Mag Tech 230 Gr. FMJ testing.

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Re: Mag Tech 230 Gr. FMJ testing.

Postby Hoot » Tue Apr 24, 2012 8:20 pm

Texas Sheepdawg wrote:Pictures are up.


Shoot, you're right. They're hardly imprinted.

WRT the Taper crimp and those Magtechs. At an aggressive .475 taper crimp, one moderate and I mean moderate on concrete, strike with my inertial puller and the Magthech 230gr which is spec'd at .452, not .451. Anyway, it pulled out .1 inches with one strike. Not sure why as other .452 and some .451 bullets hold a lot tighter. In the same sitting, I crimped some smooth-sided 250gr FTX bullets to .475 and it took 8 hard strikes to pull one out. Again, not sure why the Magtechs seemed to exhibit such less neck tension. It sure is a strong argument for using a Modified Lee FCD stab crimp. Yeah, they're a bother to set up for the right location and depth, but once you get them set, you can run through your rounds rather quickly.

Holding any bullet back until the case expands and releases it is pretty beneficial with Lil Gun. More so the slower the powder it. The need to do so also increases as the weight of the bullets go down. My experience has been that when their weight goes up, their own mass contributes to the reluctance of the bullet to move forward after ignition, before it's supposed to. That sword cuts both ways though. The heavier the bullets, the greater the pulling force when they are slammed into battery. Bullets with cannelures work particularly well with the taper crimp if you seat them to the cannelure and drive the taper crimp into them.

This has all been covered repeatedly in this sub-forum. Every blessing comes at a price though. Many bullets with cannelures have their cannelure rather far forward. If you seat them to that cannelure, you typically end up with cartridges in the 2.05-2.15 inch COL regardless of bullet length. IE a lot of the bullet down in the case, competing with the powder for the available room. So, with the exception of a few bullets sporting two cannelures or in the case of the Barnes XPBs, two driving band grooves to drive the taper crimp into, you wind up loading them shorter than necessary. That equates to higher pressures and less powder capacity.

IMHO, finding the best compromise is the fun challenge of reloading for this caliber.

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Re: Mag Tech 230 Gr. FMJ testing.

Postby jamesgang » Wed Apr 25, 2012 1:01 pm

Now that you've conqured the 7/16 steel, I think you should work up a load for these and see if anything will hold them back.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/321286 ... -box-of-50
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Re: Mag Tech 230 Gr. FMJ testing.

Postby randyf » Wed Apr 25, 2012 1:27 pm

jamesgang wrote:Now that you've conqured the 7/16 steel, I think you should work up a load for these and see if anything will hold them back.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/321286 ... -box-of-50



Hell yeah!....I second the motion.......steel plates, water jugs, bring'em on..........
That bullet is close enough to the 350gr. that I recommened.
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Re: Mag Tech 230 Gr. FMJ testing.

Postby Hoot » Wed Apr 25, 2012 1:41 pm

I have experienced a correlation between velocity and steel penetration that manifests in heavier bullets, traveling more slowly, not penetrating as effectively even when the heavier slower bullet exhibits the same muzzle energy as the lighter faster bullet, so I'm not sure whether the Barnes Buster would translate to greater penetration through steel plate. There are however, exceptions and certainly new lessons to be learned around every corner. IMHO, at a buck each shipped, the Busters are an expensive test media for an esoteric experiment like plate penetration.

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Re: Mag Tech 230 Gr. FMJ testing.

Postby Texas Sheepdawg » Wed Apr 25, 2012 4:05 pm

jamesgang wrote:Now that you've conqured the 7/16 steel, I think you should work up a load for these and see if anything will hold them back.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/321286 ... -box-of-50

Hey James, your buying, right?
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Re: Mag Tech 230 Gr. FMJ testing.

Postby Jim in Houston » Wed Apr 25, 2012 4:32 pm

OK, I must pause here and ask a pertinent (to me) question: Why is the 230 gr of interest? What does it do that the 225 FTX or 250 FTX do not? Is it capable of higher velocity, hence more stopping power? Does it fly flatter and farther? Is there a perfomance difference between the flat nose and the plastic point? Is it a cost issue? In other words, why pick that bullet and what are we trying to discover?
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Re: Mag Tech 230 Gr. FMJ testing.

