28 Nosler Overview and Why BC is overrated for your hunting bullets!

[@terrycalvert7812]

Nice rifle!! I don’t agree with the choice in ammunition for it but shoot what you like!! I have seen so many failures with the hammer bullets with my own eyes and KZbin and forums are polluted with stories of the hammer bullets failing going in a shoulder exiting a ham not expanding or expanding to fast and not getting any energy transfer and the harder people push these bullets the more likely the failure!!

[@RT-gv6us]

I totally agree that BC has been way overblown. Question: Does your 28 Nosler shoot light weight bullets very well? I want to shoot 150g-168. class of bullets (Nosler AB or Barnes TTSX) at 3100+ FPS and was looking at the 7mm PRC but was told that it was designed for longer/heavier high BC bullets in the 180g class and does not like the lighter bullets.

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

I’ve been shooting 145 grain copper bullets (Hammer Hunter) sub 1/2” all day at 100 yards and have taken game successfully at 501 and 496 yards. Very happy with the accuracy and performance. 28 Nosler from a case design does really well with a factory reamer in normal hunting bullet weights for 7mm. The 7PRC can shoot those lighter weight bullets, but it isn’t taking advantage of how the cartridge is designed.

[@WillyK51]

There is a problem understanding the balance between a cartridge and the best bullets for it. The 7-08 was designed with 140-145 Grns bullets in mind. You can load whatever including 180 grns, but speed/weight relationship is to be considered, The old 7mm Mauser common load was 175 Grns, back when heavier/slower bullets were the norm. The 160-168 is about the sweet spot for 7RM and 7WSM and 7PRC that have about the same case capacity. For the 28 Nosler, which is the hotrod, it shines with 180 grns. Of course you can combine any bullet with cartridge, and everyone has its favorite. For Big heavy game 160 to 180 grns prefered. But K.Bell shot well over 800 Elephants with a 275 Rigsby(7x57 Mauser). Go to Nosler load data and see the pictures of cartridges and loads to compare Speed/Weight to get the ballance you think you need. Then pay atention to cartridge availability. The 7mm Rem Mag is the most available in the most bullet/weight comb. Me Personally, 7-08 (140-145), 280AI (150-168), 7RM-7WSM-7PRC (168-175), 28 Nosler all the ones before pluss 180-190 Grns. the 7PRC was designed to be used in a Std lengh long Actions with 180 grns bullets seated way out(the same as a 7WSM in a long Action). All the others fit the same long action but without the posibility of seating out and taking advantage of long bullets, unless you have a Rifle with a 3.7-3.8 lengh Action/magazine

[@claytonbruner1808]

Also, I'm super curious as to what your barrel life is going to be at those velocities. You should do a video on that if your groups start to open up. The 28 isn't known for great barrel life. The heaviest pill I run is a 180VLD load at 2977 (partly because it is a super accurate node and why eat up more barrel?!)

[@bushmastera2]

I have a 28 Nosler custom build rifle and I can't find a cartridge that's better than the 28 Nosler. I just freaking love that cartridge.

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

Me too!

[@claytonbruner1808]

BC/SD do nothing for accuracy if your barrel doesn't like the powder/primer/bullet combo (seating depth, neck tension, etc). If you've found a combo that the barrel loves harmonically then BC/SD become very helpful to accuracy downrange. Especially at longer distances since they perform better against wind and drag for longer periods of travel. And that is an essential component of terminal performance (depending on the bullet style selected). This is where a lot of hunters fail to do their homework. A great example of misunderstood terminal performance is the hunters who complain about lost weight retention in recovered bullets (if it failed they wouldn't have necessarily recovered the bullet). Another example is my PH's reaction to my bullet choice in South Africa last year. I brought an expandable (162gr. ELD-X) for my 28 Nosler. His reaction was "my tracker is going to be busy this week". 9 shots and 9 animals later, including a Blue Wildebeest at 320yds, Kudu, and an Nyala (mule deer sized animal) at 711yds, he had a different understanding of terminal performance. Different bullet designs do different things. I'd assume that hammer is a great bullet to put in a shoulder. It'll devastate bone. Expandables are little grenades and as such a shoulder shot is a bad idea. But slot it in behind or in front of the shoulder and what it does to the chest cavity renders swift results. That wildebeest was nearly 600lbs and went 20yds before piling up. So for me, shot placement is critical to allow a bullet to perform optimally and if BC gives me an advantage, I'm taking it. Thanks for the content!

[@zacharyfelkel7924]

I get where this is coming from and sure speed can help kill but speed sometimes can be bad. Bullet choice should be matched up to the task at hand. BC is mostly for really long range and getting away with wind errors. As for solid copper bullets, sure they perform really well at high speeds and can be very good inside most hunting distances. However, they cost a lot more and are not available to the public often. Got hand loaded ammo sure it’s great but for everyone shooting factory this isn’t an option and is the reason high bc is being pushed. Most of the time shots are missed because of wind errors. Having a heavy bullet that can fight wind and carry energy on target in factory ammo is better than just having a fast light bullet. Most of the time it doesn’t matter as long as the bullet can kill. Shooting a 28 nosler is also an advantage over other cartridges and you can get away with speed but for most people it’s too much recoil. So I agree and disagree with your argument. I think the best thing to do is use a high bc heavy bullet to get through everything and for worse case scenarios.

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

Love the reasoning! I tend to agree that there is a line somewhere between 600-800 yards (depending on cartridge) where the advantages of a BC become much more pronounced. I also tend to think most shots are made so close, that optimizing a bullet choice for those hunting conditions should be favored by MOST hunters. Thanks again for the comment and best of luck!

