.204 Ruger 26gr varmint grenade rattle

[Wyo7200]

As I was seating the 26gr grenades, i wanted to hear if the powder could move inside the case. I picked it up and shook it and I heard a very loud rattle come from the case. Louder than powder should be. I wondered if I missed some stainless steel media pins, so I pulled the bullet off and nothing but powder came out. I dropped the bullet out of the collet and shook it. The core had fractured. I checked my box and 65% of them rattled. I think I'll swap to something in the 40gr ballistic tip range.

The internet returned a few old forum post that mentioned the rattle, but nothing substantial.

Anyone else have this issue with Barnes grenades rattling?

 

[gerry]

Can't imagine you would get any kind of accuracy out of bullets like that, good you caught it before shooting. I would imagine Barnes would want to know about it and make it right for you.

 

[Wyo7200]

My brother has been shooting them since '13 and this was the first account of rattling he's seen. Talked to Barnes this morning and they are sending some replacement boxes. Pretty good service. They informed me that I can still shoot the rattlers if I wanted and I'm pretty sure I shot a few rattlers before I really looked into it. At 100 yards, I don't think you can tell any difference. Still had good small groupings with 1-2 outside of the bunch. At 200, stretching moa with more flying 1-3" outside. At 300 it becomes evident with a 7" horizontal and 5" vertical flier spread. Certainly too wide for long distance prairie dog work.

I'll load a few and compare to non-rattlers to see if it is indeed the fractured cores.

 

[FOTIS]

I never had that problem Jeff. You got me thinking now!

 

[sask boy]

I have never used Barnes bullets & this is the first time I have heard anything negative . It sound like Barnes is stepping up to the plate regarding customer service and that is always a good thing .
I have only shot Sierra 39gr. Blitz Kings out of my CZ and they are extremely accurate.


Blessings,
Dan

 

[nvbroncrider]

Sounds like a bad lot. Good on Barnes for stepping up and making it right.

 

[DrMike]

I have used Barnes for quite a few years. I have always found them to be, as is true for most of the manufacturers of shooting components, first rate in their service. Glad to hear that they are making it right, which is what I would have expected.

 

[Wyo7200]

I wasn't too upset about the situation, just more curious if the frangible core is designed to be like that. Barnes was great. They set out to get me more boxes before I could finish my sentence.

Getting launched to 4350 fps in less than .886 milliseconds has to put a lot of stress on the components. I just got done sorting the box of 250 and out of combined ~400 bullets, I probably have ~80 that don't rattle. We'll see if they make it through seating process intact. If not, I'll have a lot of rounds designated for the closer p.dogs.

Hope I got my math right here- V*(12/twist)*60= rpm: with a muzzle velocity of 4350, These little 26gr's are spinning at 261,000 rpms, 4360 revolutions per second. The 32's coming out at 3970 fps spin at 238,200 rpms, 3970 per second. Devastating.

I'm not sure which one is the lot number, but the three boxes I have (2x 100 and 1 x 250) have

30090, 30090, 30094 (250)
6464849-2, 6464849-3, 6464849-1(250)

 

[Guy Miner]

Wow - I've never heard of the "rattlers" before. That's interesting.

I've run 32 & 40 gr bullets from my .204 Ruger. Both weights have been very accurate. The .204 is a scorcher for sure!

Guy

 

[Wyo7200]

I'm no Micheal Bay or George Lucas, but here is a short video to capture the sound of a fractured core. The case is empty.

https://youtu.be/rltjqgcTIWk

 

[gerry]

That definitely isn't a sound you would expect from a round. Good on Barnes for giving you some new bullets.

 

[Wyo7200]

I loaded another ten to see if the seating pressure from the press causes any fractures and all ten came out just fine. I'll load ten of the rattlers for a range test/comparison.

 

[gerry]

At the very least it will be an interesting experiment. I wonder what the results will end up being?

 

[sask boy]

Yes I am interested in what the range test will show in regard to accuracy.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention as it is something not many of us have ever seen.

Blessings,
Dan

 

[Wyo7200]

I dont think there could have been any better conditions to test these rattlers than this morning. Steady 10mph winds and gust up to 17 out at the range. Just like it is while vaccinating Prairie Dogs.

At 200 yards, I think there is evidence that the loose/fractured core starts to effect the bullet.

Here are the two groups, shot from the lead sled:

The rattlers group center was 1" left of the "ok" group. I'm happy with the 1" group at 200 yards.

This group was a sort of control group- 32gr Vmax, also at 200 yards.

Target on the left was with the magnetospeed attached.

The one on the right- minus that one in the orange... ... ... ~.75 group ctc group at 200? Sweet diggity dog!

 

[Wyo7200]

I like Barnes. They sent me several boxes of their 32 grain varminators in exchange for the loose 26gr varmint grenades bullets. Pretty exceptional customer service!

 

[Dwh7271]

Wyo,
Formula I have is MV X 720 divided by twist = rpm

 

[FOTIS]

Jeff Where do you shoot?

 

[Wyo7200]

Dwh, I understand that the x 720 is the short version of the equation I snabbed from accurate shooter and they should give the same result rpm. I figured since I worked it into my excel calculators and don't need to do it in my head, I'd write out the long version just cause. Pretty cool to see just how fast these things are spinning!

Fotis, I shoot out at Otto road. Wish Cheyenne would get a 1500 yard range!

 

[FOTIS]

Regulators ...OK