Copper - Accuracy

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Roonster

Well-Known Member
I've yet to speak to anyone that is satisfied, never mind impressed, by the accuracy of copper heads.

Even the most accomplished hand loaders/competitive shooters have been struggling to achieve 1MOA consistently with hand-loaded copper.

Seems like the only people who are keen on you shooting copper are those that have a financial interest in you shooting copper?

I do have one very accomplished stalker/hand-loader friend who says he has had reasonable success with cup & core bullet heads which have a traditional guilding metal jacket and a zinc alloy core instead of a lead core. But I do wonder if you'll get lead-like fragmentation from the zinc alloy core, whereas obviously one of the main selling points of monolithic copper is that is stays in one piece...

Are we any closer to copper ammunition that is as accurate as the lead ammunition it is meant to replace?

R.
 
I’ve loaded up copper bullets ,hasler ariete 108gr and yew tree 114gr tlr in my 6.5 284 with better accuracy than i ever did with lead.

I prefer hasler.

I am starting on Barnes 55gr ttsx for my 22-250 1-8

Also Barnes 130gr for the win mag
 
Roonster said:
I've yet to speak to anyone that is satisfied, never mind impressed, by the accuracy of copper heads.

Even the most accomplished hand loaders/competitive shooters have been struggling to achieve 1MOA consistently with hand-loaded copper.

Seems like the only people who are keen on you shooting copper are those that have a financial interest in you shooting copper?

I do have one very accomplished stalker/hand-loader friend who says he has had reasonable success with cup & core bullet heads which have a traditional guilding metal jacket and a zinc alloy core instead of a lead core. But I do wonder if you'll get lead-like fragmentation from the zinc alloy core, whereas obviously one of the main selling points of monolithic copper is that is stays in one piece...

Are we any closer to copper ammunition that is as accurate as the lead ammunition it is meant to replace?

R.
Click to expand...
My experience of copper is that it is undoubtedly “The Emperor’s new clothes”
I’m sure it works for some and they are happy but for me I’m afraid I’ve witnessed to many let’s say mishaps, for me to place the same confidence that I have in lead.
Said it before and I’ll bang on like a stuck record. Ain’t broke don’t try and fix it.
 
@Roonster they are not 'heads' or 'bullet heads' they are Bullets.
The head is part of the case that holds the primer.

The main issue people have with accuracy when going from lead to copper bullets is that the bullet itself is longer and the additional length can create instability if the imparted spin isn't fast enough.
All bullets (in flight) have an element of precession and nutation.
I would imagine that modern CNC/lathe cut monolithic bullets have a more equal weight distribution around their center line/axis which will reduce any yaw (or wobble) as it flies, spinning through the atmosphere.

Get the spin speed right and it 'should' be as accurate as a lead filled copper clad bullet.
Manufacturers have been making lead filled bullets for a long time now, so I also imagine that they have got their balance right too.
Some manufacturers are better than others.
Typically (my experience has shown me) that a more expensive bullet is inherently more accurate that a much cheaper bullet.

Look up 'The Don Millar twist rule' for more info.
 
Have not used them in a bit, but I did not notice any issues in accuracy with Fox 150g 30-06 ammunition. Has same accuracy and the same POI as Federal Powershok 150g in my Sako 85. This is factory ammo , not home loads .
 
Roonster said:
I've yet to speak to anyone that is satisfied, never mind impressed, by the accuracy of copper heads.

Even the most accomplished hand loaders/competitive shooters have been struggling to achieve 1MOA consistently with hand-loaded copper.

Seems like the only people who are keen on you shooting copper are those that have a financial interest in you shooting copper?

I do have one very accomplished stalker/hand-loader friend who says he has had reasonable success with cup & core bullet heads which have a traditional guilding metal jacket and a zinc alloy core instead of a lead core. But I do wonder if you'll get lead-like fragmentation from the zinc alloy core, whereas obviously one of the main selling points of monolithic copper is that is stays in one piece...

Are we any closer to copper ammunition that is as accurate as the lead ammunition it is meant to replace?

