UPS brought me a small package today. Inside were a couple boxes of something that caught my attention a while ago. Lost River Ballistic sells a variety of bullets, with unbelievably high ballistic coefficients. For example, their 120gr bronze-nose boattail sports a .687 BC, while their 132gr HPBT bullet carries a .702 BC!
From the appearances, the Lost River Ballistic bullets look handmade, and lathe-turned, from the marks on the jackets and bullet bases. They're not cheap, either. But with numbers like .687 and .702, I may have to forgive the extra cost.
This bodes well for the .260 Remington, 6.5x55 Swede, 6.5-284, 6.5-06, and other long-legged .26 caliber rifles. Even my mothballed 6.5-300 Weatherby project may get a kick start.
Let's take a look at a typical Gewehr98 digicam snapshot of various 6.5mm bullets, known for their accuracy and long-range potential:
The bullet on the far left is the Sierra 120gr HPBTM MatchKing, with a .421 BC. I did the majority of my load development in the 6.5-06 with this bullet, and it's been a real sweetheart, albeit not as slippery as Sierra's 142gr MatchKing.
Second from the left was my old reliable Nosler 120gr Ballistic Tip, which made me a true believer in long-range 6.5mm rifles, sporting a .458 BC. Sub 1/4 MOA groups with this bullet were somewhat routine.
Now, in the last couple years, the bullet in the middle, in front of the reference quarter, has garnered a lot of attention, even if just mine. It's the Lapua 123gr Scenar, with a .547 BC. I have pretty much completely converted to this bullet for use in my 1000-yard 6.5-06 rifle.
Here's where things get kicked up a notch or two. Second from the right is the new Lost River Ballistic J36 120gr Hunting Bullet, which has a bronze tip fitted into a hollow pointed boat tail jacket. It's still the same 120 grains as the bullets to the left, but notice how much longer it is. It requires a 1-9" twist to stabilize. The BC is a very respectable .687.
Included for comparison at the far right is the Lost River Ballistic J40 132gr Match Bullet, essentially a hollow-point boattail. It's longer than the J36 to the left, and the BC shows it - a whopping .702! It requires a 1-8" twist.
It's getting late, so I'll leave this posting with just the pics. For the long-range folks, you can sort of guess why the latter two bullets are intriguing to me. Stay tuned, more work is coming on my part, to include some exterior ballistics number crunching. This could prove interesting!
From the appearances, the Lost River Ballistic bullets look handmade, and lathe-turned, from the marks on the jackets and bullet bases. They're not cheap, either. But with numbers like .687 and .702, I may have to forgive the extra cost.
This bodes well for the .260 Remington, 6.5x55 Swede, 6.5-284, 6.5-06, and other long-legged .26 caliber rifles. Even my mothballed 6.5-300 Weatherby project may get a kick start.
Let's take a look at a typical Gewehr98 digicam snapshot of various 6.5mm bullets, known for their accuracy and long-range potential:
The bullet on the far left is the Sierra 120gr HPBTM MatchKing, with a .421 BC. I did the majority of my load development in the 6.5-06 with this bullet, and it's been a real sweetheart, albeit not as slippery as Sierra's 142gr MatchKing.
Second from the left was my old reliable Nosler 120gr Ballistic Tip, which made me a true believer in long-range 6.5mm rifles, sporting a .458 BC. Sub 1/4 MOA groups with this bullet were somewhat routine.
Now, in the last couple years, the bullet in the middle, in front of the reference quarter, has garnered a lot of attention, even if just mine. It's the Lapua 123gr Scenar, with a .547 BC. I have pretty much completely converted to this bullet for use in my 1000-yard 6.5-06 rifle.
Here's where things get kicked up a notch or two. Second from the right is the new Lost River Ballistic J36 120gr Hunting Bullet, which has a bronze tip fitted into a hollow pointed boat tail jacket. It's still the same 120 grains as the bullets to the left, but notice how much longer it is. It requires a 1-9" twist to stabilize. The BC is a very respectable .687.
Included for comparison at the far right is the Lost River Ballistic J40 132gr Match Bullet, essentially a hollow-point boattail. It's longer than the J36 to the left, and the BC shows it - a whopping .702! It requires a 1-8" twist.
It's getting late, so I'll leave this posting with just the pics. For the long-range folks, you can sort of guess why the latter two bullets are intriguing to me. Stay tuned, more work is coming on my part, to include some exterior ballistics number crunching. This could prove interesting!