Range Rep:Hornaday FPB & Thor,w/BH209 & w/N110 UD

I finally got around to doing my side by side comparison of the Hornady FPB at 350 grains, and Thor bullet at 250 grains.

My setup:
- 10 ML II, Laminated Stock, Stainless Barrel
- Got a new crown done, and a third pillar and bedding job by
richard(I can't say enough good things about his work.)
- Factory breech plug and ventliner.
- Spin jag loader.
- Started out clean.

My ritual for loading:
Every shot I load the powder then tamp the gun on my foot 3 or 4 times to even it out. Then with the same pressure all the way down the bore I load the bullet. Finally I pack it down with two three counts of at least 60 pounds of pressure.

Observations:
Hornady FPB, 350 grain - Hard to load staright, easy to load once you get it straight, and can't handle 120 of BH209 without breaking down as you will see in the target below. Now I know why RW shot it with 100 grains of BH209. If you go to the BH209 web site they state you can get 1909 fps with 120 grains, but they don't tell you your accuracy is out the window.

Thor, .503, 250 grain - Easy to get straight in the barrel, and slightly easier to load than the FPB. Can absolutely handle 120 grains of BH 209 quite nicely as you can see in the target below. These are the real deal for 50 caliber sabot less. It won't be until next year that I get to trying them with some smokeless loads. I would recommend trying them out with BH209 they are a great match up. Enter at your own risk using smokeless.

BH209 - It is not smokeless for sure but had an acceptable amount of smoke, very consistent shot to shot. Who ever said it was as clean as smokeless I am guessing never shot smokeless. After 25 shots my gun needed a good cleaning, but I must say it was easy to clean up.

The bullets:







Range Results:
45 degrees out with a 5 mph wind at my back, no swabbing between shots and waited about 10 minutes between shots, but barrel never really got hot like with smokeless. Sorry guys no chrony, but it is on Christmas list. The BH209 website states with 120 grains on all 250 grain projectiles they are all in the 2100 fps range, which I assume I was getting around the same.







As you can see by my results the Hornady FPB with a magnum load is a huge disappointment, but I was elated with the results of the Thor bullet. Oh the one I pulled was because I had the accu-trigger depressed, but have my trigger set at 4 pounds and when I went to do a slight adjustment bang, and I was not quite ready for it. Also, wanted to note the Thor four shot group was my last four shots of the day of 25 shots.


Hope this helps and happy hunting.