recoil is tame enough to allow you to occasionally spot your own hits
 
with a BC of .145, drift would probably be the biggest limiting factor for that load, but Im sure it'd be a good 200 yard load still

sounds fun :D


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Hi,

You can also try the 90gr 308 XTP bullet, no need to resizing. The 100gr semi jacketed from hornady in front of 17gr of 4759 is also very accurate (1 inch @ 100). Very mild recoil in my T3 3006. Not sure about the speed but 1400-1600 range i think.

Very sad no gophers over here.
 
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