Postby commander faschisto » Wed Apr 25, 2012 5:04 pm

Cheap boolits.
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Re: Mag Tech 230 Gr. FMJ testing.

Postby Hoot » Wed Apr 25, 2012 6:23 pm

Jim in Houston wrote:OK, I must pause here and ask a pertinent (to me) question: Why is the 230 gr of interest? What does it do that the 225 FTX or 250 FTX do not? Is it capable of higher velocity, hence more stopping power? Does it fly flatter and farther? Is there a perfomance difference between the flat nose and the plastic point? Is it a cost issue? In other words, why pick that bullet and what are we trying to discover?


This may seem a rather odd observation, but my mind's eye really likes the look of those FMJs, probably more than any other bullet in this caliber. Especially if they're bright and shiny like the brass. My shooting experience with them has been that I can get much better group consistency from any of the FTX's.

A savvy shopper will sign up for Midway's sale emails and when the 200 and 225 FTX blemishes (can't tell) go on sale for $12-$15 per box, jump on a ton of them. That's what I did last year. I'm set on FTXs for quite a while. There's so much data out there on them that there's not much in the way of discovery left. That's where the other bullets offer a foray down a path less taken. Some paths better not taken, but always interesting. The key is if you're looking for tried and true hunting rounds, look no further. If you get your jollies turning over rocks, then look for something without much coverage and do a loading and range report on them. I for one, enjoy everyone's Range Reports. If it had not been for Bayou Bob's report back in 2010, I would have never tried the Magtechs.

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Re: Mag Tech 230 Gr. FMJ testing.

Postby Texas Sheepdawg » Wed Apr 25, 2012 10:33 pm

Okay. Why 230 grain? It's cheaper and I can buy in bulk. Pigs wear armour. FMJs have a reputation for penetration when thrown hard enough. Texas has lots of pigs. 230 grain FMJs are good brush busters. Texas has lots of brush. 230 grains fly faster than a 250 grain on average. Where the factory 250s fly around 2200FPS, the 230s when properly loaded will fly around 2400FPS and have a flatter trajectory. The only thing left to achieve is to find the most accurate 230 Grain FMJ and powder charge combination that will bust through brush and piggies.
As for the steel plate experiments, I want to prove that the 450 Bushmaster is the cats' meow when it comes to stopping ability. Be it hogs, dangerous game or from a LEO perspective, a drug dealers' getaway vehicle.
And finally, it's just fun to have a cheap way to plink.
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Re: Mag Tech 230 Gr. FMJ testing.

Postby kottke_35 » Wed Apr 25, 2012 11:16 pm

Texas Sheepdawg wrote:Okay. Why 230 grain? It's cheaper and I can buy in bulk. Pigs wear armour. FMJs have a reputation for penetration when thrown hard enough. Texas has lots of pigs. 230 grain FMJs are good brush busters. Texas has lots of brush. 230 grains fly faster than a 250 grain on average. Where the factory 250s fly around 2200FPS, the 230s when properly loaded will fly around 2400FPS and have a flatter trajectory. The only thing left to achieve is to find the most accurate 230 Grain FMJ and powder charge combination that will bust through brush and piggies.
As for the steel plate experiments, I want to prove that the 450 Bushmaster is the cats' meow when it comes to stopping ability. Be it hogs, dangerous game or from a LEO perspective, a drug dealers' getaway vehicle.
And finally, it's just fun to have a cheap way to plink.


He's right! There are certain things, in this case bullets, that serve one purpose better than another. Take for instance the recent bison hunt video. Factory fodder was used in that video, not my preferred bullet for a critter that large. A better constructed bullet such as a fmj, barnes xpb or buster, just to name a few may have been a better choice for that particular hunt. The 250 ftx seems like a good if not great choice for deer/maybe even elk sized game. Look at the choice of bullet weights in 7mm, 30 and 338 cal. Why shouldn't we look at 230gr bullets for or caliber, or any other weight bullets for that matter?

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