Jacket thicknes?

[Utah Shooter]

So I have always thought that jacket thickness for Match projectiles is thicker than that of Varmint type projectiles.

In doing a bit of digging I am seeing (take Sierra) that the description of the Match projectiles say they use a thin jacket. I cannot find anywhere that says what the thickness is however.

Is there perhaps a rule of thumb on the matter or is it perhaps more what the lead is made out of and if it is bonded or not?

[MIBULLETS]

They are not always thicker, but they have to be consistant. I think it may be easier to make a more concentric jacket when it is thiner. I can tell you that Sierra's 22 jackets are a little bit thicker than J4s of the same length.

They, being Sierra and Hornady, usually use something slightly harder than pure lead in their match bullets. I think they add some anitmony to it. I think if you call Sierra, you need to talk to the "Bulletsmiths" though. They will give you some of those details.

They not bonded either.

[Longwood]

When I was seriously competing in long range pistol shooting with pistols chambered for rifle rounds, I finally broke down an purchased a Hornady neck turner tool.
My groups shrank by nearly half,,, more than I ever expected.

http://www.hornady.com/store/Neck-Turning-Tool-1-Each

There is another one out there made by Forster but I never tried one.

http://www.forsterproducts.com/catalog.asp?prodid=700252

[Wayne Smith]

Give the guys at Serria a call. I'm willing to bet they will tell you exactly the difference.

[Longwood]

I tried Sierra bullets in two 7mm pistols, and two thompson contender 30-30 barrels.
I could never get Varmint or target accuracy with any types I tried and went with Speer flat based in all of them.
Last year I must have tossed five hundred 7mm and 30 cal sierra bullets.
I shot Varmints in Sauer and Sako rifles in about five different calibers in the 60's and did not get good results with Sierra bullets, accuracy wise.

[Utah Shooter]

You are losing me Longwood. Not sure what that has to do with jacket thickness! Please explain to me what neck turning tools have to do with thickness of projectile jackets.

[GerryM]

Heres what you will find as to jacket thickness. Most jaackets today are tapered on the inside.
Sierra uses several different thickness of jacket materials.
some are .028 thick at the base others about .032 in 30 cal etc.
The basic thicness is at the base of the jacket. so it.0.28 thick there and tapering up to a thinner size like .012 or so at the mouth {IE}
It's very hard to measure unless you cut the jacket in half.
The jacket are gilding metal 95/5 C210 95 brass 5 % zinc

[Longwood]

You are losing me Longwood. Not sure what that has to do with jacket thickness! Please explain to me what neck turning tools have to do with thickness of projectile jackets.

Dyslexia or old age maybe,,, I read one thing but my brain was off somewhere else I guess.
I was thinking about even bullet to case tension.
What is it that you are looking for? Accuracy or bullet fragmenting?

[GerryM]

Getting into the tech part about jackets if you like.
A problem arrived on one particular caliber of match bullet with burger, Bullets were burning up before they hit the targets, That was a match jacket by burger. It was a 6 mm widcat with a 105 with an 8 twist. The solution was a thicker jacket,
Hunting bullets have different needs then match bullets so heres what little I know of each. Nosler makes a apartition bullet to control expansion the jacket has two cavities inside for penetration and expansion control sierra does thing a bit differently.
sierra will use not only a thicker jacket but a harder core to control expansion.
also the jacket materials may be harder They use several types of guilding metal for jackets. Barns made a bonded core hunting bullet that worked well. Sierra doesn't bond the cores. Remington use to make a core lock bullet to control expansion It was made upside down like a Full metal jacket bullet. Also a thin jacket was used on some bullets by makers for increased expansion. It all depends on application as discribed in some reloading manuals. Bascly you choose your bullet Brand and style for the type of game being hunted. Target bullets are an entirely different application,
From what I do see Sierra has the one of the most accurate of most brands for both hunting and target shooting. You can talk to a tech at Sierra and get any information you might need 0n what type bullet you might need for any application. They are really nice people to deal with. I hope this post helps you out and answers at least part of your question. happy shooting

[VIbullets]

most match bullets are made with 1% antimony/99% lead based cores, thicker jackets are used for varmint bullets and thinner for match bullets, its easier to get a more concentric jacket when its drawn down thinner, a more concentric jacket means that is is less likely to wobble in flight to to one side possably weighing more, for the average swager making bullets in his basement you will likely never see any benefits or disadvantages to concentric versus non-concentric or thick versus thin jacket designs.