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Forum Index > Rifles general discussion > DRT bullet video

DRT bullet video

26 May 2016
@ 04:50 am (GMT)

Nathan Foster

Hi guys, I have just uploaded another vid. Was hoping for a big boar but Kelvin and I missed out this time. nevertheless, got some basic footage of the DRT on ferals before the epic storm hit us (end of vid).

FYI, the BC of these was not that high at .400. However, this is still the best option I can see for California hunters etc who must use lead free yet need this type of performance. Also, I expect new designs to keep coming as time passes. So this vid is really early days stuff as far as design potential goes.

Cheers, Nathan.

https://youtu.be/Qvge3tA5bXo

Replies

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26 May 2016
@ 07:01 pm (GMT)

Sebastian Shand

Re: DRT bullet video
Great video Nathan cheers.
Do you think DRT will make its way to our neck of the woods anytime soon?

26 May 2016
@ 09:39 pm (GMT)

Nathan Foster

Re: DRT bullet video
I don't know Sebastian. If we were forced into copper, I would say it would happen pretty quickly.

Also have to understand that more time is needed to build product lines. DRT are in that situations businesses get into, where they need sales to be able to re-invest in product lines, but possibly also need product lines to generate wider sales interest. A catch 22. I hope that they can come up with .270 and 7mm offerings soon (currently working on these) so that they can truly increase sales, allowing much more time for R&D. I would then hope that as time and funds allow, they can work on more high BC offerings and also get into the likes of the .303, 8mm and .358. But this is way down the track.

My personal goal was to study these and if they had merit, put the info out there. I don't like how Californians have had their choices taken away. So in this sense, DRT worked as I had hoped and does increase the power of choice.
26 May 2016
@ 10:02 pm (GMT)

Sebastian Shand

Re: DRT bullet video
Ah yes I know that feeling all to well. I hope NZ doesn't go down the lead free road but who knows when the greenies will get bored and try find something else to winge about.
As far as I'm concerned I don't give a toss what they are made out of as long as it does the job I need it to do. In saying this I don't want to be stuck with one option because someone decided lead is to dangerous while they spread thousands of tons of poison all thru our bush and fresh water, but that's a discussion for another day!
Once again great work Nathan and DRT keep it up and I look forward to seeing more great videos
26 May 2016
@ 10:41 pm (GMT)

Nathan Foster

Re: DRT bullet video
That's a key point Sebastian. We have a high bi-kill rate with poison so you can't have one rule for one group and another rule for others. And yes, while it is good to avoid going down this path within this discussion, I do believe that we need to retain that one highly valid point for future reference. So I am glad you have said this.
26 May 2016
@ 11:22 pm (GMT)

Mike Davis

Re: DRT bullet video
good video as always.....how do they go up close if you hit bone?????
Im thinking of the issues SOME people have/had with old school silver tips or ballistic tips and A Maxs depending on who you talk to......
am I correct in thinking these Jackets are sort of filled with powder???? I wonder if a copper hunk/ball/rod/.22cal projectile could feasably be added inside jacket before filling so you get partition type preformance. seeing how well those stinkies dropped they look good but wondering how penertration will stack up on something more solid thus a solid hunk of copper etc my initial thought was a #BB type thing to diametre of jackets internals but can see issues with concentricity.a solid piece of rod would conteract that maybe...... not a new concept the Lehigh subsonics have smaller projectile inserted.....food for thought maybe????
27 May 2016
@ 05:53 am (GMT)

Cor Nepgen

Re: DRT bullet video
Thanks for another very interesting video Nathan! I've been looking at some of our local bullet manufacturers as an alternative due to our currency falling to pieces. Co-incidentally, this is also a lead free bullet. I'm a little sceptical in reading their philosophy on "why our bullets are the best thing since sliced bread blah blah.." after reading the "how bullets kill" section of the books.

www.peregrinebullets.co.za

So their claim of expanding down to 1600fps guaranteed might not really help any with longer ranges. Still I have not heard any negative feedback from hunters and general consensus seems to be that it gets the job done. So I might experiment a bit with it and see how things go.

Thanks for all the good info!
Cor
27 May 2016
@ 07:26 am (GMT)

Thomas Kitchen

Re: DRT bullet video
another good video, its good to see varied shots and ranges with autopsy showing the results.
well done to your camera man Kelvin the video quality is great.

Cor just had a look at those bullets as much as i like buying local be careful when pushing ranges there is a big difference between expansion vs fragmentation. be interested to hear how you get on with them.

27 May 2016
@ 07:48 am (GMT)

Cor Nepgen

Re: DRT bullet video
Hi Thomas,

Yes thats exactly what I was thinking as well. I think it might be closer in performance to some of the barnes tsx type of bullets.

I ould say the biggest annoyance I have at the moment is the concept put out there that a "premium" hunting bullet retains all its weight or close to. Yet these same people using this idea also insinuate that the same bullet can be used effectively attended ranges because it will expand.

Anyhow, rant over and sorry for getting a bit side tracked.

Cheers.
27 May 2016
@ 08:09 pm (GMT)

Thomas Kitchen

Re: DRT bullet video
you bring up a very valid point Cor.
we are lucky that DRT has gone down a different route as Nathan results shows.

