60 grn Vital Shok - Calling AR hunters

[The B]

i do this every year- wait till the very last minute before a hunt to get my bubblegum together. i'm leaving tomorrow for Coastal Centerfire Buck, and all i've been able to find locally (i know, i know) is Federal Premium 60gr Vital Shok... nosler partition.. 3160fps

as i recall, federal does their testing from an 22" barrel. going off the top of my head, i'm guessing that means i can expect about 2860fps from an 18" barrel, 2560 from a 14.5, and 2260fps from a 10.5"?

the thought of using a carbine or SBR hadn't really hit me until yesterday. some of the hunt will be still hunting through undergrowth, and ranges will be about 75m at the maximum... if i take a shot in there, a more realistic expectation would be inside 50m. since it's all so close up, i figured it might be fun to take a shorter gun.

with these velocity numbers (and i understand i could be off by 100fsp or more either way, i'm not a ballistititian), and with this load, what kind of terminal performance can i expect? i'm fairly up on effective range for fragmenting anti-people loads, but the soft-point hunting realm is something i'm just not at all versed in, with this caliber. is 2260 too slow for a soft-point? does it matter with soft-points? in other words- should i just leave my shorter guns at home, or can i use 'em?

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[the4thshake]

That little bullet is gonna need all the help it can get. The partition won't fragment. I wouldn't go much shorter then a 16" barrel. Please choose your shot wisely as you are using a less then ideal caliber.

 

[The B]

i'm a very patient hunter, and will not take anything but a clean shot. if i can't get a clean shot all season, i won't take anything all season. and won't regret it.

i just had the infamous dr. roberts give me the thumbs up on this load, though, so i'm confident. he says it's actually one of the best SP loads out there, and for SBRs specifically- i may even swap out my BH 69grn OTMs for it for a carry load, based on that vetted opinion.

i'll probably leave the shorty in the locker and take a 14.5, in addition to the 18.. i don't own any 16s anymore... my last 16 incher was a pretty nice recce that i cannibalized last year- loved the gun, but it was just way too inbetween. worst of both worlds... heavy, and not long enough to justify it.

 

[The Cheese]

I wouldn't go below the 14.5bbl, and even that is pushing it imo. I would just rock the 18" barrel assuming its not some heavy boat anchor profile.

I picked up some 65gr sierra game king SPBT's to load for the deer. I figure if I do my part it shouldn't be a problem on a deer as long as I get a clean shot. You could always go with ballistic tips, but that might be pushing it. I have heard some bad things about them blowing up a lot of meat and such. I go out tomorrow to test/sight in my loads. Hopefully they are a good match to my gun.

 

[The B]

the 18 isn't bad.. stainless, medium profile- so not "lightweight" by any means, but i've got a jp/vtac tube, a vx3 on rings, already pulled the BUIS, and i'll probably go ahead and pull off the SOPMOD and put on a standard M4 stock to save even more weight. i've got a harris 9" bipod on her... i may or may not keep that. if i end up just sporting the 18, i'll take it off. if i take the carbine, i'll probably leave it on and just ditch the rifle when we head into the bush.

wish i had more 5 round magazines... i attempted to make a 5-rounder out of a 20-round p-mag last year, but i never could figure out the proper amount of spring to clip, and it just kept jamming up after the first round.

 

[The Cheese]

the 18 isn't bad.. stainless, medium profile- so not "lightweight" by any means, but i've got a jp/vtac tube, a vx3 on rings, already pulled the BUIS, and i'll probably go ahead and pull off the SOPMOD and put on a standard M4 stock to save even more weight. i've got a harris 9" bipod on her... i may or may not keep that. if i end up just sporting the 18, i'll take it off. if i take the carbine, i'll probably leave it on and just ditch the rifle when we head into the bush.

wish i had more 5 round magazines... i attempted to make a 5-rounder out of a 20-round p-mag last year, but i never could figure out the proper amount of spring to clip, and it just kept jamming up after the first round.

When I made a mag for my PTR91, I just welded a steel rod to the follower. No spring to cut. one could probably do something similar with a 20rd mag. I will probably be trying this tomorrow or so. Shouldn't be too hard. Might have to do some drilling or tapping, but shouldn't be too hard.