Disgrunted with Nosler Ammunition

[Frederik]

Ridge Runner I see you are in the eastern Cape give me a call or whatapp me your number lets sort out your problem. 2100fps is pushing it with 500gr bullets especially use local poweders.
083 7098927

 

[Ridge Runner]

Ridge Runner I see you are in the eastern Cape give me a call or whatapp me your number lets sort out your problem. 2100fps is pushing it with 500gr bullets especially use local poweders.
083 7098927

Frederik,

I appreciate your fine offer and if I were in the Eastern Cape right now, I would definitely be getting in touch with you. Perhaps we can get together around the last week of May when I arrive back to Grahamstown, East Cape.

However, I live in northeastern part of Tennessee, USA.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Man are sure that chrono is working properly? I have heard of some issues with some factory ammo from time to time but the variances in velocities you have listed seem extreme to me.

Maybe I have been lucky? I would say to date all factory ammo I have used has performed pretty much flawlessly, from 308 to 458 Lott and I have never seen variances as you have mentioned when I have seen factory ammo velocities tested. And in some cases I have actually seen higher than advertised velocities.

Did you suggest to Nosler you want them to test the velocity of the rest of the ammo you have and you want your money back?

I haven't contacted Nosler, since having shot 2 boxes (40 rounds) and both boxes chronographed about the same, I take it as being standard factory quality, regardless of manufacturer, for mass produced ammo.

 

[IvW]

My 7mm Oryx loads perform beautifully at the range and on game.

What have that to do with 458 and 375 loads?

 

[Red Leg]

What have that to do with 458 and 375 loads?

Nothing.

 

[IvW]

458 WM is a marginal caliber to start with....factory ammo even more so...get rid of it and buy a proper DG caliber...

 

[IvW]

Nothing.

Cool, at least we are on the same page....

 

[CTDolan]

I bought two boxes of 458 Lott when that sale was going. I too was excited but got the same results. Box claimed 2300 FPS I believe. I didn’t get above 2050 using a blaser r8. They are in the ammo cabinet for practice only.

Holy crap!!!

 

[BeeMaa]

I haven't contacted Nosler, since having shot 2 boxes (40 rounds) and both boxes chronographed about the same, I take it as being standard factory quality, regardless of manufacturer, for mass produced ammo.

I have seen much more consistent numbers from Norma, Swift and Barnes factory loaded ammo.
My experience is limited to 375H&H, but I will soon have numbers for 416RM as well.

I do not have enough experience will all of Nosler's bullets to pass judgement.
However, I've had better results with the others I listed.
Best of luck.

 

[Major Khan]

It is a funny thing . I have been hunting now for 68 years , 10 of those years as a professional shikaree . In the last 68 years , l never personally seen or even heard of a single brand of .458 Winchester magnum calibre factory loaded ammunition accomplish the velocity that was advertised on the box .
During our time , the only 2 brands of factory loaded ammunition available for the .458 Winchester magnum were Winchester and Remington ( from 1961 onwards ) . Hornady bullets were available as a hand loading component .
The Winchester and Remington ammunition of the 1960s were advertised as accomplishing a velocity of 2130 feet per second . Unless you were using very freshly loaded ammunition , these velocities were optimistic by about 50 - 100 feet per second . By 1973 , the advertised velocity was lowered to 2120 feet per second . Again , unless you were using very freshly loaded factory ammunition , the actual velocities were around 2040 feet per second .
In 1978 , the advertised velocities got lowered to 2040 feet per second , in an attempt to increase shelf life . Not only did this decrease penetration for frontal brain shots on big bull elephants , but the actual velocity was often still lower than the advertised velocity ( around 1950 feet per second ! ) .
According to a book I own , " Ballistics in Perspective " ( written by a professional African elephant culler ) , the only brand which found a way to get the .458 Winchester magnum to deliver the advertised velocities , was A Square . In 1984 , A Square supplied the Zimbabwe Department of National Parks and Wild Life Management with a batch of specially loaded .458 Winchester magnum ammunition , using Remington Peters cartridge cases and Hornady 500 grain solid metal covered bullets . These delivered the advertised velocities of 2130 feet per second . Unfortunately , shelf life was lessened once again and after a few years of staying loaded , velocities dropped to around 2050 feet per second . In 1991 , this ammunition was scrapped and then A Square began supplying the parks with ammunition , loaded with 465 grain monolithic solid bullets , claiming an advertised velocity of 2200 feet per second . After a few years of storage , even this ammunition began to develop erratic velocities ( around 1970 feet per second ) .
I attach below , an extract from the aforementioned book .

