Changing from boat tails to flat base bullets

Reloading equipment, methods, load data, powder and projectile information.

Changing from boat tails to flat base bullets

Post by Hennie Dreyer » 11 Jan 2014, 12:53 am

Greetings from South Africa! I am a new forum member.

Question: I recently decided to change from Sierra Game Kings to Nosler Partitions in my .308.

The SGK's will still be used for 'paper trophys' though, but for hunting they proved to break up excessively in game, hence my reason for changing to the Noslers for hunting purposes.

The million dollar question here: Do I need to go through the whole load development process again just because I changed to flat tails, or is there a rule one may use successfully? :?:

Looking forward to an enjoyable stay with you, and all of the very best to you all for the 2014 phenomena :D
Hennie Dreyer
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Re: changing from boattails to flat tails

Post by Baldrick314 » 11 Jan 2014, 6:36 am

Welcome to the forum mate. Whenever you change any component in your load you should drop back your charge and work up again. Are the new projectiles the same weight as the old ones?

If you're chasing the absolute best accuracy I'd do full load development again but otherwise just for safety drop back your load a couple grains and see how your rifle likes it
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Re: changing from boattails to flat tails

Post by headspace » 11 Jan 2014, 9:06 am

G'day Hennie,
Welcome to the forum mate Baldrick has nailed it nicely.
Cheers,
JD
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Re: changing from boattails to flat tails

Post by VICHunter » 11 Jan 2014, 2:44 pm

Welcome to the forum Hennie.

Lorgar is our resident flat base bullet fan. He's done a few posts in the past on the flat base Pro-hunters from Sierra.

You could PM him if he misses this...

Welcome again.
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Re: changing from boattails to flat tails

Post by Hennie Dreyer » 13 Jan 2014, 3:28 am

Thank you for your responses! This seems like a good forum to be part of!

Must admit: I tried to shortcut expenses, but once again - there is no such a thing as a safe shortcut in this game!

Will go through the whole load development exercise again for peace of mind, even though the new bullets are the same weight.
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Re: changing from boattails to flat tails

Post by Lorgar » 13 Jan 2014, 7:41 am

G'day Hennie,

Like everyone said, you'll want to do your load development again.

As VICHunter mentioned, I used 150gr Sierra Pro-Hunters as my .308 hunting load.

After I had these worked up, I tried the Sierra GameKings which are about as much the same as it's possible for 2 bullets to be except for the flat base. (In the end the flat-base Pro-Hunters were still best for me, but that's another story.)

Even with the other similarities between the bullets, the same load didn't work as well for the GameKings as it did for the Pro-Hunters. I went through testing the whole range and other loads were more accurate than the one matched to the flat base.

An you're swapping to a completely different bullet, so you chance of the loads working exactly the same are pretty slim...
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Re: changing from boattails to flat tails

Post by Blackened » 13 Jan 2014, 7:57 am

Hennie Dreyer wrote:Must admit: I tried to shortcut expenses, but once again - there is no such a thing as a safe shortcut in this game!

Will go through the whole load development exercise again for peace of mind, even though the new bullets are the same weight.


Welcome to the forum Hennie.

You're right, there are no shortcuts unfortunately.

Bullet weight isn't everything. It's weight, sectional density, ogive, ballistic coefficient, tip design, base design, OAL... Literally everything effects how the bullet performs.

Changing any one also will change the others by a some degree. A minor change really results in a completely new bullet as far as a rifle is concerned.

Welcome again, good shooting.
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Re: changing from boattails to flat tails

Post by jeebo » 13 Jan 2014, 8:15 am

Welcome Hennie :)
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Re: changing from boattails to flat tails

Post by Gregg » 13 Jan 2014, 8:25 am

Hi Hennie,

The guys have beaten me to answering so I'll just say welcome to the forum.

Happy hunting.
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