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I not too long ago examined and hunted with a brand new copper-solid bullet from Lehigh Protection which may mix the most effective of each copper and lead-core bullets. It holds sufficient weight to penetrate deep into tissue, and it expands violently, inflicting numerous harm briefly order. Greatest in contrast to lead, you’ll be able to hunt with it wherever.
It’s known as the Tipped Xtreme Chaos. After I first heard about it, I puzzled the identical factor you in all probability are proper now. Precisely how rather more chaotic might ‘excessive chaos’ be? To seek out out, a number of different writers and I took the bullets to Gunsite after which on an African safari. Whereas my two journeys weren’t sufficient of a check to declare the Tipped Xtreme Chaos the most effective copper bullet ever, I used to be undoubtedly impressed.
What Makes the Xtreme Chaos Totally different
Like different copper solids, the Tipped Xtreme Chaos bullet will mushroom and peel again to a diameter of .40 inches from a beginning measurement of .30 caliber (this varies relying on caliber). Not like different most copper solids, the ogive of the bullet has been minimize to shed 4 copper petals into any water-based media it impacts—whether or not that be a grapefruit or a recreation animal’s chest cavity.
When the bullet hits comfortable tissue, hydraulic strain causes it to increase violently. The method is just like Lehigh’s Managed Chaos bullet, however there’s a distinction. The Xtreme Chaos is created from softer copper and is machined in such a approach that the shedding pedals will peel again and increase the tip of the bullet’s shank. This lets it mushroom like a conventional copper stable and depart a bigger exit gap for higher blood trails.
After the shot, you’re left with 5 wound channels as an alternative of only one, and a solid-copper shank heavy sufficient to interrupt bone ought to it must.
How We Examined the Xtreme Chaos
In fact, the bullet is model new, so our pattern measurement of check instances is small in comparison with older bullet designs with years of profitable real-world use. As I mentioned, I’m not able to name it the be-all-end-all copper stable. However what I noticed this bullet do in our exams and within the subject was fairly compelling. Right here’s a breakdown of how we examined the bullet and the way it did.
Xtreme Chaos Accuracy
First, about seven different shooters and I shot a whole lot of 175-grain Tipped Xtreme Chaos 308 rounds via a 16-inch-barreled Mossberg Patriot rifle at Gunsite. (As of this writing, Lehigh solely presents 115 and 155 grain 308 bullets and loaded ammo to the general public.) We have been impressed with how constant and correct the bullet was out to about 300 yards. Although the heavy bullets from a brief barrel dropped rapidly, we laid down sub-MOA teams and correct hits out to sensible searching distances on vital-zone-sized targets. In different phrases, it’s proper consistent with sort of precision you’d anticipate another trendy searching bullet.
Gel-Check Penetration Outcomes
Whereas at Gunsite, we shot the bullets into Clear Ballistics gelatin. These aware of this medium know that it isn’t water based mostly and won’t produce the identical outcomes as a bullet hitting comfortable tissue. To repair this, we positioned two inches of pork ribs in entrance of the gel, with the concept of letting the bullet increase on flesh and bone—because it’s designed to. The gelatin then captured that growth so we might see the way it works.
We shot via the pork and gel from 100 yards and noticed dependable growth and the shedding of 4 distinct petals. Give or take, the shank penetrated about 20 inches. The 4 pedals penetrated simply shy of 8 inches of gel and radiated about 3 inches out from the shank. The shank retained 120 grains of weight and expanded to .40 caliber. The pedals every weighed round 13.7 grains and measured .50 inches throughout.
Associated: We Put 5 High Massive-Sport Bullets to the Check
Looking With the Xtreme Chaos
There are few locations higher than Africa to see how a bullet actually works. Africa offers you quite a lot of recreation and shot alternatives in a short while. Nearly each hunter in our occasion used Tipped Xtreme Chaos bullets for animals starting from concerning the measurement of an elk to smaller than a pronghorn. With the character of our hunts, we shot from completely different distances and shot animals that have been standing in several positions. Most of our pictures have been from round 200 yards, with some underneath 100. Together with our personal impressions, we requested our PHs for his or her enter, as they get to see the consequences of many alternative bullet sorts and calibers season after season.
My PH, Hein Van Zyl, had a behavior of claiming “jeepers” each time he noticed one thing stunning or outstanding. Whereas observing the consequences of the Tipped Xtreme Chaos on recreation, he mentioned jeepers lots. The primary animal I shot was an impala at round 75 yards. It was going through me with a frontal shot, standing in skinny brush. On the shot, it ran about 20 yards and collapsed. The bullet entered via the chest and exited two-thirds of the best way down the physique via the again, and there was a large blood path.
What I discovered most spectacular concerning the Xtreme Chaos was the way it carried out on behind-the-shoulder pictures. A couple of different hunters and I hit animals behind the shoulder with out breaking any main bones. Not like some copper solids I’ve seen previously, the Tipped Xtreme Chaos nonetheless induced sufficient harm to rapidly and ethically kill the animal—lots like a lead bullet will.
Our PHs felt the identical approach. They have been all stunned on the heavy blood trails and brief monitoring classes for quite a lot of recreation, even once we hit animals a bit of too far again. This doesn’t imply you’ll be able to shoot an animal wherever with a Tipped Xtreme Chaos and it’ll die, nevertheless it appears to level to this bullet’s potential to behave extra like a lead-core projectile whereas nonetheless retaining sufficient mass to penetrate and break bone if wanted. When you’re on the fence about copper solids due to lackluster blood trails and wounded animals that run without end, I’d give the this bullet an opportunity. We recovered virtually each animal hit both on or simply behind the shoulder with out the necessity to name in a tracker.
Closing Ideas on the Xtreme Chaos
The one draw back I skilled with this model of the Xtreme Chaos was bullet weight and trajectory. We shot 175-grain projectiles with our 308s out of a 16-inch barrel, giving us extra drop than you’d get with lighter bullets at longer ranges. That mentioned, I don’t sometimes shoot previous 300 yards within the subject, and with in the present day’s bullet-drop compensating optics, you’ll be able to land heavy bullets farther than you’d suppose. Sooner or later, I’d wish to attempt the identical design in a lighter bullet, just like the 155-grain load.
In my view, the professionals actually outweighed any cons. The Tipped Xtreme Chaos hits like a freight prepare, dumping a large quantity of vitality upon influence, and it retains sufficient weight for dependable exit wounds. And whereas I’m undecided how a lot the increasing shank impacts blood trails, all the animals we shot put numerous blood on the bottom.
F&S Capturing Editor, Richard Mann, was additionally on the journey, and he summed up this bullet’s efficiency finest. “I have a look at the Xtreme Chaos as a mono-metal model of the Nosler Partition in how its designed to create a big preliminary wound channel whereas persevering with to penetrate,” he mentioned.
I’ve hunted with a number of copper solids previously, and from my expertise, that is the most effective one I’ve shot recreation with but. Having comparable efficiency to a lead bullet with out the downsides of lead could possibly be a game-changer.
