Screaming Stupid Loads in 30 Cal?

[FNSafari]

I see, you are referring to length sorting the monolithics. FWIW - I have loaded three different monolithics by two different manufacturers. All three were target bullets, and CNC-machined. I literally could not detect length differences in the different regions of the bullets using typical Mitutoyo calipers with .0005" readability, and trying to sort them by length would have been fruitless. Thus, the CNC machine tolerances for the bullets I have used were extremely good. In fairness, there are a lot of other monolithics out there these days, so I don't know whether they are all machined to such tight tolerances. If not, some form of length sorting may be of benefit. One could readily determine this by measuring the length of the various segments for a small number of bullets, to see whether sufficient length variance existed to warrant sorting them.

If one were to sort mono bullets one would think that would help create more consistent grouping. My only experience with them is in my wife's hunting rifle, a particularly good shooting Tikka T3 in 6.5x55 SM. It will consistently shoot the Hornady 129 grain GMX bullets into an inch at 100 yards with a 7X scope. I've never seen any vertical in shooting groups to sight in, but I don't shoot it much. I wonder if the propensity to copper foul (or gilding metal) might be the culprit. Anyway would be interested in any future tests you do to see if you can ID the issue(s). Tks --Greg

 

[Ned Ludd]

If one were to sort mono bullets one would think that would help create more consistent grouping. My only experience with them is in my wife's hunting rifle, a particularly good shooting Tikka T3 in 6.5x55 SM. It will consistently shoot the Hornady 129 grain GMX bullets into an inch at 100 yards with a 7X scope. I've never seen any vertical in shooting groups to sight in, but I don't shoot it much. I wonder if the propensity to copper foul (or gilding metal) might be the culprit. Anyway would be interested in any future tests you do to see if you can ID the issue(s). Tks --Greg

With the specific monolithics I was using, I tested the typical things reloaders do such as seating depth, etc. Changing seating depth had remarkably little effect on precision. As far as copper buildup, I did not notice anything out of the ordinary as compared to copper jacketed bullets. I have heard it opined that monolithic solids are "less compressible" than lead core bullets, but I don't know whether that is really a concern. During the time I was actively shooting the monolithics, I did not observe any issues such as excessive throat/barrel wear that could be attributed to such a phenomena. AFAIK, the unexplained vertical with the monolithics I and other F-TR shooters tried remains just that, unexplained. The other shooters I am aware of that tried them did the same things to figure out what was happening as I did, but none of us came away with any great insight into the cause of it.

I was really hoping for better results from the monolithics in terms of their extraordinarily high BCs and the obvious advantages in terms of competitive shooting (F-TR). So much so that I had the rifle I was using them in purpose-built for the monolithics. In fairness given that their cost was approximately three times higher than the lead core bullet alternatives I shoot, I am not totally disappointed that they didn't work out the way I had hoped, as I might have been forced to sell either a lung or kidney to continue using them in large numbers.