Good day, I trust everyone is doing well.
I am currently in the process researching on monolithic bullets. Let me explain the the reasons why and follow up with my questions.
Reason-
We are currently experiencing a bad shortage of reloading supplies in South Africa see my current load.
308 Win 24 Inch barrel
Case- Nosler Brass
Bullet- Sierra Gameking 2140 165
Powder- Alliant Rl-17
Col- 71.1mm
Powder mass- 49gr
Velocity- 2890 fps
I had to find a load in 2021 where I could push those Gamekings hard and fast because my rifle really liked the bullets but I needed more speed to shrink the grouping even more. The rifle was exceptionally accurate and hit plains game like a lighting bolt, most of the game shot never ran more than 10 meters before expiring.
This load is not possible anymore as I cannot find Alliant Rl-17 and Gamekings, there is simply no stock in South Africa.
The current solution I am looking at is moving over to a local monolithic brand (Ballistix Ultra Hunt) and Hodgdon CFE 223
Questions-
*Do I need to change the bullet grain to a 150 or 155? (I hunt everything from Springbuck to Eland, in 2021 I hunted blesbuck, Oryx, Wildebeest and Eland with the current load. All successful hunts, most of the animals dorpped on the spot while 2 of them ran 10 to 15 meters)
*Does monolithic eat a barrel more than lead core bullets?
*What is the jump sensitivity of monolithic bullets compared to the lead core? (Gamekings I seated very close to lands)
*Is it any different to load monolithic compared to lead core at the press? (Extra steps?)
*What do I need to look out for? Any Tips and advice would greatly be appreciated.
What would I like to achieve? -
Humane killing of plains game at ranges from 50 to 400 meters ranging from the Springbuck to blue wildebeest, any bigger game like the Eland I would not dare to shoot further than 100 meters due to loss of impact velocity. I really enjoyed to previous load as it didn't make the animal suffer on shoulder shots, to my understanding the monolithic should be even better on shoulder shots as it will retain 99% of its initial weight.
I have around 4 months to get this new load ready and to learn the new ballistics as we have a big hunt coming up end of July.
I am looking forward to your answers and discussion.
Kind regards
I am currently in the process researching on monolithic bullets. Let me explain the the reasons why and follow up with my questions.
Reason-
We are currently experiencing a bad shortage of reloading supplies in South Africa see my current load.
308 Win 24 Inch barrel
Case- Nosler Brass
Bullet- Sierra Gameking 2140 165
Powder- Alliant Rl-17
Col- 71.1mm
Powder mass- 49gr
Velocity- 2890 fps
I had to find a load in 2021 where I could push those Gamekings hard and fast because my rifle really liked the bullets but I needed more speed to shrink the grouping even more. The rifle was exceptionally accurate and hit plains game like a lighting bolt, most of the game shot never ran more than 10 meters before expiring.
This load is not possible anymore as I cannot find Alliant Rl-17 and Gamekings, there is simply no stock in South Africa.
The current solution I am looking at is moving over to a local monolithic brand (Ballistix Ultra Hunt) and Hodgdon CFE 223
Questions-
*Do I need to change the bullet grain to a 150 or 155? (I hunt everything from Springbuck to Eland, in 2021 I hunted blesbuck, Oryx, Wildebeest and Eland with the current load. All successful hunts, most of the animals dorpped on the spot while 2 of them ran 10 to 15 meters)
*Does monolithic eat a barrel more than lead core bullets?
*What is the jump sensitivity of monolithic bullets compared to the lead core? (Gamekings I seated very close to lands)
*Is it any different to load monolithic compared to lead core at the press? (Extra steps?)
*What do I need to look out for? Any Tips and advice would greatly be appreciated.
What would I like to achieve? -
Humane killing of plains game at ranges from 50 to 400 meters ranging from the Springbuck to blue wildebeest, any bigger game like the Eland I would not dare to shoot further than 100 meters due to loss of impact velocity. I really enjoyed to previous load as it didn't make the animal suffer on shoulder shots, to my understanding the monolithic should be even better on shoulder shots as it will retain 99% of its initial weight.
I have around 4 months to get this new load ready and to learn the new ballistics as we have a big hunt coming up end of July.
I am looking forward to your answers and discussion.
Kind regards
