I don't post on here much, but read the forum quite a bit. The reason is that this is one place I don't feel like I have much to add as most here seem to be the upper echelon of shooters in terms of accuracy at any range. I consider myself an above average shooter but nowhere near the league of most of the guys here. I am more often on a few other forums posting but some questions I wouldn't ask anywhere else, this is one.
Looking at the barnes banded solids I got to thinking about how they are made and wondering why they would not be some of the most accurate bullets out there. I have not seen the banded one up close but a friend gave me a few .257 caliber older barnes solids without the bands a couple years ago. It was machined. This peaked my interest and I shot a few and got very good groups from them. So on to my question.
I understand that the weights are normally lower and the BC is usually a bit lower than most target bullets and this would lead to more drop and more wind drift, but machining a bullet from the same material every single time to the exact same dimensions should make some of the most consistent bullets one could buy from one bullet to the next and even one lot to the next. You are not depending on a die or a mold to form the shape of the bullet and you would not be at the mercy of worn equipment in the manufacturing process. So why do we not hear more about target shooters using these bullets for competition? and why doesn't barnes or anyone else make a VLD type design for this purpose? It would eliminate a ton of variables that tend to bring about the inconsistency that we see from one lot to the next of bullets such as Berger VLD or Sierra all be it small inconsistency. I know you guys go out of your way to uniform meplats and anything else you can do to make your bullets as accurate and uniform as possible. A bullet machined to very tight tolerance would eliminate these processes and the cost of the barnes solids for 100, 54.00 in the example I looked at (26.99 per 50), is only slightly more than a box of Berger bullets in the same caliber. Because there is no lead and the copper/zinc compound they use is lighter you could get the same ballistic coefficient from a lighter bullet and thereby, presumably, greater velocity. I was thinking maybe it was the issue of copper fouling but with quality hand lapped barrels that are available, I would have thought that would go a long way toward eliminating that issue, though I understand not completely. So what is it about them that keeps the competition shooters from them. Excessive wear? Fouling? I don't think it would be expense, though I am not sure. It is just a question that has perplexed me since I first saw one. It just seems like the up side of them would outweigh the downside by a large margin. I am asking because I seriously have no idea, I shoot very few solid bullets in any form, be it these or barnes X, My shooting is almost exclusively with either Hornady or Berger bullets just because I get great results from the two in terms of accuracy and game performance, and I load all of my ammo with the dual purpose of hunting and target shooting, Cost is always a factor in my own bullet choice because shooting and reloading is just a hobby and of course my financial responsibilities take precedence in all cases. Maybe some day my income will outweigh my responsibilities by a greater margin and I can start working toward the skill level many of you are on. If anyone can answer this with some reasoning it would be greatly appreciated.
Looking at the barnes banded solids I got to thinking about how they are made and wondering why they would not be some of the most accurate bullets out there. I have not seen the banded one up close but a friend gave me a few .257 caliber older barnes solids without the bands a couple years ago. It was machined. This peaked my interest and I shot a few and got very good groups from them. So on to my question.
I understand that the weights are normally lower and the BC is usually a bit lower than most target bullets and this would lead to more drop and more wind drift, but machining a bullet from the same material every single time to the exact same dimensions should make some of the most consistent bullets one could buy from one bullet to the next and even one lot to the next. You are not depending on a die or a mold to form the shape of the bullet and you would not be at the mercy of worn equipment in the manufacturing process. So why do we not hear more about target shooters using these bullets for competition? and why doesn't barnes or anyone else make a VLD type design for this purpose? It would eliminate a ton of variables that tend to bring about the inconsistency that we see from one lot to the next of bullets such as Berger VLD or Sierra all be it small inconsistency. I know you guys go out of your way to uniform meplats and anything else you can do to make your bullets as accurate and uniform as possible. A bullet machined to very tight tolerance would eliminate these processes and the cost of the barnes solids for 100, 54.00 in the example I looked at (26.99 per 50), is only slightly more than a box of Berger bullets in the same caliber. Because there is no lead and the copper/zinc compound they use is lighter you could get the same ballistic coefficient from a lighter bullet and thereby, presumably, greater velocity. I was thinking maybe it was the issue of copper fouling but with quality hand lapped barrels that are available, I would have thought that would go a long way toward eliminating that issue, though I understand not completely. So what is it about them that keeps the competition shooters from them. Excessive wear? Fouling? I don't think it would be expense, though I am not sure. It is just a question that has perplexed me since I first saw one. It just seems like the up side of them would outweigh the downside by a large margin. I am asking because I seriously have no idea, I shoot very few solid bullets in any form, be it these or barnes X, My shooting is almost exclusively with either Hornady or Berger bullets just because I get great results from the two in terms of accuracy and game performance, and I load all of my ammo with the dual purpose of hunting and target shooting, Cost is always a factor in my own bullet choice because shooting and reloading is just a hobby and of course my financial responsibilities take precedence in all cases. Maybe some day my income will outweigh my responsibilities by a greater margin and I can start working toward the skill level many of you are on. If anyone can answer this with some reasoning it would be greatly appreciated.
