Awesome work and breakdown. I think it would be a worthwhile addition to slide a deer shoulder blade into the block to see if it helps those lower velocity loadings open up for sure. I have had sub par performance on game with tipped bullets at advertised velocity thresholds in the past.

Berger bullets , fantastic because they tumble and cause massive damage! Hornady bullets horrible, because they tumble and cause too much damage 🤬

I’d love to see a test with the 215 gn cast spire point gc from Matt’s bullets I’d throw in with ya for a box of em 😂

Going to be the next project for my Henry and like yourself I’m not a fan of trimming my brass I might pick up a new box of factory and test those vs. whatever I roll myself thank you for your video

You wasted your money.

looked through videos but maybe just looked over it , Have you done anything with the maker 220gr round nose expanding bullet?

super helpful video! i really enjoy watching as there is hardly any information about 8.6! Wonder if you could try the barnes tsx 285 grain basically as a substitute light subsonic bullet to the eld m from hornady. would love seeing more subsonic 8.6 in general! keep up the great work educating all of us

The delayed expansion could be the numerous tracks already in the block. The bullet would have less pressure acting on it if it was in or near another track. Just a thought.

my berrys 220 subs are using 11.8 to12.0 gr cfeblk for 1050 fps out of ruger 16" bolt gun. Same charge seems to give same/ similar results with the 190 gr subx, and the 220 SMK. Preliminary chrono work out of my new 8.5" AR shhow very similar velocities.

that bad "h" word

I’m thinking of loading these bullets in my 8.6 and I have load data from the company BUT it’s all max load data and I don’t start with max. I’ll be using H110/ Win 296 powder (16.5 max) but wondering if you would know at what powder charge to start ? I emailed gorilla and they told me they don’t have a staring load which I find strange . They said they may work on one but no idea when or if for sure they will try. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Is there any particular reason you use AA#9 instead of H110/296?

What's your barrel length

My experience with CX is inconsistent performance on game. They harvest but the damage in some cases is horrible because of tumbling. But I believe Barnes is a better all around performer. Thanks for testing these.

Great to see your report this morning. I've used the CX in .375 Raptor reloads, so very positive result for the 8.6 BO, especially the low SD.

6:28 perfect shot timing😂

They look lit they could be reloaded. I’m wondering if a court would have a problem with us using in self defense shooting plus pass through

Try the 285 eldm, should expand down to 1400 fps

Great work so far, love the videos. I was able to push the Federal Trophy 225 (factory overrun on midway, cheap for load development) out my bolt action 8.6 Faxon FX7 in 16" 1:3 twist at 2050-2100 fps using 36.5 H335. The slower burn rate and H335's density make for a great powder for the heavy projectiles. If you have any H335 laying around, you should give it a whirl, starting at 30 gr and working your way up. Never saw pressure signs, just ended up running of out case capacity. Slower burn for the win!

May I ask what range your at. I also live in KY and it’s hard to find a place to shoot at

Thank you for the report! Great expansion at the distance you have your gel block. Would be interested in seeing downrange velocity chart based on your MV and BC...just to evaluate effective distance if hog hunting. Ha...it's there...I just paused a bit early...😂

Good Sunday morning everyone. .A early Blessed Christmas wishes to everyone. Appreciate the video and the information. 👍 Remember everyone Jesus Christ in your life is the true answer through it all ✝️🙏

Great information on the 8.6 blackout. I agree with you the 160s & 225s are looking the best. The good news is there are new 8.6 bullets out and I hear new powder, and SAAMI will approve the 8.6 blackout in 2025. I’m hunting with my Q Fix right now. Thanks again for your informative videos.

I think if defiant mentions ever made a tcx projectile for the 8.6 it would be the best on the market

I just bought a model 92, except it has polymer and has a picatinny ( it was on sale). Im not waiting patiently while it ships lol

250gr LRX next!!!

The problem with the 8.6 is that most of the 338 bullets are designed for higher velocity, lower twist rate rifles. At this point with the 338 ARC,I wouldn't anticipate Hornady going out of their way to introduce any more bullets for the blackout

Nice review! Well done.

The only uncontrolled variable you have here is that the bullets' RPM is slowing down with the muzzle velocity, whereas if you are considering, say, the 2300 fps muzzle velocity round impacting at distances where you'd get ~1900 FPS impact, there will be higher RPMs to "help with expansion". Any chance you can try this exercise one more time where you use a ballistic calculator to determine the distance where your full power load dips into the 1800 or 1900 fps range, see if you cant hit a gel block at that distance and see if the expansion results match the downloaded charges or if the expansion is more reliable with higher RPMs at impact?

Interesting testing, too bad the twist rate limits the type of bullet you can use. For supersonic loads I guess you must use the lightest monolithic bullet to get enough velocity to have reliable expansion down range.

At first I thought I wanted a 338fed more than a 8.6blk but recently I’ve heard people talk about fighting the suppressor ban in my state so I’ll have to go back and watch all your 8.6 videos

I like this 8.6 but it seems to use the same platform as the 338 federal I would opt for that for the extra performance in that platform. I would be interested from a hunting standpoint and defensive with a clothing barrier and hide with hair how these do in the gel.

ouch! ill stick with the 160s. much better range. and no stinky hornady's 😂 haha thanks for testing and sharing

What’s range will the 160s expand from a 12.5in barrel ~2250fps

I was considering this bullet for a future 338 ARC build due to its light weight and therefore higher velocity. Hornady's 175gr load is claiming 2075fps from a 16" barrel. One difference is the ARC's 1:8 twist hindering expansion of slow monolithic's. The good news is the slower twist will allow lead core bullets.

One quick critique: When you down load that's not really matching performance of a faster load down range. The reason is the 1:3 spin at high velocities (at muzzle) creates up to 500k rpms, and as the bullet slows down it doesnt slow its spin as much, because the drag is primarily resisting the linear velocity shockwave. That's why Q viewed twist as a good way to increase and retain energy in a bullet without increasing linear velocity. But if you START with lower velocity, this limits your total spin. But i know, its simply not practical to actually test with gel at 200-300 yards. This will have to do.

Well done. Thank you.

Would you hunt with a 160 grain TTSX bullet?

Great content!! Professionally done!! Only complaint is jell block too cloudy. Want to see more of wound channel! Otherwise it was great video!! Winner!

go go go! love your no bs videos. campsite still lets you post gun stuff and do you ever worry about too low charge weights? do you try to keep them above 70%?

Good Sir.

Great video! Now I'm interested in this caliber. Previous to this video I had no interest in the cartridge but now I see that with this bullet it is considerably better than the 7.62X39mm as far as retained energy and retained velocity are concerned when shooting high velocity ammo.

What ramrod tip are you using on those bullets?

Good Stuff man!

Thanks for the content

Great review. Real happy with mine, but haven't run much through it. Fit & finish need a little work, but not bad. Loading gate will shave a finger, but overall it's a keeper. Got a little range-envy goin' on down here! Nice place! #subscribed

About to buy this barrel for my Glock 45 thanks for the review

really good looking rifle with that full wood stock. keep your eyes on ebay and you can find the sights sometimes

Most excellent.