My rifle is a Sako 85 Finnlight in 6.5 x 55mm. I’m a small-scale DSC.1 “Fridge, family & friends” stalker. My rifle absolutely loves Norma factory ammo tipped with the Nosler 120 grain Ballistic Tip. (My zero check group last month was 0.32 MOA off the bench, which is pretty typical.)
A few months ago l decided to try some lead-free for no particular reason, and settled on Sellier & Bellot 120 grain eXergy Blue because it was (a) available near me, and (b) not hideously expensive.
l picked up a box of 20 and found that although they hit the same point of impact at 100 yards as my Norma, they would only group ~2 MOA. I decided to take them out for a few outings, loading an S&B in the chamber and keeping 5 Norma in the magazine. That way l could make an instant decision for any shot: Use the S&B for under 100 yards, or eject the chambered round and use the time-tested Norma for longer or more challenging shots.
I used the S&B for two shots (a head-on vixen at 90 yards and a broadside-on munty at about the same range.) They did the job fine, but frankly FMJ would have done as well under the circumstances, so l reverted to my trusty Norma, but kept one S&B in my 12-round Velcro cartridge pouch “just in case.”
I went out yesterday morning and loaded the rifle in the half-light. l keep 6 Norma “brown tips” on one side of the pouch; on the other side l keep the one S&B “blue tip”, 3 empty spaces, then 2 dirt-cheap FNM (?) “finishers” in case l need to administer a point-blank coup de grâce to a wounded animal. This layout is easy to distinguish.
My invariable practice is to load the mag & chamber with the 6 Norma, then drop the two cheapo-cheapo FNM (carefully marked with loads of Sharpie lines on case & bullet) into a pocket “just in case.”
So off l go, then spot a fox 150 yards away, intent on something on the ground. l had plenty of time to set the Sako up on my Blaser quad sticks, dial the magnification up to 12X and take a careful shot. To my dismay, l heard no impact “Pok!”, and Charlie legged it at high speed, me watching through my bins. l could discern no limp, and the light was so poor that blood wouldn’t have been visible.
Following up, the object of Charlie’s attention proved to be a bloody 3/4 rabbit, possibly a buzzard or kite’s dinner. The rabbit blood would have camouflaged any fox blood at the scene; and although l walked his escape route, and spent 15 minutes scanning with thermal and binoculars, l could find neither hide nor hair of him. l was 75% sure that it was a clean miss, though difficult to explain under the circumstances.
The punchline? I returned to my car with an empty game bag after my stalk, and unloaded my rifle, slotting the unfired rounds into their accustomed positions in the pouch. To my astonishment, there were 6 Normas and no Sellier & Bellot. I had inadvertently chambered a (relatively) inaccurate copper load, which accounted for the probable miss.
More unpleasantly, the well-documented lack of distinctive sound signature from the impact of a lead-free bullet might mean that l have lost a wounded animal…
A bitter lesson learnt: Be sure of your ammo.
maximus otter
A few months ago l decided to try some lead-free for no particular reason, and settled on Sellier & Bellot 120 grain eXergy Blue because it was (a) available near me, and (b) not hideously expensive.
l picked up a box of 20 and found that although they hit the same point of impact at 100 yards as my Norma, they would only group ~2 MOA. I decided to take them out for a few outings, loading an S&B in the chamber and keeping 5 Norma in the magazine. That way l could make an instant decision for any shot: Use the S&B for under 100 yards, or eject the chambered round and use the time-tested Norma for longer or more challenging shots.
I used the S&B for two shots (a head-on vixen at 90 yards and a broadside-on munty at about the same range.) They did the job fine, but frankly FMJ would have done as well under the circumstances, so l reverted to my trusty Norma, but kept one S&B in my 12-round Velcro cartridge pouch “just in case.”
I went out yesterday morning and loaded the rifle in the half-light. l keep 6 Norma “brown tips” on one side of the pouch; on the other side l keep the one S&B “blue tip”, 3 empty spaces, then 2 dirt-cheap FNM (?) “finishers” in case l need to administer a point-blank coup de grâce to a wounded animal. This layout is easy to distinguish.
My invariable practice is to load the mag & chamber with the 6 Norma, then drop the two cheapo-cheapo FNM (carefully marked with loads of Sharpie lines on case & bullet) into a pocket “just in case.”
So off l go, then spot a fox 150 yards away, intent on something on the ground. l had plenty of time to set the Sako up on my Blaser quad sticks, dial the magnification up to 12X and take a careful shot. To my dismay, l heard no impact “Pok!”, and Charlie legged it at high speed, me watching through my bins. l could discern no limp, and the light was so poor that blood wouldn’t have been visible.
Following up, the object of Charlie’s attention proved to be a bloody 3/4 rabbit, possibly a buzzard or kite’s dinner. The rabbit blood would have camouflaged any fox blood at the scene; and although l walked his escape route, and spent 15 minutes scanning with thermal and binoculars, l could find neither hide nor hair of him. l was 75% sure that it was a clean miss, though difficult to explain under the circumstances.
The punchline? I returned to my car with an empty game bag after my stalk, and unloaded my rifle, slotting the unfired rounds into their accustomed positions in the pouch. To my astonishment, there were 6 Normas and no Sellier & Bellot. I had inadvertently chambered a (relatively) inaccurate copper load, which accounted for the probable miss.
More unpleasantly, the well-documented lack of distinctive sound signature from the impact of a lead-free bullet might mean that l have lost a wounded animal…
A bitter lesson learnt: Be sure of your ammo.
maximus otter
