AR 1-8 barrel and light weight bullets

[gamestalker]

I'm no AR guru, but right now I'm working with a really nice build, 18" barrel. thus I'm having excellent results with 50 gr - 75 gr. bullets running at upper end velocities. But what issues, if any, can I expect to see with lighter than 50 gr. bullets with this 18" 1-8 test barrel? I'm assuming it will be about the same thing I see when pushing super light weight .243, 6mm, .270, 7 mag and so on at super high velocities, in which bullets begin to come apart producing little specks around the primary hole in the target at 100 yards.

The AR isn't something I load often for, so I thought I would consult with those who do a considerable amount of loading for them.

GS

 

[bocefus78]

No answers but I'm interested. Wheres my popcorn lol. I've had great results with my 1 in 8 using 55gr varmint nightmare pills.
No experience with the lighter stuff.

 

[wanderinwalker]

gamestalker, I haven't tried to do it specifically, but as I understand it, the issue with extra light .224" bullets in fast twist barrels is exactly what you describe. The extra rotational force at high velocity simply tears some thin-jacketed varmint bullets apart. (I would also suspect with some barrels, particularly chrome-lined ones, the rifling may be rough enough to compromise the bullet jackets before they leave the bore.)

Oddly enough, the only bullets I've ever known to come apart fired through a fast-twist AR were 75-gr match bullets. We had a shooter put down a "9 and No" at a 200-yard rapid fire target. The puller 2 points to the right found bits of bullet jacket imbedded in his shooter's target. As I recall the shooter with the missing hit got a refire on that string.

Edited to add: I've pushed 52-gr match hollow-points out of a standard 20" 1-8" twist match AR barrel with excellent accuracy and no bullet failures. Though I suspect match bullet jackets are slightly heavier than frangible varmint bullets.

 

[GooseGestapo]

It depends on the bullet, and velocity.
TNT, Blitz, and SX type bullets will likely come apart if pushed over ~3,000.
Bullets such as Nosler ballistic tips will take over 4,000 fps and stay together.
Most of the plastic tip bullets will hold together. Those specifically intended for .22Hornet, .218Bee, and .222rem will have too thin of jackets and will come apart.