[@timross7046]

Have you done these calcs on the 257 weatherby mag ?

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

I’ve been looking at the 257 Weatherby more and more. I’ll run some numbers and post a cartridge overview with it. Any specific bullets you are interested in?

[@timross7046]

Barnes 101gr and up to 120+ long range ttsx bullets bc isn't as important to me as fps and power at impact at 500yds.and up? Thank you. Also stabilization in a 26" barrel +2" muzzle break with a 1x10 twist

[@phild9813]

Have to look at all aspects. Hunting bullets with good terminal performance are now being built with better BCs than in the past. For example, other than accuracy, there is no reason to use a TTSX over an LRX. Higher BCs improve margin of error just like adding powder and velocity does, a la the 28 Nosler.

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

Totally - if you can have two bullets with the same weight and the same terminal effect and you can get the velocity you want, you absolutely should go with the higher BC bullet. TYPICALLY, you see the BC marketing favor heavy for caliber bullets, which have a markedly different trajectory compared to lighter weight fast bullets.

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

And thank you for watching and the comment!

[@samhouston5217]

Good advice. Thank you,.

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

Thanks!

[@chasl2216]

Great video, very good information

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

Thanks for the comment!

[@dodgefreak8797]

To say bc should be the last thing is extremely irresponsible to claim.. you've prioritized the only thing that doesn't matter in a rifle package where elevation is easily dialed. Also you've shown an extremely high pressure 145gr hammer load against mediocre 195gr load. I push my 195s 3130fps which would drastically change this picture. High bc allows your bullet to maintain everything that matters for terminal performance IE velocity and energy on target. Finally in regards to terminal performance, the eol bullet performs great. Dead is dead. It doesn't have to maintain weight and punch a nice tidy hole through the animal. It just has to work.

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

I appreciate the comment. For me, these discussions are part of what makes hunting fun - a few things: 1. “Extremely irresponsible to claim BC is the last thing to be worried about.” - I’ll stand by my comment. Worrying about a bullet BC that doesn’t really come into play until you’re past 300-400 yards for most cartridges is irrelevant for MOST hunters. If I polled hunters, most would think creating a video where I encouraged hunters to shoot 800+ yards would be “extremely irresponsible.” I would disagree with that assertion as well. Practice, know your dope, and understand the limits of you and your equipment. From my view, encouraging thought beyond “wow, look at this bullets high BC,” is valuable to the hunting community. The importance of BC from my view is minimal, and the data on average shot distance means it’s importance should be minimal for most hunters. Perhaps not you or others, and that’s totally fine with me. 2. Velocity and energy on target absolutely matter, but so does bullet construction. High impact velocity is great for coppers, and bonded bullets handle it quite well. Target bullets mascarading as hunting bullets mileage varies - especially at “typical hunting ranges.” I know a lot of hunters have had great success with them, and I know others have a lot of stories involving wounded animals. Of course, shot selection, accuracy, etc plays a part (see above comment on knowing your equipment). 3. Easy to dial is relative, and animals aren’t static. I talk about a real world example where this applies to me in the video and just had another fine example of a friend who returned from a mule deer hunt. He heard “375” as the distance, when it was really “275.” Result was a missed deer (given this was a 308 win). Faster and flatter shooting would have negated that issue. I’ll take the margin of error afforded by high velocity. Best of luck to you in the hunting season! I truly hope you have great success!

[@wmharris9084]

Like you mentioned, if someone just wanted and off the shelf do everything hunting, and cartridge available, just say .308 Win. Or 7 mag if you want more power. That 28 Nosler is awesome. But a real barrel burner.

[@timross7046]

Nice to have " some " meat left worth eating !

[@williamdiamond5400]

My hand loads with 175 eld-x is 3150 with a chronograph ! Bullet drop at 600 is 56 inches! 2152 of energy!

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

That’s awesome!

[@arlenlittle9200]

Great video

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

Thanks!

[@Mike-xi4zt]

You are one of the few who can comprehend. Most people believe marketing and want to believe the religious bandwagon.

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

Thanks for the comment - I love the margin of error reduction for a fast cartridge. It is a real advantage in the field.

[@thehardieway]

7 prc is 150-200 fps slower than advertised velocities. 7 mm mag, Hits 3000 fps with 175's... thats's 100 - 150 fps faster than the PRC using the same bullet and same powder. Not sure why you're trying to steer people towards a less capable , slower, and more expensive catridge....shouldn't you be suggesting a 7 mm mag as a solid alternative to the 28, instead of the prc? Not to mention it has 1800 different factory load choices if you dont reload. 🤔

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

Should just go to a 7 RUM instead. Good point.

[@BornAgain2019]

The 7 PRC has 4 gr. less powder capacity than the 7 mm Rem mag. The 7 PRC has 1500 psi higher max pressure. For all intents and purposes they are nearly identical (within 80 fps) in velocities if all things are kept equal. What the PRC brings to the table is a match grade chamber and a 1:8 twist barrel in a factory offering. To run the highest BC bullets (I:E 175 ELDX and 180 ELDM which standard 7mm Rem mag can not do) you need a 1:8 twist barrel and only Browning is offering those on 7 mm Rem mag rifles currently. You would need to go custom to achieve this but then you run into COAL issues in a standard length action and magazines because of bullet OAL.

[@NickGer123]

The reason in PA that everyone is over scoped here in my opinion is because of antler restrictions. We have a 3 up rule on one side that doesn’t include the brow tine. I’ve seen some 140” class bucks that aren’t legal here.

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

That’s a good reason. Can be times the hunt happens fast where a person can’t use a different optic.