I got a chance to try out the Outlaw State Bullets today. It was a balmy 23 degrees F. but it was mostly sunny and there was just a gentle breeze (unlike yesterday).
I set up a pair of sawhorses with a piece of plywood on top. I had collected four milk jugs and filled them with water. This typically shows what "ideal" expansion will look like. With most pistol-caliber hollowpoints, you will sometimes get penetration through the first water jug with the bullet stopping in the second jug. I was hoping the four jugs would be more than adequate for these bullets when they are at subsonic velocities.
The first water jug was approximately 18 feet away and the chronograph was set at approximately 10 feet.
Since these were the first shots fired with these bullets, I did not have a silencer installed. The gun is a T/C Contender with a 1:8 twist 10.5" barrel from SSK. Later shots were fired through a Triple-X Warrior from American Manufacturing.
Here is a cell-phone picture of the setup.
The average of 15 shots was 971.4 fps., and the shot into the water jugs was 995 fps. The bullet penetrated all four milk jugs showing good energy transfer into the first two (both jugs split at the seams, with the first jug jumping off of the board). The third jug had good-sized entry and exit holes, and the last jug just has some small tears at the entrance and exit. I had hoped to catch the bullet in one of the jugs, but it continued downrange.
I walked downrange in the path of the bullet and found it at around 40 yards from where it had been shot. After throwing away the milk jugs, I also found one chunk of lead remaining on the plywood stand. I didn't think until after leaving that I should have checked inside the milk jugs for any other fragments.
Here is what the bullet looks like.
It appears the nose section broke up into multiple parts (as designed, per OSB's website). The front of the bullet opened up to .510" at the widest point. Discounting the single jacket petal, the face of the bullet opened to around .420".
The bullets weighed 226.0 gr. when loaded, and retained bullet weight was 181.1 gr. with the one recovered fragment at 8.6 gr.
Overall, I'm thinking this bullet has great potential for subsonic hunting. I'm kind of wishing I had found these bullets a month before deer season rather than a month after.
Accuracy potential is good too. At 50 yds. I fired a 5-shot group of 1.195". While this is certainly not benchrest accuracy, it should do fine for deer-sized game at Whisper distances.
Actually, I expect the accuracy potential is much better. I have fired groups with a 220 gr. SMK of under 1" at 100 yds. Today, my 50yd. SMK groups were 1.189" and 0.990". I'm thinking my blood-caffeine levels were either too high or too low.
I haven't had nearly enough trigger time this winter.
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