Buffalo ballets

[kevin beers]

Has any body shot 338gr buffalo ballets?How did they perform?I shot them out of my 54cal didn't seem to stabalize until I shot about 100 grs 2f behind them and a wonder wad.Just wonderin how they perform for anyone else.

 

[Bountyhunter]

I shoot these 338's just fine in my 66" twist barrel. Thems hollow based boolits.....when you put a wad under them, you defeat the purpose. They are designed to expand, that's why they are hollow. I get decent hunting groups with them at 100 yards, and 8 out of 10 in a sheet of typing paper at 200 restin the rifle with the L&R adjustable sight. Unless I'm just messin around at a rondy on them little 25 yard shoots and such, I never shoot under 100 gr. My PRB load is 120, that is where my rifle barrel is the most accurate. I'm shootin a Santa Fe Hawken with a .53 barrel FWIW.

 

[tg]

I think I read somewherre that they were the choice of ol'Davy when hunting bears...

 

[paulvallandigham]

That is a substantial skirt on those slugs. Unless you fill the base ( hollow base) with a lube, and then use a OP wad to protect that skirt, I doubt that you are getting effective obturation, even using those heavy powder charges. Using an OP Wad would allow you to seal the gases, and reduce the powder charge needed to get the same level of velocity you now are getting. Using grease in the base will allow hydraulic pressure to work for you and expand the skirt, so you get an evenly upset bullet, ( concentric with the bore) and good spin to the bullet from the rifling. Without the grease in the base, the skirt can expand unevenly, and tilt the bullet in the barrel, sending it out of the barrel with a yaw already started. That is not good for accuracy. The slug is likely to fishtail as it spins, with that yaw, too, shedding velocity quickly, and going God Knows where.

 

[Bountyhunter]

I havent had any problem with them yet, running them barefoot. I see your point, and I may try it when the ice goes away, but so far, they shoot accurate just setting them firmly on top of 100 gr of FFg.

The last one I shot went directly in the boiler room of that big old buck......but, where it went after it went out the other side of him is up for grabs.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Your shot proves once again that you don't need to be shooting conicals to kill deer. Yes, you get complete penetration, but the deer is not any deader, and the recoil shooting PRB is so much less, that your accuracy is much better.

 

[buttonbuck]

shooting conicals is Useful in some situations like a big animal or one that is tough to shoot through like a hog or bear or the larger members of the whitetail family. I am considering buying a box of the ballets to shoot out of a rifle and pistol. I t would sure be neat to see a mould for them, thought I think they are not cast.

 

[Bountyhunter]

Looks like we're strayin off the subject. All I am saying is, that for me, in my rifle, I am getting accuracy that I am satisfied with. I picked these up for bear hunting, and I have been happy with them. I dont shoot them that often as they are quite expensive.

Sorta like the old saying that Abe Lincoln made men free, but Sam Colt made them equal. This extra hundred grains of lead makes me feel a little more equal on the food chain while walking through territory inhabited by those who would look at me as being part of the food chain. That buck fortunately or unfortunately as it were, happened along while I was loaded for bear. I will use them again. I have nothing against PRB, I've used them almost exclusively up until the last couple of years when I began experimenting with new products. But, I'm not disappointed with these Ball-ets.

 

[kevin beers]

I hear where your comin from .I shot all afternoon and stared at so many little orange dots that I think I went crosseyed and my shoulder feels like its gonna fall off!

 

[kevin beers]

I tried these ballets yesterday out of my 54cal deerstalker w/1-48 twist they did not group very well.The best group I got was about a 3-4" group at 50yrds with a flyer every once in a while about 7" away w/95gr FF. At 100yrds they were horrible I couldn't even get a group on a 3ft piece of card board EEK!I'm wonderin if you guys are shootin these out of 1-66 twist or maybe my rifle just don't like them?I tried op wad and bore butter under them they shot worse at 50yrds.