Another brand which was reputed to deliver the advertised velocities in their .458 Winchester magnum calibre ammunition was Speer , with their " Grand Slam Solid " tungsten core solid metal covered 500 bullet.

@Ridge Runner , your best solution would be to hand load your own ammunition with 480 grain Woodleigh bullets. It gives you the powder space necessary to accomplish a higher velocity , although lighter for calibre bullets always compromise sectional density . I agree with Doctor Ray .

 

[bruce moulds]

sometimes starting with a clean barrel can increase e.s.
once the barrel is dirty e.s. will often decrease.
bruce.

 

[TOBY458]

Not sure how long those Nosler bullets are, but I'd bet those brass solids they load are mighty long for a 458 WM. I think that once you commit to using a mono metal bullet in a 458 WM, the bullet weight will really need to come down to 450 gr. By all accounts this offers more than adequate velocity and penetration for most all hunting needs. I'd venture to say that a 450 gr flat nosed mono at 2300fps, that holds a straight line and doesn't deform, would outperform a 500 grain standard solid at 2050-2150 fps, which is the gold standard of which all DG calibers were once trying to achieve.
(Most of this is just me trying to justify owning a 458WM when I have a 416 and a 404)

 

[ack]

We use Swift ammo loaded by the Swift Factory..Great results..How many giraffes go down with one shot from an/06 !

 

[ZooKpr]

I’ve never had any ammo be within 100 FPS of what the box says. From 9mm to 30-06

Not sure what the rest of you have seen, but from the ammo that I have chronographed it seems Barnes is pretty close to what the box says.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

I’ve never fired a Barnes bullet or their factory ammunition.

 

[JimP]

I haven't shot any of their factory ammo either but I sure have put a lot of their bullets downrange and into animals.

 

[Frederik]

Frederik,

I appreciate your fine offer and if I were in the Eastern Cape right now, I would definitely be getting in touch with you. Perhaps we can get together around the last week of May when I arrive back to Grahamstown, East Cape.

However, I live in northeastern part of Tennessee, USA.

My mistake I just saw you hunted Eastern Cape thought you were from Eastern Cape.
Make sense how you were on the phone with Nosler themselves.

Anyway to save you hassle why don't you rather go for a 480gr bullet instead of a 500gr it give you nice extra volume in the case for powder and hitting 2100fps makes it much easier. That is the route I'm going to go with my lott, I will get more perforamnce from the cailbre with the 480gr vs the 500gr and that is for speed and energy. I doubt any animal will know the difference being hit with a 480gr and not a 500gr bullet.

 

[Ridge Runner]

My mistake I just saw you hunted Eastern Cape thought you were from Eastern Cape.
Make sense how you were on the phone with Nosler themselves.

Anyway to save you hassle why don't you rather go for a 480gr bullet instead of a 500gr it give you nice extra volume in the case for powder and hitting 2100fps makes it much easier. That is the route I'm going to go with my lott, I will get more perforamnce from the cailbre with the 480gr vs the 500gr and that is for speed and energy. I doubt any animal will know the difference being hit with a 480gr and not a 500gr bullet.

When I finally received a reply back from the PH I'll have for my hippo hunt, he was rather commendable about me using my 458 WM with 500 grain bullets.

I'm still in the process of looking over the data of: Barnes, Swift, Woodleigh, and Norma: solid, soft, and some alloyed bullets. I most likely will drop down to a 450 gr or 480 gr bullet for the hippo.

 

[Frederik]

Ridge Runner,

480gr bullet at 2100fps gives you 4700ft/lbs energy vs
500gr bullet at 2000fps 4442ft/lbs of energy

Believe me hippo aint not goin to know the difference between 480gr bullet and the 500gr bullet. Neither is the PH unless he weighs your ammo.

I would go for Woodleigh bullets shorter than Swift and they do both soft and solid in 480gr easy as that.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Since Nosler has been having their $50/box sale, I bought 4 boxes of Nosler solids for my 404J. I shot 5 rounds so far and they grouped well at 100 yards and pretty close to the same POI as my Swift A Frame handloads. If I get a chance this weekend, I shoot a few over the MagnetoSpeed chrony and see what the velocity looks like. Stay tuned for details.