Over the last few years, I have used various NLA currently on the market in .243, 25-06 and .308.
I soon came to dislike this type of ammunition due to the fact that they remained intact on exiting the deer and the exit wounds were relatively small resulting in poor blood trails, and it soon became apparent the reaction to NLA is poor in relation to ordinary soft nose or ballistic tip bullets.
I have had the opportunity to try some prototype Virtus bullets in .308 140grain and 70 grain .243 through their development, and am now about to try the .243 80 grain when fallow come back into season. The first thing I liked as a re loader is that there are no grooves in the bullet, the bullets with the groves in caused accurate seating depth problems especially with an inline Wilson seater.
It was stipulated that the bullets had to be tested to SAAMI overall length and standard factory velocities, the 140grain .30 calibre amazed me shooting 4 and 5 shot one hole groups, the .243 70grain where fired in a 1-10 and 1-8 twist barrels the 1-10 grouped at SAMMI at three quarters of an inch and the 1-8 shot half inch, seating the bullets 5 thou more the 1-10 also shot half inch groups as well.
Over the course of the last season 138 fallow, also Muntjac and Roe, were taken with the local deer management group, but it was the result on Fallow I was concerned with having poor results with the other makes of bullets especially on the smaller calibres. The Virtus has 3 petals which partially break off giving a better wound channel and exit wound and this gives a good blood trail, also the risk of a complete bullet travelling on beyond the deer is greatly reduced.
The 70 grain .243 was more than man enough on the fallow and it is a bullet weight I have used for 38 years in ballistic tip; I think the 80 grain will fill the gap for those who are unsure of light bullets when they have to go to NLA.
Chris Howard
Over the past few months I have enjoyed assessing various prototypes in order to assist Virtus Precision’s development of an effective range of lead-free hunting bullets. Here are a few examples:
Testing of Non Lead Ammunition
I’ve been hunting with rifles since an early age, following the usual path of air rifle to .22 rimfire and shotguns to full bore. I have had a full military career as a Royal Marines officer therefore am experienced with a broad range of small arms. Hand-loading to achieve optimum performance has always interested me, I began this in 1975. Understanding ammunition is important and I believe that hunters owe such levels of care to their quarry.
The transition to non-lead ammunition is straightforward, in particular for those choosing the larger calibre established stalking rifles i.e. those allowing optimum flexibility in choice of ammunition. The .308 Winchester is a good example of such a rifle.
The challenge is to find a bullet that comes close to lead-based ammunition in efficacy. Virtus Precision has achieved this through meticulous attention to detail in the production of a range of excellent copper bullets. I have fired a variety of their prototypes into ballistics gel and analysed the results. This is not science, it is practical work by an experienced deer manager and enthusiastic rifleman aimed at honing skills and keeping abreast of emerging technology. This is in response to inevitable changes in legislation to protect the food chain and our natural environment.
In summary, current lead-free hunting bullets fall broadly into two categories, those that transfer their energy to quarry by fragmentation and those that deform to achieve the same effect. I have found that the latter perform well enough at closer ranges, say out to around 200m, but they underperform further out. As velocity drops so does bullet performance, this photo shows my results at velocities equivalent to ranges of 25m, 200m and 231m. My conclusion is that the bullet shown is less suitable for longer-range hunting.
Bullet Tip After impact
Lower velocity performance without causing excessive or premature fragmentation is important as is selection of the right bullet for a given quarry and hunting environment.
Longer range shots are best taken with a bullet that performs well at lower velocities. I have tested some of Virtus Precision’s bullets at almost sub-sonic speeds. The next photo shows fragmentation still taking place thus achieving effective energy transfer (the question marks are because I could not attribute fragments to specific bullet remnants but the point is illustrated!).
The various tests I have conducted have allowed me to cull deer with a clear conscience using Virtus Precision’s prototype bullets. I have shot both red and roe deer with lead-free ammunition and it is certainly the way ahead for very good reasons. I recommend that you try the Virtus Precision bullet that suits your purpose, they are accurate and effective and, significantly, made in the United Kingdom.
After impact Non Lead Ammunition
Working with the Virtus Precision Team we selected the Merlin as a good bullet choice due its suitability for head and neck shooting to ensure minimum carcass damage on Dorset roe and sika. Carcass damage was a major consideration but so to was the desire for a lead free bullet that didn’t have an increased ricochet hazard so the design of this bullet seemed to be what was needed.
Early load development was straightforward and basic accuracy was achieved quickly with no issues with pressure whilst achieving respectable speed without pushing it at this stage. Early testing also showed when shooting through water containers that whilst hitting with explosive power the round had good penetration but importantly shed weight to reduce the ricochet hazard. In fact the 150 gr projectile was found in the 7th water jug and doing only 2800 fps has lost nearly two thirds of its mass. The remaining element weighing only 66 gr.
Initial results on deer have demonstrated how suited this product is to head and neck shots with excellent expansion and significant exit wounds to ensure a swift and humane cull is achieved.
As a full time professional deer manager I need kit and equipment that will perform in the most extreme and demanding environments.
This goes for the ammunition I use as well. In my role I am required to use copper ammunition, and having used several leading brands I have found myself disappointed in performance or price.
My request to the guys at VIRTUS was simple; give me a copper round that is consistently accurate, has good stopping power, and will not break the bank.
Well they have done this and more! The VIRTUS Eagle has been outstanding, I got sub MOA groups straight out the box but the stopping power of this round is phenomenal!! This will easily be the best round on the market.
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