The launch of our homepage! The Hard-Hitting Shooting Lab. This page will be full of rifle bullet tests in the future! We want to welcome you to our page with the article of a really interesting product. Sako Oy’s brand new lead-free hunting bullet! The Sako Powerhead Blade!
At saturday we had a “Sako Shooting Day” at the Hard-Hitting Shooting Lab! Maybe we did a first ever Sako Powerhead Blade bullet test? In the Finland? In the world?
Before we go to the test results, we want to give our big thanks to Sako Oy, who handed these brand new Sako cartridges for us to test! Really great gesture for the enthusiasts, because there are a lot of people who are interested how this new lead-free hunting bullet will perform. It also shows their trust towards their own products when they give it to us to test!
I would like to say that it was really courageous act from them!
But, to the results!
Ladies & Gentleman! The Sako Powerhead Blade, 308win, with the 162gr bullet!
- The factory load! The first time ever I see a lead-free hunting bullet to open over 18mm width in 308win! The bullet opened all-the-way to the bottom of the expansion cavity with the impact speed of 792m/s. I would say, that this Sako Powerhead Blade 162gr bullet is optimized for the velocities of the 308win! Velocity of this factory cartridge is spot on for this bullet and that is great thing when thinking about the future users of this cartridge. Notice that the 30-06spr and 300wm cartridges they released together with this 308win version, have a different bullet, which probably is developed for the higher velocities!
- The reloading of the new bullet! I probably would not add much more velocity for this new Powerhead Blade 162gr bullet, because I think it is not planned for the higher velocities than the factory cartridge has. Of course, you seldom have a possibility to shoot a moose with your barrel touching the side of it, so you can adjust your desired impact speed for the specific distance by reloading.
- The specification of the cartridge promises the velocity of the bullet to be an 815m/s at the muzzle. We shot these tests with the Tikka T3x Tactical which have a 600mm barrel and the velocities were as promised. If the bullet leaves the barrel with the velocity of 815m/s the flying velocity of the bullet is about 646m/s at the distance of 225 meters. Expansion of the bullet at that distance is also very good.
- Test targets were wetted newspapers. The bullet with impact speed of 792m/s penetrated 46cm of wet newspapers and the bullet with impact speed of 646m/s penetrated 58cm. Considering the very good expansion of the bullet, these penetrations are also very good.
- The wound cavity. Sako has told on their marketing material, that they have developed this bullet to open fast and really reliable. That is also the reason, why they used a pure copper instead of a gilding or copper alloys on this bullet. The fast opening could also be seen on our test. The wound cavity and the bullet opened really fast and it was easy to see immediately after shot on the external surface of the newspaper pile. The cavity opened really quick from the surface to the width of 5cm. Then widening fast to 10cm width and even from there to 14cm width. After that the cavity started to reduce.
- Summa summarum. This is a lead-free hunting cartridge loaded with a bullet, that is made for this cartridge. You can expect really good performance!
Thrilled? – Yes, we are! Cannot wait the other Sako Blade bullets & cartridges to hit the shelves!
Looks very promising compared to other lead free bullets in 308. How hard is wetted newspapers compared to 10% gelatines that other bullets are tested with?
Hello Henrik!
Yes, Sako Powerhead Blade is really promising product! I really hope big time, that I will have possibility to test also the other new Sako Cartridges!
I’m sorry, I do not have experience about the 10% gelatine. If I remember right, Sako had tested this bullet with gelatine, and they told our results were quite comparable to their own tests.
– Hard-Hitting Shooting Lab
Teiän pitäisi tehdä vertailu testi tämän ja naturalikseen kanssa että millaiset lento radat on verrattuna toisiinsa samalla lähtö nopeudella ja että miten ne kummatkin aukeaa erilaisilla lähtö nopeuksilla niinkuin tässäkin testissä. Ni näkis kumpi on parempi jos on niin tietää mihin panostaa.
Ps, loistavaa työtä ja hyvin kirjoitetut jutut teillä.
Kiitokset Veli-Matti!
Internetin syövereistä löytyy paljon ballistiikkalaskureita, joiden avulla on helppo tutkia lentoradan eroja. Norman kotisivuilla oli hyvä, mutta hävisi päivityksen myötä. Mutta esimerkiksi Hornady Ballistic Calculator on myös toimiva. ( LINKKI )
Jos puhutaan 308win kaliiperista ja tehdaspatruunoista, niin lentoradan erohan tulee lähtönopeuksien erosta ja ballistisista kertoimista. Sako Bladesta meiltä löytyy jo mitattua lähtönopeus ja aukeamis dataa, mutta Lapuan 308win Naturalis -tehdaspatruunaa meillä ei ikävä kyllä ole ollut. Ilman muuta sen myös testaamme, mikäli mahdollisuus siihen aukenee.
Toki suuntaa-antavaa lähtökohtaa lentoradan vertailuun saa myös patruunoiden luvatuista lähtönopeuksista ja ballistisista kertoimista. Olemme kuitenkin sitä mieltä, että lähtönopeus kannattaa aina kuitenkin pyrkiä mittaamaan siihen tarkoitetuilla mittalaitteilla, koska siinä voi olla eroja luvattuun lähtönopeuteen verrattuna.
Valmistajan lupaamia tietoja
– 308win Lapua Naturalis, V0 = 800m/s, BC = 0,354
– 308win Sako Blade, V0 = 815m/s, BC = 0,375
– Hard-Hitting Shooting Lab
Suomessa normaalissa hirvenmetsästys tilanteessa on paljon enemmän merkitystä osunnalla kuin lentoradalla ,tokihan luodin on toimittava tarkoitetulla tavalla
Tämä on kyllä tarpeelinen sivusto
Nyt en oikein saa kiinni siitä mitä isokäki ajaa takaa? Osunnalla on enemmän merkitystä kuin lentoradalla? Jos nyt pikkasen pysähdyt miettimään, niin NIMENOMAAN lentoradalla on merkitys osuntaan. Mikä suorempi/laakeampi lentorata, sitä helpompi laskea korkoa. Mitä kaarevampi, sitä enemmän jotuu nostamaan. Oli miten oli, jokainen kuuluu tuntea oma kivääriä, optiikka ja käytössä oleva ampuma-tarvike, ja miten nämä pelaavat yhteen eri matkoilla, että voidaan puhua eettisestä metsästyksestä.