15 years ago or so I bought 60 lbs of 6.5 bullets, they were a mix of 156 gr rnsp. 156 gr FMJ 92 gr hollow points. Byfarthebestbullet buy ever at $160.00 I havekilled a few moose with the soft points, but have not used the FMJ bullets. These aresilver coloured with lead visible at the base. I guess if I just shot them backwards they would be soft points, but that is another matter.. My question is: do you usually settle for less velocity with military bullets?
Loading military FMJ bullets.
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Why would pulled military surplus bullets deliver lower velocity? In any of my .308 calibre rifles I load 150gr FMJ's to the same specs as 150gr SP's. Those are Hornady FMJ bullets though, not surplus, but I believe they are made to the same spec. I did have some Egyptian surplus 8mm bullets I pulled and loaded into non-corrosive civilian brass/primers and they shot the same as 200gr SP's.
In regards to backwards seated bullets they do work. Many have done tests themselves and several have posted the results online. Because FMJ military ball bullets aren't bonded/locked to the core they tend to break up more than other bullets when expanding. At a cost of ~$0.30/bullet for soft point hunting bullets today for reloading I don't see a point in using backwards FMJ bullets. I would relegate the FMJ's to plinking/target shooting and buy hunting bullets for hunting.
In regards to backwards seated bullets they do work. Many have done tests themselves and several have posted the results online. Because FMJ military ball bullets aren't bonded/locked to the core they tend to break up more than other bullets when expanding. At a cost of ~$0.30/bullet for soft point hunting bullets today for reloading I don't see a point in using backwards FMJ bullets. I would relegate the FMJ's to plinking/target shooting and buy hunting bullets for hunting.
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if the jacket material is harder than the typical copper alloy jackets we're used to, you might hit max pressure before you reach copper-jacketed velocities....
I'd approach these like any other load development - start low and carefully work your way up.
Stan
I'd approach these like any other load development - start low and carefully work your way up.
Stan
