Federal Trophy Bonded Tip Fouling?

[DucksN'Bucks]

When Gander Mountain was going out of buisness, I located 6 or 7 boxes of 30-06 165gr Federal Premium Trophy Bonded Tip cartridges. So far I have not fired a single round of these cartridges being that where we live and hunt it is slug only for big game. I do however, I have a Winchester 670 that if given the opportunity to hunt northern MN, or other parts of the country that allow rifles to harvest big game, I would use it. Half the boxes are for my father as well being he has a Browning A Bolt (first gen) and he would use the cartridges in the same fashion. I chose 165gr bullet weight as I figured it would be about perfect for a mixed bag hunt, or opportunity to hunt both Elk, and Mule deer, along with the more realistic chance of hunting Whitetails up north.

I am curious if you all think I made a smart choice with this particular cartridge? And, more importantly to me, whether or not these cartridges, or really, bullets, have a greater amount of fouling, harder to clean fouling, increase barrel wear, or any other increased wear to a rifle than a traditional brass cased and copper jacketed bullet? Just curious if I made a mistake buying these cartridges over something similar such as, Trophy coppers, or Nosler accubonds, Partitions, etc.? Even though my father and I dont shoot our aughtsix's as much as we'd wish, we still both agree that we would rather shoot cartridges that dont produce increased barrel wear or an increased risk of damage over traditional cartridges if we'd known the potential risks affiliated with nickel plated bullets before buying. Let me know what you think! Thanks.

 

[antelopedundee]

If it bothers you, I'd sell them and move on. Lots of other choices out there.

 

[OhHeyThereBen]

I really don't think they're going to wear your rifles out any more than other ammunition. Especially if you're saying that you "don't shoot your aughtsix's as much as you wish." They're a great bullet for hunting deer and elk. Barrels can handle several generations of shooting by typical deer hunters. So unless you're planning on shooting a thousand of them, it's probably not worth worrying about.

 

[Tjay]

They are a fine bullet for deer and elk and will not wear the barrel any more than other ammo. If they shoot well in your rifles you made a good purchase. Life of an 06 barrel is in the thousands so I would not worry.

 

[DucksN'Bucks]

Thanks guys! I figured it would take a very long time to eventually wear out a barrel, especially a moderate velocity cartridge such as the '06. I just got a little worried reading on other threads after the purchase, that nickel is harder than the steel used in barrels, harder than copper, harder than gilding metal, etc etc. and that because of this, it wear out the barrel in what seems to be no time. I also read an article that went into depth on an early bullet manufacturing technique that used nickel to bond to the lead core (think the name of it started with a "c") but, it caused for extreme fouling within only a few rounds and was near impossible to remove from the barrel. I figured that a company such as Federal wouldnt go backwards in technology to create a "modern premium bullet" but figured Id ask. Also, should've become apparent to me how many people rave about this product and its ability as stated before, to harvest elk and deer efficiently. If there really was a problem with the ammo Id have to imagine the internet would surely have let us know by now!

 

[Brian in Montana]

I haven't loaded or even bought any yet, but I've been interested in these bullets. Out of curiosity, what is the purpose of the nickel plating on them? Its on the outside of the jacket so it wouldn't have to do with the bonding process, I'd think.

 

[mthillrunner]

I’ve shot them out of my 270 for years, no problems at all & gun still quite accurate.

 

[mtmuley]

I haven't loaded or even bought any yet, but I've been interested in these bullets. Out of curiosity, what is the purpose of the nickel plating on them? Its on the outside of the jacket so it wouldn't have to do with the bonding process, I'd think.

Bet the plating just makes em look cool. mtmuley

 

[Brian in Montana]

I went ahead and grabbed some today at Bob Wards. 7mm 140 grain. I've been meaning to experiment a little more with my 7-08.

 

[cahunter805]

Don't worry about the plating. It's very thin and won't harm anything. I'd be more inclined to see how well the rifles group with them before making any other changes.

 

[OhHeyThereBen]

Bet the plating just makes em look cool. mtmuley

^Yep. Worked.

 

[antelopedundee]

Bet the plating just makes em look cool. mtmuley

If you use more than one rifle on a hunting trip, it makes it easier to know which ammo goes with which rifle. If I end up using my new 6.5-06 I'll load my hunting rounds in nickel plated cases.

 

[beagle001]

I've shot a couple deer with the that same load and it puts a wallop on them. Shoot really well out of my Tikka

 

[cahunter805]

If you use more than one rifle on a hunting trip, it makes it easier to know which ammo goes with which rifle. If I end up using my new 6.5-06 I'll load my hunting rounds in nickel plated cases.

So does separate ammo boxes with a label on them. I'm not a fan of nickel plated cases at all. They seem to be damaged once plated and don't hold up well to very many firings.

 

[shaffe48]

I don't know about the fouling. I've had the .30 Cal bullets over factory loads in two different guns and they have been at least as accurate as anything inside an inch in both guns. Shot a black bear clean through with a good exit wound. Of course I would expect as such from most 180 gr .308 not hitting any bones as I did. But I've read stuff online showing good expansion with the ones they recovered.

Not the only bullet, but clearly not a bad one.

 

[antelopedundee]

So does separate ammo boxes with a label on them. I'm not a fan of nickel plated cases at all. They seem to be damaged once plated and don't hold up well to very many firings.

When the best way to make 6.5-06 ammo is from .25-06 cases and you take one of each on a hunting trip, it's good insurance against mix-up. I've got some range pickup nickel plated that I'll use for my 6.5-06 hunting loads once I get a load worked up. A box of 20 will last a LONG time.

 

[Brian in Montana]

They don't really look all that cool after they're loaded.

 

[shaffe48]

The Lone Ranger didn't shoot silver bullets to look cool. He shot them because of their mystical properties.

 

[Brian in Montana]

Yeah, there's that, and I guess you never know when you might run into a werewolf.

I loaded these up with H4895. It might be a couple weeks before I can get out to the range again, but I'll let you guys know how they shoot.

 

[shaffe48]

We have team werewolf going on here with silver bullets in tow. I will practice on bears until the werewolf arrive.