Monthly Archives: October 2021

CVA Rifles: A Great Value

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I was in my local NH sporting goods store a few days ago and say a very nice looking rifle with a synthetic Monte Carlo stock with cheek rest and jeweled bolt. It was super nice looking.  As we all do, I looked at the price tag and my jaw dropped.

It was a CVA in 6.5 Creedmoor and was $489 dollars. Holy Cow! All those extras for $489.00. Buy that one now for hunting season and have the Mrs. wrap the box for under the Christmas tree. CVA has been in the business for many years and a trusted source.

CVA Rifles come in other calibers and stock styles and camo too. Check it out!

I found this one on line at https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperstore.com/products2.cfm/ID/249054

QUOTE FROM THE WEBSITE

“The CASCADE is CVA’s first ever bolt-action centerfire rifle. Long the leader in both muzzle-loading rifles and single-shot centerfires, CVA has applied it’s nearly 50 years of experience into making what they feel to be the best bolt-action on the market at $600 or below. The CASCADE’s 4140 carbon steel barrel is finished in a rich, matte blue. The series also features a threaded muzzle, making it ready for a brake or suppressor whenever you are. The bolt design incorporates a 70° throw for smooth and fast operation, plus generous scope clearance. The two-position safety is conveniently located for natural and instantaneous operation. And loading is a breeze with its four round, flush fit, detachable magazine.”

CASCADE 7MM-08 REM 22 IN THREADED BBL BLACK SYNTHETIC STOCK

  • Manufacturer: CVA
  • Model: Cascade
  • Style Number: CR3906
  • Caliber: 7mm-08 Remington
  • Action: Bolt
  • Barrel Length: 22 in
  • Twist Rate: 1:9.5″
  • Muzzle Thread Pattern: 5/8×24
  • Safety: Two Position
  • Stock Finish: Black
  • Stock Material: SoftTouch Synthetic

Value of Hunting Bullet Tests in Ballistic Gel

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Today hunting bullet designs are changing rapidly especially rifle bullets.  Accordingly, a mechanism of ballistic gel is used to see the potential terminal ballistic damage done to the gel as it simulates wild game body parts and fluids. One can see the track voids left in the gel to signify the radial damage to surrounding tissue. Historically, water or  melon like a water melon, or containers of water was used to demonstrate the power of the round but had difficulty capturing the bullet damage track or level of penetration. Thus standards and gel formulas were created.

Below was a pistol bullet track in gel. Note the larger track damage at the entrance.

From www.gundigest.com

The gel often made of either clear 10% silicone gel like the FBI uses or a 10% amber gelatin to track and recover the bullet. If you look at my last article, you can see the tremendous and violent track done in the first 10 inches and often throws the 20 pound gel block in the air and in slow motion it wants to explode with very high velocity rounds. That is a lot of bruised meat!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mjiqGPwrIwA

On entrance to the gel the bullet may encounter bone thus experiments are performed at different speeds and different bone-skin or skin and no bone. Most of todays bonded bullets will mushroom.  Monolithic copper bullets, on the other hand, are designed to open and flare like a banana peel into petals. And some of the peels flare like an aircraft propeller while others fold to either make a mushroom or some are designed to peel and detach to make a mother bullet that peels off the smaller copper petals to radiate additional bullet damage. 

Those of us that see faster bullets, see gel blocks correspondingly explode thus giving the impression that faster is better. That is partially true, but if your deer meat is all bruised and blood shot from your super fast bullet, then it won’t look or taste well after cooking. Will it? Thus ideally we want it all, a fast (dead right there) kill, but less blood shot meat and more edible deer meat to eat. Right? A compromise is needed and that means you need to try the bullet on game too. 

Gel test to simulate a long range hit is also important. What does the wound track look like at slower long range velocities like 1800 fps. Did the bullet mushroom or flare as advertised? What about bone? All this needs experimentation and examination to reach an edible conclusion if we are going to cook it.

Good Hunting!

©Copyright 2021

 

New Hunting Rifle? What bullet is best for deer? Ballistic Gel Tests Help!

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Choose a caliber that you shoot and handle well for deer and it begins with cartridges like the 243 Winchester, 7mm-08 Winchester, 6.5 Creedmoor, .270 Winchester, 308 Winchester.  The .223 with heavier than 55 grains will work but I prefer the .243 as a starter caliber. The most popular today is the 6.5 Creedmoor and very similar to the .270. A favorite of mine is the 6.5 as it has moderate recoil and can kill deer size game out way past 400 yards.

If you are a seasoned hunter, then you know, all of these cartridges will work fine. And all will work on many African Plains Game species too, though the 243 is perhaps a bit light.

However, if you are strictly hunting here in the Northeast then you can include the venerable 30-30 Winchester and 35 Remington lever guns which are good for brush type environments like mixed hard and soft woods to 150 yards, have moderate recoil and with a flat nose, pack a real punch.  Or step up to the 30-06 Springfield which is the same caliber as the .308, just faster and more recoil.

After that we get into magnum like cartridges that have more energy delivered and more recoil. Many hunters add newer recoil reducing pad such as the Pachmayr Decelerator or SIMS SVL Pad, which reduces felt recoil up to 50%. A real smart thing to do!

Short range big bore brush rifles like the 444, 450 and 45-70 are great but pack more recoil. Change the recoil pad.

Bullets and Ballistic Gel Tests

Now choose the bullet. Ballistic Gel Tests are a help in evaluating  mushrooming and penetration. I  have included some below. 

Federal is one of those cartridge companies that use bullets from many manufacturers.

Bullets are the part that does the killing, thus you want good bullet construction. One of the mainstays of deer hunters has been the Remington Core Lokt bullet  since 1939 but there are dozens more. See the ballistic gel test below. part 1 and part 2.

 

The best bullets today are bonded bullets, where the lead is bonded to copper and mushrooms well.  And also monolithic copper which often flares into propeller like petals and maintains nearly 100% of its weight. Newer copper bullet designs are coming out every year.

My favorite bonded bullet is the Nosler AccuBond. See ballistic gel test below.

https://www.nosler.com/products/bullets/product-line/accubond.html

Here is the AccuBond Ballistic Gel test below.

Below is the Nosler Expansion Tip (E-Tip) Gilding Copper Monolithic Ballistic Gel Test.

and Hornady GMX gilding copper monolithic very similar to the E-Tip

A new one, I hope to test is the Hammer Hunter an all copper monolithic hollow point which at high speed creates petals that separate into four 25 cal bullets  and still has its parent bullet hammering even more penetration.

Swift Scirocco II monolithic copper bullet ballistic gel test below.

 

There is some movement in the hunting bullet industry toward monolithic bullets which often maintain much of the original weight, flare well, and drop game fast.

If you go onto the net and to YouTube you can see more gel tests too.

Today my own main go-to bullets are Nosler AccuBonds and E-tips. They shine for accuracy and have great weight retention and punch!

Good Hunting!