Boat tail slugs

[AirSupply]

With there better bc why don’t we see more boat tail slugs? Is it because they are harder to make. I know to swag them it is a 2 stage process does this make it to hard for the mass producers of slugs to bother? 


Are they more difficult to tune? I’ve seen a few shooters on the forum have had success with them. Please share your experience with them. I’m thinking of getting the extra dies Corbin have to make them. Is it worth it?
Thanks Michael

 

[mercado]

When they first came out..from Nielsen they go from 28g n up to 40g... he discontinued them because there were not to many guns with the power to push them...only airforce at that moment my condor is really accurate with boat tails 200y + .. now I imagine that the impact and maverick n the prophet high power. 22 could use them..

 

[ram2jeep]

I also think that boat tails are more difficult for magazines as their shape allows for more travel and thus they weren't loading properly. 
But with that said, there are a few aftermarket folks making inserts for the magazines to allow for the more narrow projectiles. I for one, have been shooting boat tails out of both the Impact MK2 and MK3 as well as the Maverick with excellent results.

 

[AirSupply]

In terms of weight I guess it’s harder to have enough bearing surface with some weight/lead needed for the tail As you say though there are guns that can push a 28-40g grain slug now

Maybe a hollow boat tail is the answer, Again would be more difficult to make but if you could get the weight down lower than 26g….

 

[AirSupply]

I hadn’t thought about the magazines. That’s a good point. Are you making your own boat tail slugs? If so are you casting or swagging and what weights? Thanks 

 

[triggertreat]

I have good luck with my cast 156gr boat tail slugs in .357 cal. I never could get the cast .25 cal boat tail slugs to work in my Marauder, even after removing the GM barrel choke. I sold that mold. I have heard that the HP versions work the best. My .357 has a HP but my .25 did not.

 

[LewisP12]

I tested Inferno 30 cal HP/RBT from 70 -90 gr and finally settled on 85 gr at 850 fps. My observation RBT don’t like to be shot fast, my 30 cal was running at 140 fpe.

 

[AirSupply]

Fantastic group Lewis. I’m going to try some lighter weight boat tails in .22. As soon as I work out how to make them. 

 

[dannya1a]

i cast a 39 gr boat tail using a noe mold in .25 cal. i then decided to deck the mold and lose the boat tail section as i wasn't getting the results i wanted.

the new decked version has been deadly. and is 34.2 gr.

 

[SDellinger]

In the powder burning world boat tail bullets and flat base bullets are pretty much the same until you get to extended ranges. At the reduced velocity and range if airguns does it make boat tails much better?

 

[mercado]

All boat tail used to be available with HP and those who still make them they make HP .. I have not seen them flat point when swaging.. only when casting I have seen them flat point..as for the contact surface they are better then the flat base because they drag only in the center..in a flat base you will drag almost 3/4 of the length of the slugs...my condor could not shoot flat base above 26g it was like putting a cork..but it works great with the boat tails...same happens with my taipan long..it could not shoot anything above 21g ...but shoot 28g boat tail great..

 

[CaptKeith]

DannyA1A, how did you modify your mold to remove the boattail?

 

[dannya1a]

DannyA1A, how did you modify your mold to remove the boattail?

I had a local machine shop mill down the top of my NOE mold. He did an awesome job on it and left just the slightest amount of the boat tail on the back side. 

 

[Guest]

The short answer is they require more spin to stabilize than regular slugs.

 

[SDellinger]

How much better is a boat tail slug than a flat base slug at sub sonic speeds shooting out to 200 yards?

 

[dannya1a]

In my experience my boat tails wont make it out to that range. Now my NOE .249-39-rf's can make that distance with ease.

 

[Guest]

If you can stabilize boat tails, they will have a much higher B.C. at subsonic. 

Bob of "Bob's Boat tails" has written a considerable amount about the benefits of a boat tail slug/bullet. A simple Google search will give you all your answers.