Sako Powerhead Blade

[Heym SR20]

Taken a while but this is the three shot group with the 162gn Powerhead blades at 100 yards - measured using the ‘ontarget’ app at 0.467moa

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Perfect. Just go a shoot lots of deer. I wouldn’t worry too much about drops and bullets running out of steam at normal hunting ranges. These 162 gn Power blades will be longer and be more ballistically efficient than a traditional lead cored 165gn bullet.

Given that monolithics stay in one piece they retain considerable momentum when they go through the carcass. You can drop down to a much lighter bullet - 140 or even 120 and they will still give very good penetration and deep wound channel without much in the way of carcass damage.

Given lack of damage you can afford to put the in line with foreleg and just under half way up - this takes out all the major as well as major blood vessels and drops them on the spot. In my experience, even with smaller deer, meat damage is minimal.

 

[Donkey Basher]

Perfect. Just go a shoot lots of deer.

Shot two on my last outing on the fallow bucks back in April. Plan to shoot plenty more with them once the does season opens up, maybe the odd pricket or two as well if I can drag myself away from my favoured pricket bashers - the 6mmBR & the 6.5x47Lapua

Got a bit more testing planned once I've got a few more empty 5 litre screenwash containers - watch this space

Still struggling with load data as Quickload doesn't have these bullets in the Sako bullet files which seem to be very old!

 

[Heym SR20]

Shot two on my last outing on the fallow bucks back in April. Plan to shoot plenty more with them once the does season opens up, maybe the odd pricket or two as well if I can drag myself away from my favoured pricket bashers - the 6mmBR & the 6.5x47Lapua

Got a bit more testing planned once I've got a few more empty 5 litre screenwash containers - watch this space

Still struggling with load data as Quickload doesn't have these bullets in the Sako bullet files which seem to be very old!

Better than screenwash bottles is to use wet pack - wet news paper layered together and then wetted - gives you a good idea of wound channel as well as expansion. I suppose news paper is harder to find these days

See

 

[HonestJohn]

I shoot these in 162g in .308. 1/2” moa and they kill very well indeed.

 

[Doctorken]

These 80g group tightly in my M595 243....not had chance to use in the field yet

 

[Border]

We’ll finally got the chance to test a box of Sako Powerhead Blade in 308W yesterday - factory 162gn bullets.

First three were into the compulsory NRA NLA zero target & the results weren’t encouraging but a ‘pass’ all the same!

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Before firing any of this ammunition I’d measured seating depth, COAL & weighed the loaded rounds as I’m planning on loading my own instead of £59 a box to buy factory.

Seating depths were variable but the next three rounds were all seated to the same depth & the result was a lot more like I was expecting - this ammunition seems to have a good reputation & was recommended to me by a couple of people who use it regularly & who I trust to give an honest opinion.

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Definitely sub MOA - maybe I’ll measure it to get an accurate group size.

After that I zeroed the rifle to shoot 2” high at 100 yards ready for the next test… see what happens when I put the cross on the shoulder & squeeze one off on a deer!

Cheapest I could find a box of 20 over here was NOK 1190

 

[Donkey Basher]

Cheapest I could find a box of 20 over here was NOK 1190

that’s 50% more than I paid for a box of 20 but they may have gone up as it was a little while ago.

 

[the prowler]

Should have added that in total I shot 10 rounds & chronographed the muzzle velocity

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SD is good