How slow before I stick a bullet in my barrel?

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Hajji
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How slow before I stick a bullet in my barrel?

Post by Hajji »

Hoping someone can give guidance regarding the slowest velocity I should use as my minimum when loading 195gr ELD-M bullets in my 300 BO.
I typically load these supersonic, but want to experiment some. I am concerned that a long bearing-surface jacketed bullet will stick in the barrel if I load at less than 1,000fps.
What say those that have stuck one already?
Thanks for keeping a new Wilson 16” barrel like new🥳
Hajji
attila.
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Re: How slow before I stick a bullet in my barrel?

Post by attila. »

If your muzzle velocity is above 0 fps, you cannot possibly stick a bullet in the barrel.

Realistically, you can load as low as you want, as long as the powder you use is safe to do so with. Just keep in mind that even a meager 500 fps is still pretty fast, and there is no reason to load that slow.
dpete
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Re: How slow before I stick a bullet in my barrel?

Post by dpete »

My go to recipe with 220 gr SMK is only running 970-980 fps and they have no problem exiting a 16" RARR barrel. I have stuck a 150 gr FMJ that ended up being WAY underpowered in the same barrel but I think the previous shot that made it out was going somewhere in 600-700 fps range. The rest of those low charged bullets were shot out of my 5" barreled AR pistol. They all made it out of that 5 incher.

People are all enamored with 1050, or 1000 something fps for subsonic bullets. I have 4 different sub loads, using 200, 220, and 225 gr for my 8" AR, and a 110 gr specifically loaded for my RARR bolt action and every one of them was the most accurate in the 970-980 fps range. My RARR bolt action shoots the 220 gr SMK loads better than the 8" AR they were loaded for. 5 holes touching at 50 yards if I do my part.

Start high and work down until you find the subsonic speed that is most accurate for your rifle.
Last edited by dpete on Fri Aug 12, 2022 12:51 am, edited 2 times in total.
dpete
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Re: How slow before I stick a bullet in my barrel?

Post by dpete »

attila. wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 7:29 pm If your muzzle velocity is above 0 fps, you cannot possibly stick a bullet in the barrel.

This is true. But if all of the bullet's velocity is eaten up by the friction of going down the barrel a distance that is less than the barrel length you end up with a stuck bullet. Then hammering on some sort of rod inserted down the barrel to dislodge said bullet commences
ShootNstuff
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Re: How slow before I stick a bullet in my barrel?

Post by ShootNstuff »

dpete wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 12:36 am
attila. wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 7:29 pm If your muzzle velocity is above 0 fps, you cannot possibly stick a bullet in the barrel.

This is true. But if all of the bullet's velocity is eaten up by the friction of going down the barrel a distance that is less than the barrel length you end up with a stuck bullet. Then hammering on some sort of rod inserted down the barrel to dislodge said bullet commences
Exactly. You can absolutely get a squib load when developing subs. That’s why it’s important to start high and work down in loads. Obviously a longer barrel exacerbates the potential.
BJK
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Re: How slow before I stick a bullet in my barrel?

Post by BJK »

ShootNstuff posted as I was typing. I'll post anyway.

When I was playing with singly fed subsonic Sierra 80 grain .223s in a 20" AR15 decades ago I did get a few lodged bullets that required work to get them out of the barrel. What would happen is as dpete wrote, friction ate up the velocity. But what happened to the pressure that was doing the pushing? I could hear it bleed through the gas port after the bullet passed it. I have no idea what the velocity was after getting a load that would exit the muzzle since it was years before I had a chrono'. I just know the hiss of a lodged bullet quite well.

That's why we more or less ignore the rule of starting low and working up when developing subsonic loads. Just don't go nuts with pressure, stay safe.
HK91
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Re: How slow before I stick a bullet in my barrel?

Post by HK91 »

Long before I had a suppressor and the 300BLK came on the scene, I tried to load 150gr FMJBT bullets subsonic in a .308 bolt gun with a 22 inch barrel. I don't have the specific data anymore (I think I was using Unique), but I remember that I was chronographing the loads and started at 1000 fps in steps downward. When I hit 500 fps the velocities got very erratic and the next step down stuck a bullet about 3/4 down the barrel. I ended up settling on 600 fps to maintain the lower ES and avoid sticking another bullet in my barrel.
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