27 May 2016
@ 08:54 pm (GMT)

Mike Davis

Re: DRT bullet video
Cor, that is interesting link, those projectiles on main page toted for self defence look VERY much like the saboted .12ga slugs that were around in the early 90s, I recall a Remington sportsman article showing 100yard group shot through rifled barrel and was very impressed with 3-4" big ragged hole (50 rounds) they were 50 calibre solid copper.
the Lehigh projectiles used subsonic have a VERY good reputation for performance on game these are lathe turned I believe aswell. the theory on them and the S.D. ones on that link are the same as the early Rem slugs, big solid shank to continue and 4 petals to shear off with hope of 5 wound channels.......how well that works in practice is another thing, but idea of fast/easy opening petals and a solid penetrating shank must have merit I believe.
so re reading that there is 2 examples of solid shanked petaled copper slugs DESIGNED for slow speeds..... I mean your .12ga isnt honking out slugs by any stretch of imagination.if the petals can stay intact till they reach target these new generation MIGHT cut the mustard but I still have doubts if they will be heavy enough to work out further say past the 400 yard mark...maybe the bigger rifles that can throw long projectiles will come into play.
27 May 2016
@ 10:28 pm (GMT)

Nathan Foster

Re: DRT bullet video
Hi Mike, so far, performance has been like the A-Max. So if you hit heavy bone up close, results will be the same. Impact velocity is a key factor too.

Note that I have tested the 150gr DRT which performed somewhat like the 155gr A-Max. But on a MEDIUM sized boar, it made it through to the offside shield (155gr A-Max iffy for this). Entry through ribs was large (due to shield causing fragmentation), exit through ribs was large, offshoulder bone broken, arrested thereafter. On other shots, penetration was OK but not thorough enough that I would want to adopt this bullet weight as an allrounder. Testing showed it to be well suited to Goat, Fallow, White Tail and Black Tail body weights but I would not want to tackle anything heavy with this weight.

The trouble is, I never fully trust this bullet weight whether we are talking GameKing, SST or whatever- not when it comes to the tough jobs. For example, this was a medium sized boar and without mud encrustation. For tough animals I prefer to use either a tough 150gr (130gr TTSX is also good to 300 yards) or better still, use a heavier pill. The 175gr DRT so far appears to achieve that all around type performance I was looking for.

I was hoping to shoot a heavily shielded boar for the vid to really push the bullet but alas, the storm ended things for the time being. A 1.5" thick shield plus bone would be the ultimate test for this pill.

One simple method for arresting expansion / fragmentation is to adopt a cannelure or double cannelure. These can work as a crimp or by default- a break off point. The Rem Core-Lokt is a good example of this including the 6.5 140gr double cannelure.

Regarding petal loss bullet designs, I am not too impressed with these. The current do not achieve earth shattering results. The little fragments whether three or four do not cause significant damage on their own when testing across the velocity spectrum. If you look at wound channels closely, you can see the main damage is caused in the central bullet path (the actual expansion phase / hydraulic forces) while the petal paths result in very small wounds. When velocity is high, the wound is wide, when velocity is low, the wound is narrow. Sometimes its neither one nor the other.

For example on Cattle, after breaking a shoulder and losing petals (.375), you are left with a solid to penetrate vitals and are reliant on Keith style / hydraulic wounding (best at high velocity). In contrast to This, a Woodleigh Weldcore loses some weight but also some SD. The same goes for the bonded A-Frame. This loss in SD aids energy transfer. There are of course situations where max penetration is required and SD retention is important. If we look at Woodleigh further, their Hydro solid is like a copper projectile with petals broken off. Personally, I like the Weldcore because the trauma level is very high and penetration adequate for bovines.

I think expectations are also a key factor. I push the Woodleigh bullets well past their design parameters but I don't expect them to hold a long shank and perfect mushroom thereafter. For example, my favorite cattle load is the 300gr RN .375 driven at 2950-3000fps, keeping shots inside 100 yards and preferably inside 50 yards. Yet this bullet is rated to around 2400fps.

But- I also like the TTSX for up close work in certain combos.

When Marty was here, we tried to drill a Barnes TTSX down, to see if it would open right back. I wanted to ruin the SD of the Barnes during penetration in order to promote better energy transfer at low velocities. We were really trying to see if we could make use of this bullet. But alas, it did not have the energy to open this far back and the HP did not work with the actual bullet forming process. The petals folded out as per usual while the HP I drilled was still evident- nothing happened.

Photos:

Thoughts on the TTSX:



The 150gr DRT exceeding my expectations, offside shown:



260gr .375" GS custom, cattle beast, impact over 2900fps. After the petals shed on the onside shoulder (broken), it continued to penetrate like a keith style wadcutter / Woodleigh hydrostatic stabilized bullet (should really be called hydraulically stabilized). The wound was roughly 1.5" through the chest (solely hydraulic forces). All in all a good result so long as velocity is high.



Woodleigh Weldcore by comparison:



The Woodleigh displays less penetration that homogenous copper bullet designs (especially the way I use it) but it dumps a great deal of energy.



28 May 2016
@ 06:56 am (GMT)

Cor Nepgen

Re: DRT bullet video
Hi guys,

Yes I also thought of the shotgun slugs when I saw those bullets. I can understand the design doing ok to well in a shotgun slug because of the sheer weight of the projectile. In a handgun bullet for self defense... Nope. Self defense projectiles is quite a big market here and every so often this fancy bullet design pops up again (think its called RIP bullets or something like that.) problem being as Nathan says the SD is affected too much affecting penetration in a big way.) at best test shows it is similar to a .22 bullet being fired a couple of times. Now while I'm not going to underestimate the capability of a .22, I'm also not going to stake my life on it... But yes shotgun different storey.

Nathan thanks for tour thoughts on the ttsx, much appreciated. From my understanding, the peregrine bullets use a softer alloy as well as combining it with a tip from a much harder metal to help with expansion. From most accounts they perform really well on larger bodied animals. But i doubt it would be any better performing than the ttsx.
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