New Lehigh LP Bullets

[sabotloader]

Lehigh Dave has been trying to develop a higher BC bullet for muzzleloaders. There were some growing pains in the development. It took 3 different modifications of the tip design to get the product that he wanted.

The latest version is modification #3... It now has been tested by several different people and they have reported very good success with the bullet. The big thing was to get the same 'Terminal Performance' that the standard open hollow point provided. But the goal was to increase the BC of the bullet to offer longer range opportunities.

Lehigh Defense offers 3 different all copper ML hunting bullets.... a .451x230CF, .452x240CF, and a 452x265CF. All three of these bullets offer the opportunity to insert an Aluminum Pin in the nose of the hollow point. It is not the normal aluminum that we might think. It is a very hard aluminum, labeled 7075-T6.

These new ML bullets are not the first bullets Lehigh has produced using the Pins. The have been producing bullets for the .308 Blackouts for several years. Now he has used the same technology in these ML bullets.

This picture shows the bullets.

The tips do increase the BC of the bullets. Listed below is the normal HP BC and the BC with the pins inserted:

Lehigh 451x230CF-HP .160
Lehigh 451x237CF-LP .250

Lehigh 452x240CF-HP .180
Lehigh 452x247CF-LP .260

I personally have not harvested an animal with any of the Pinned bullets but I have done several range trips shooting ranges out to 250 yards. I can confirm the bullets accurate!

The gentleman and his son have sent pictures of their Harvests... along with written descriptions of the harvest.

My Grandson Shot this Mouflon at 267 yds. With the prototype .451, 237 gr. bullet that you sent: created extreme internal damage lending itself to tremendous terminal performance. It also passed through but with the aid of the fragmentation, the animal was disabled immediately and expired immediately after.

My Son Shot this Axis Buck at 363 yds. With the prototype .451 MZ bullet in his Smokeless Muzzleloader, with an average velocity in his rifle: 2963 fps. The spotter saw the deer bellied up immediately when it got shot: it too, passed through, but internal damage was massive.
Performed perfectly and to my utmost expectation.

This Doe Axis Deer was Shot at 173 yds. With a .451 prototype bullet. As you can see small entry but major internal damage occurred. Once again, terminal entry was maximized.

Grouse has confirmed several harvests with the 452x247CF-LP also. He was using a non-smokeless ML. I do not remember the ranges that he shot.

Myself, stuck here in Idaho - I get a chance at one deer a year - and in some years 2 so I have to wait until next hunting season to get the opportunity. Although I might get to use it on a few ground squirrels this spring. And since I can not use these during ML season - I plan to give them a workout during rifle season...

 

[jm1607]

Those are pretty awesome! I guess it's the answer to the polytips that weren't working out and not letting them expand?

I still wish he'd make one just a little heavier in the 285-315 range....

 

[jm1607]

Will these happen to fit in the Bloodline series?

 

[sabotloader]

Will these happen to fit in the Bloodline series?

I am not sure what you mean... The bullets are not brass as the Bloodlines are but are designed around the same operation principle. Both rely on the CF (Controlled Fracturing) operation as a key part of their 'Terminal Performance'.

The major difference with the new pinned bullets is to offer a higher BC. With the BC being lifted you can get the expected performance a longer ranges.

 

[jm1607]

I am not sure what you mean... The bullets are not brass as the Bloodlines are but are designed around the same operation principle. Both rely on the CF (Controlled Fracturing) operation as a key part of their 'Terminal Performance'.

The major difference with the new pinned bullets is to offer a higher BC. With the BC being lifted you can get the expected performance a longer ranges.

From what I understand the pins are separate from the bullets and can be added to them?

I guess what I'm asking is if you can add the pins to the Bloodlines so that you can run the heavier 300gr Bloodline with a pin.. That's really m y only complaint about the Bloodlines is the BC and I'd like to run something heavier than 265gr

 

[sabotloader]

From what I understand the pins are separate from the bullets and can be added to them?

Yes & no... you can get the bullets without the pins installed which would work great for 80% of the people ML hunting. Because the pins are pressed in - I do not think you and I could get them in correctly. Lehigh would install them if you ordered the 'pinned' version of the bullet.

I guess what I'm asking is if you can add the pins to the Bloodlines so that you can run the heavier 300gr Bloodline with a pin.. That's really m y only complaint about the Bloodlines is the BC and I'd like to run something heavier than 265gr

I do not think the Bloodline nose is not constructed to hold the pins correctly so I again do not think you and I could install them in that bullet. The 265 with the pin installed would weigh 272 gr. I know a lot of us would really like the heavier bullet for the energy that it carries and it would be less effected by 'mother nature'. The other thought is increasing velocity really can over-ride those two effects. Since, I am so dang old it is hard for me to give up on the heavier bullet. Lehigh Dave has tried to explain to me a more than once that the 265 will do everything the 300 will do...

I think I have finally gripped the realization of that. Here is my thought... The Bloodline and now the new copper CF bullets that Lehigh is making have 'great' Terminal Performance! The real basis of this terminal performance is the CF function (Controlled Fracturing) of the bullet and the shock that it creates. After that I depend on two other happenings.... 1. the sharp blunt nose of the bullet creating a large amount of 'Hydrostatic Shock' in the chest cavity. and 2. the core of the bullet continuing through the animal providing a blood letting hole on the off side of the animal. BUT - it really comes down to the CF function working! It is important we know at what range the bullet velocity slows down enough the CF will not function. The bullet in most cases will still prove to be fatal because of point 1 and 2 which will still occur but will take time to take it's toll.

This is a current ballistic sheet for a .452x265CF-HP bullet.

If you check the sheet you can see the 265 offers more than adequate energy @ 225 yards for the harvest of an elk, and it still traveling 1300+fps. I am not positive on this but I believe Lehigh Dave would indicate the CF function will occur in this bullet down to 1400 fps. With this number the bullet would be fully effective on elk to 175+ yards. I firmly believe the bullet 'CF' function will occur down to 1300fps. I am doing some testing now to establish this number.

With the tip installed in this bullet it should almost double the effective range of the bullet. This is all being tested now also and we will know much more later this spring.

Then there is also a possibility of Lehigh making a heavier bullet in the future...

Hope some of this makes sense to you... I really do not want to be out on the limb by myself!

mike

 

[jm1607]

Do you know if/when these will be available to buy?

 

[sabotloader]

Do you know if/when these will be available to buy?

I think at this point you might hold up until more testing is completed....

 

[jm1607]

I think at this point you might hold up until more testing is completed....

I think you're right.. But I'm tired of waiting

 

[jm1607]

Still hoping these hit the market at some point!