Why FB bullets

[ExAgoradzo]

so, still very new to reloading.

Why do people choose FB instead of BT when buying hunting bullets?

Was just looking at .270 Win, but it could be any I imagine?
Thanks,
Greg

 

[Orcon]

Sometimes that just what's available. In some calibers the bullets that feature a boat-tail require a much faster twist rate than most factory rifles offer. There's nothing wrong with flat-base bullets though. I use the 95gr 6mm SST and 180gr 308 Partition for hunting loads and they shoot quite well. Unless you're shooting past 400 yards, you probably aren't getting much out of a boat-tail design anyhow. Just my two cents.

 

[edwardware]

For pure accuracy, my understanding is that a FB bullet will show lower path dispersion than a BT due to less aero noise at the trailing edge. BT is an advantage at long range because it's more aerodynamic, but the improved BC doesn't matter at close (<300 yards) range.

I would also expect the FB bullet to be a little less expensive to make well; there's one less corner to control.

 

[hdwhit]

ExAgoradzo wrote:
Why do people choose FB instead of BT when buying hunting bullets?

Availability - in a particular weight and ogive configuration, boat tail may not be made.

Cost - flat base bullets are generally less costly than boat tail.

Technical - on some configurations of bullets, the body may be too short to include a boat tail and still have adequate bearing area along the body to adequately stabilize the bullet.

 

[someguy2800]

I have seen a couple rifles that group very tight with a variety of flat base bullets but will not hold nearly as good of groups with any boat tail bullets tested. Kind of a weird deal. Both the rifles in question were 223 varmint guns with adequate twist.

 

[jmr40]

The difference is small. But out to about 300 yards flat base bullets tend to be more accurate, and less expensive. Boat tail bullets retain speed better at distance which means at longer ranges they drop less and hit game with more speed. In smaller calibers the boat tail simply doesn't change the aerodynamics that much either. The larger the caliber, the more effect it has

 

[ants]

For several decades, many hunters have found...

The nature of square base helps the jacket and core stay together at terminus (inside the animal).
The nature of boat tail helps it stay straight at long range where straight and flat are more important.
It takes quite a few rounds in medium and large game to start to see the difference.
In actual hunting use, both profiles kill dead if you hit the right spot. You choose.
No right or wrong to it, you make your best choice and hit the right spot on the animal.

For what it's worth, premium square base bullets like Sierra Pro Hunter, Nosler Partition, Rem Core Lokt, and so many others
have killed hundreds of thousands or maybe even millions of game animals, as have premium boat tail bullets. They all work.

 

[Captcurt]

I have seen a couple rifles that group very tight with a variety of flat base bullets but will not hold nearly as good of groups with any boat tail bullets tested. Kind of a weird deal. Both the rifles in question were 223 varmint guns with adequate twist.

Same here, but I can add the 22, 243 and 244. There was an elderly gentleman who was a whiz at tuning a rifle. I would order him an old Rem 722 or 700. He would float it, bed it and work up a load. The old man could shoot and he swore by flat base bullets and H335 in the small calibers. You can't argue with success.

 

[Laphroaig]

I think that when boattails first came onto the scene there were problems with accuracy due to manufacturing imperfections in the base and also problems with expansion performance on game. Technology has corrected both of those issues AFAIK. But some of the stigma might still live on.

As many have already said the value of a boat tail doesn't really kick in until long range and therefore flat base bullets are entirely satisfactory for most hunting shots.

 

[horsey300]

Personally, I don't NEED a boattail for anything past 500 yards in any chambering I would shoot at deer or larger game.....so I doubt I'll ever NEED a boattail for biggame hunting. However, I have a hard time finding affordable bonded flat based bullets....

 

[Demi-human]

I have heard that flat based bullets are more, shall we say, spectacular when they hit small vermin. When the gophers are a nusance I have used a twenty two caliber seventy five grain boat tail to dispatch them. It is still very energetic.
The best are still the fifty grain V-max. I consider these to be a beveled base for easier loading, more than an actual boat tail, though Hornady describes them just this way.

 

[ExAgoradzo]

I really appreciate the education. This is what THR is best at.

Thanks for helping the newbie

Greg

 

[zb338]

From what I read the boat tail doesn't really kick-in until the speed of the bullet
drops below the speed of sound. Most of the bench rest shooters use flat based
bullets because they are the most accurate above the speed of sound.

Zeke

 

[old heeler]

For several decades, many hunters have found...

