BC for bullets

[lunchbox]

What is a good BC for the Pac-Nor 45 with a sabot? And why. Im wanting to use it for hunting whitetail mostly.
Thanks

[wilmsmeyer]

Your question is kind of vague....Savage doesn't make a .45 unless you've switched to an aftermarket barrel.

But, saboted, most bullets shot in a .50 are .45.

Even with that said, there are few differences between the best BC'ed bullet offered in .40 for a .45 or a .45 for a .50.

And the best BC's are offered in both fragmenting and non-fragmenting types. The best BC bullets are still awful compared with say...a 7mm bullet meant for longe range. AND....the only reason to even concern ourselves with BC would be if that is a possibility....long range.

So, you're after whitetails. If ranges will be under 200 yds and you are shooting at book speeds of 2300 fps or so BC will be of less concern then bullet construction.

[lunchbox]

My ranges will most likely be under 200 but sometimes may go to 300. How can you tell or do you know how a bullet fragments or stays together?

[deadon]

BC stands for ballistics coaficient and it is the way a bullet flies thru the air, if that's what you are asking. the higher the bc the flatter the bullet will shoot. As stated, with muzzle loaders it is no where near as important as say for long range hunters who shoot out to 1000 yds and beyond but to me it is still important. Randy Wakeman, Chuck Hawks or one of those others guys who ACTUALLY shoot and test what they write about did a study and I don't remember all the results but the 300 gr dc bullet droped less than the 245 gr black belt,oops I am dating myself, Power belt between 100 and 200 yds. Maybe some here can post a link. he was going to do a study between 2 and 300 yds and post it at a later date but I never read about it. If I remember correctly the power belt dropped 5 more inches that the dc and the dc weighed 55 grs more. To me as a hunter that is very important to know and thats why I posted questions about trajectory of different loads the guys here were using but never got much response.Maybe I didn't ask it the right way. You came to the right place though sir , These guys are the best.

[larry]

Jan 16, 2010 13:15:43 GMT -5 lunchbox said:

My ranges will most likely be under 200 but sometimes may go to 300. How can you tell or do you know how a bullet fragments or stays together?

:)Most folks are shooting the 200sst or 195 barnes with harvester light blue sabots in the pacnor 45. If you want a bullet that fragments somewhat , go with the 200sst. If you want a bullet that stays together , go with the all copper 195 barnes. Good luck. Larry

[deadon]

Bullet recovery is a good way or in the case of bullets that don't stay together bullet pieces recovery.

[Dave W]

Hornady had .250 listed at one time for the 200SST on their site but some say it is closer to .265.

Sketchy on the 195 BX, I think Barnes listed it at .213. Dave D or SW may have a "real world" number from their 300yd shooting.

[Richard]

I can tell you this: The 200 gr. SST drops less at 300 than does the 195 Barnes. Get your speed up on these two bullets (2900 to 3000 fps) and you will not have to worry about "drop" out to 300 yards If you know you will not be shooting any longer than about 200 to 250 yds.? 2700 to 2800 fps will do.
Richard

[lunchbox]

Thanks for all the responses. I am tryin to learn as much as I can and this site is great for the new guy that has no clue. Thanks to all