Heavy and slow or light and fast? The projectile (and ammo) conundrum: Part one – Stability.

This is going to be one of those articles that needs a decent conundrum. Because I can already hear the masses of "but what about's" coming my way. These days we have a multitude of options when it comes to ammunition - projectile weight included. Is it a simple case of heavier is better? Well... maybe... maybe not.

What first got me seriously pondering this question was a setup session recently, with a couple of similar rifle that had the same issue. The heavier Hornady ammo the client was using, didn’t shoot as well as the lower weight Sako Ammo (Sierra projectiles).

Now, the easiest solution would be to just utilise the lighter weight projectile, nearly half the average group size, and be done. But my brain doesn’t work like that.

I wondered, firstly, why. The Hornady Precision Hunter is very good ammo and shoots consistently, and for that matter, so does the Sako GameHead Pro ammo. But with these two specific guns, on this day, the Sako came out better off.

The aim of this article is to address some of the reasons why, but also explore the ballistic differences the final choice would make for the shooter.


Hi there. Want to read the rest of the article?

Cool. This one is reserved for site supporters.

Related...

Over 15 years of writing and publishing content for you.

I've been passionately creating content on this site for over a decade, and I'm committed to keeping much of it freely accessible. However, like everything, running this website has costs. To help keep this valuable resource thriving, consider joining as a memeber. Thank you for being a part of this journey!