The nature of square base helps the jacket and core stay together at terminus (inside the animal).
The nature of boat tail helps it stay straight at long range where straight and flat are more important.
It takes quite a few rounds in medium and large game to start to see the difference.
In actual hunting use, both profiles kill dead if you hit the right spot. You choose.
No right or wrong to it, you make your best choice and hit the right spot on the animal.

For what it's worth, premium square base bullets like Sierra Pro Hunter, Nosler Partition, Rem Core Lokt, and so many others
have killed hundreds of thousands or maybe even millions of game animals, as have premium boat tail bullets. They all work.

I agree with you but in 270 Sierra made Pro Hunter in 130gr and GameKing in 130gr which is BT bullet and if you wanted 140gr/150gr and only bullet they made was the GameKing. and it's still that way.. Sierra did same with 7mm if you wanted something heavier than 140gr it was GameKing bullet. How many animals taken with GameKing.

 

[RainDodger]

jmr40 said it... flat base for "shorter" ranges, boat tail for "longer" ranges. I've found a distinct difference at short ranges like 100 - 200 yards. Flat based bullets have been more accurate for me.

 

[old heeler]

From what I read the boat tail doesn't really kick-in until the speed of the bullet
drops below the speed of sound. Most of the bench rest shooters use flat based
bullets because they are the most accurate above the speed of sound.

Zeke

I guessing you don't keep up with latest bullets in BR

http://www.bartsbullets.com/dominator-68gr-boattail.html

 

[sage5907]

I hunt deer during deer season and hogs when the deer season is closed. I used to hunt with nothing but flat based bullets but now I hunt only with boattail bullets. The Sierra GameKing is an excellent boattail bullet for hunting and performs well on deer sized game because it opens quickly for an instant kill. Frankly, I can tell very little difference between the accuracy of a boattail vs a flatbase, and the powder charge and case neck preparation are far more important as long as a quality bullet is used. I like a boattail because they seat easier and there is less bullet tension in the case neck to affect the way the bullet leaves the case. Most target rounds or long range rounds have a short neck and using a boattail solves that problem with cartridges like a 270 Winchester or 30-06. Early in my shooting experience I was a fan of long skinny bullets but now I like shorter bullets like the 130 grain 270 and 150 grain 30-06.

 

[boom boom]

From my understanding based on Gen. Hatcher's work regarding flat based versus boattails is that the Germans found machine gun rounds would go much further using boattails around WWI. As a result, everyone else moved to it for machine gun ammo which then influenced the ammo for the regular soldier then hunters etc. due to logistics.

FWIW, it is claimed that a lot of old military surplus rifles with worn bores tend to shoot flat based bullets better than boattails. New bores tend to shoot boat tails better. The reason is that flat based tend to slug up a bit to compensate for worn bores while boattails do not. Same reasoning why many shoot cast bullets well which are flat based. At least for my old milsurps with worn original bores such as Krags, Lee Enfields, etc. , that appears to be true for them.

 

[.308 Norma]

Why do people choose FB instead of BT when buying hunting bullets?

My wife has an old Ruger 77, 7mm-08 that absolutely hates Hornady 139gr BTSPs. We're talking +4 MOA for 3 shots at 100 yards type of hate. Yet that same 7mm-08 will go sub 1 MOA (often two holes touching) for 3 shots at 100 yards with Hornady 139gr SPs.
We didn't figure that out until we'd gone through a whole box of 100 Hornady 139gr BTSPs. We tried everything we could think of - different powders, different charge weights, different seating depths, and nothing worked. I was beginning to think there was something wrong with the rifle because I'd been using Hornady 165gr BTSPs in my 30-06 for deer hunting for years. And those BTs in my old 30-06 will probably still go close to 3 in an inch at a hundred yards.
We finally figured out that my wife's 7mm-08 didn't like those BTs when we ran out of them and had 3 charged cases waiting for bullets. I just reached up and grabbed a box of regular 139gr Hornady SPs off the shelf. Well what do you know!?! All three of those plain-based Hornady bullets went in an about an inch and a half at a hundred yards. A little tweaking, and we turned my wife's then new 7mm-08 into a sub MOA rifle.
We've never bothered with trying any other BTs in that rifle, so we don't know whether or not other BTs might work better. My wife has never used that rifle for anything other than mule deer at less than 300 yards anyway, and it works great for that. So we just never felt looking for a good load with a different BT bullet was worth the effort.

 

[kerreckt]

My best groups are shot with flat base bullets. Don't know why but true in both .223 and .308. I have heard the same from others at my shooting range.