R.
Click to expand...
The yew tree offerings are the most accurate bullet I’ve tried (and I’ve tried a few) in my .280 and my 6.5x55; gave 1/2-3/4 moa test groups in my .308.

S&B XRG 110 factory in .308 and 120 in 6.5 CM gave me cloverleaf groups.

80 gr barnes TTSX in my 25-45 is 1/2-3/4 consistently.

About to start on 175 gr LRX in the 300 PRC and I’m expecting sun moa.

I do like the fragmenting yew trees they do a lot of damage which to me is desirable but the little 80 ge barnes are working well in the 25, albeit that’s reserved for roe and munties.

A62BD715-FF90-4D70-BB84-325E03034759.jpeg

Roe heart shot with a .284 124 gr HP yew tree, leaving the muzzle around 3100 fps and hit at something like 150 yards.

In short, choose the right bullet for your twist and it’s every bit as accurate and effective as lead….
 
Last edited:
jimmer.13 said:
My experience of copper is that it is undoubtedly “The Emperor’s new clothes”
I’m sure it works for some and they are happy but for me I’m afraid I’ve witnessed to many let’s say mishaps, for me to place the same confidence that I have in lead.
Said it before and I’ll bang on like a stuck record. Ain’t broke don’t try and fix it.
Click to expand...
I was a massive copper sceptic ( just search threads on here around 2020) but now they are all I use for deer - other than 75 gr v-max in .243, but that’s set up for fox.

Terminal performance across 5 rifle and cartridge combinations has been as good as lead and I can’t see myself switching back even if the ban comes about.

In all honesty I can only think ‘mishaps’ are down to bad placement of not enough velocity because the bullets kill very well, see my picture above.
 
Roonster said:
I've yet to speak to anyone that is satisfied, never mind impressed, by the accuracy of copper heads.

Even the most accomplished hand loaders/competitive shooters have been struggling to achieve 1MOA consistently with hand-loaded copper.

Seems like the only people who are keen on you shooting copper are those that have a financial interest in you shooting copper?

I do have one very accomplished stalker/hand-loader friend who says he has had reasonable success with cup & core bullet heads which have a traditional guilding metal jacket and a zinc alloy core instead of a lead core. But I do wonder if you'll get lead-like fragmentation from the zinc alloy core, whereas obviously one of the main selling points of monolithic copper is that is stays in one piece...

Are we any closer to copper ammunition that is as accurate as the lead ammunition it is meant to replace?

R.
Click to expand...
I can only assume that you haven’t spoken to enough people who are shooting copper ammunition! I have not found a single rifle that would not group with copper as you suggest although some will prefer one bullet above another. Getting 1 inch groups at 100 yards is not difficult but there are some fairly minor differences between loading traditional cup and core and mono metal bullets. The attached group was shot with a 120 grain Barnes bullet and I can show you many groups with calibres large and small that are significantly below the 1 MOA level using copper bullets.
 

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25 Sharps said:
I was a massive copper sceptic ( just search threads on here around 2020) but now they are all I use for deer - other than 75 gr v-max in .243, but that’s set up for fox.

Terminal performance across 5 rifle and cartridge combinations has been as good as lead and I can’t see myself switching back even if the ban comes about.

In all honesty I can only think ‘mishaps’ are down to bad placement of not enough velocity because the bullets kill very well, see my picture above.
Click to expand...
It’s my personal belief that hasler kill better than lead and dare I say it do less damage than say pro hunters.

They are on the spendy side though:
 
I use Barnes lrx, definitely shoot as accurate if not more accurate than lead, I contracted for years and can honestly say I will never use lead on deer again. I love copper but I don’t love the price😂.i still use lead on foxes though
 
From 25/06 to 375 copper gives me the same or better accuracy than lead.

Other than for economy and use on a range, I will not buy lead again for use in the field for C/F deer rifles.
 
cjm1066 said:
From 25/06 to 375 copper gives me the same or better accuracy than lead.

Other than for economy and use on a range, I will not buy lead again for use in the field for C/F deer rifles.
Click to expand...
What sort of accuracy are we talking about, and what sort of heads have you had success with?
 
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