458 Socom subsonic bullet test

[Alleycat]

I was shooting the muzzleloader that day and had left the sabots on the bench on the first shot. I found most of them. The subsonic stuff is not too bad. Supersonic loads are a different mater. The recoil is manageable, but there is a big fireball and a lot of upward movement. It's a lot of fun to shoot and at 23 inches you can almost put it in your pocket.

[Rikky Lee]

Great advice - exactly what we want to hear. The silencer will make a difference to the handling I'm sure (but you can't wait for that to arrive and get fitted).

I think we are all interested in how the load testing goes on the weekend and feel free to be as honest as you like about what works and what doesn't - I know I'm learning a lot on this thread.

Keep up the good work.

[tp555]

Short barrels have accuracy.Its the recoil momemtum that moves the gun before the bullet exits that throws the accuracy off.If you locked it down and did benching it would show.

[Rikky Lee]

tp555 - very true. Bill Calfee demonstrated that in one of his 22lr trials when he cut a barrel down to one inch and shot some very tight groups.

[Alleycat]

Originally Posted by tp555

Short barrels have accuracy.Its the recoil momemtum that moves the gun before the bullet exits that throws the accuracy off.If you locked it down and did benching it would show.

I knew someone would call me on that statement without a qualifier.
Short-fat-stiff-heavy barrels have better harmonics. Short light guns sometimes suffer from portability issues. This one points quite well.

I shot one round into wet newsprint at 90 yds.

Beginning End
530gr 373.7gr
1.410 long 0.880 long
0.725 wide

Load was 22gr of VV N110 This is the same load that produced 1076 fps

[Rikky Lee]

7 inches is a little short for my personal liking but a can will make all the difference I'm sure. I'd be keen to have a 14 to 16 inch barrel in a bolt gun but that is a personal preference only and the fact that a 7 inch barrel is proving functional is fantastic.

As a result of this thread I have been looking at the range of 458 projectiles on offer and am impressed but what could be possible from the SOCOM case.

Keep up the good work!

[Alleycat]

It's too windy to shoot for groups today, but I did some low velocity testing.

17 gr of VV N110 average velocity was 856.2 fps. Bullets penetrated 14inches, jackets separated at 12.5 inches. The lead core = 317 grs each. One jacket = 90 grs the other was 78 grs. If you plan on shooting at deer at 500 to 600 yds they will expand. 250 yds will be my personal limit even with drop compensation built into the scope.

[Rikky Lee]

Agree with the 250 yard range limit. What sort of "wound track" are these things making through the newsprint? Is it a big solid hole that keeps on going straight or are you seeing the projectile veering as it goes through the paper?

Great pictures btw.

[Alleycat]

They track straight. At 2 inches in you get the start of the wound channel. It continues to open up to a 3 inch hole at inch 12. At the 12 inch mark you find the petals that where shed. The channel looks exactly like a funnel. There is an abrupt stop to the wound channel and it goes back to a .70 cal hole for the remainder of its journey.

[snipecatcher]

Pretty cool. Thanks for taking the time to share your findings.