.224 heavy but short bullets

[TNMTBik3r]

My rifle has a 16" 1:9 twist barrel. I have been trying some different weight bullets to see what will stabilize and what doesn't.
What I have found is I need a short bullet to stabilize.

I bought some 62gr bullets and a box of Hornady 75gr match bullets from David at the MBoro gun show. The 62gr are almost stable at 50 yards, about 1 in 3 have a small keyhole. The 75gr tear all through the target sideways.

I also bought a box of Nosler 64gr Bonded Performance bullets to test. They are shorter than the 62gr above, and stabilize in my rifle.

So, my question is what are some heavy but short bullets I can try? Like I said the Nosler 64gr shoot well and I have a box of Nosler 60gr Partition on the way. I am.thinking about getting a box of Barnes TSX 62gr and Sierra 65gr to test.
Are there any other bullets I should be looking at?

My intended purpose is hunting and self defense - for shooting I have a bunch of 55gr FMJ that group very well.

[Superman]

69gr Sierra SMK should work, 65gr Sierra game king should work. 62gr TSX is longer than both, might work. Worth giving it a try.

 

Got this off a google search

 

Barnes TSX 70 grain - 1.040"

Hornady Match 75 grain - 0.992"

Sierra MatchKing 77 grain - 0.985

Nosler Competition 77 grain - 0.982

Barnes TSX 62 grain - 0.945

Nosler 69 grain - 0.900

Sierra 69 grain 0.890

Edited February 9, 2014 by Superman

[Superman]

How long are the 62gr bullets that you tried and almost worked?

[gregintenn]

I found 60 grain Sierra hollow points to be laserbeam accurate in a 1 in 9 twist barrel.

[Caster]

I shoot lots and lots of 62g from my 9 twist bolt rifle. They are very accurate. Nice clean holes. I bought some 73g Amax from David a couple years ago. I'm still working through them. I can't see any signs they are unstable in my 9 twist. I can get ten rounds on a quarter size grip at a hundred.
A 9 twist should shoot pretty much anything well.

[Westwindmike]

My 1/9 won't shoot anything over 62 grains. All others are keyholing.

[TNMTBik3r]

Just measured the bullets I have.
55gr FMJ 0.732
55gr Sierra SP 0.729
64gr Nosler 0.791
62gr FMJ 0.912
75gr Hornady 0.989

Since the 0.912 62gr almost stabilize, it looks like I may need to find bullets under 0.900 to shoot.

[Caster]

The 62g bullets you got from David could be steel core. If they are, they're gonna be longer than a standard lead core 62g bullet. Edited February 10, 2014 by Caster

[TNMTBik3r]

My 1/9 won't shoot anything over 62 grains. All others are keyholing.

Mine doesn't seem to be the weight as much as the length causing the issue.

[TNMTBik3r]

The 62g bullets you got from David could be steel core. If they are, they're gonna be longer than a standard lead core 62g bullet.

That are indeed, just stuck a magnet to them.


Superman, thanks for the info. The 62gr TSX are longer than I thought they may be. Just looked at the Barnes website, the 62gr TSX are listed for 1:9 twist. The 55gr TSX are 0.797 and listed for 1:12 twist - I may try and test both just to see but I think I will need to stay under 0.900 length.

[z0mbies fear me]

Try some of the Nosler Custom Competition 69 grain HPBTs. They are 0.900"

[nightrunner]

Anything not lead core will be longer, like the Barnes being solid copper or steel core surplus