Sellier & Bellot hunting ammo by Con Kapralos The.22-250 Remington loads were given a good test over the bench. Results were extremely satisfying. While not new to our shores, Sellier & Bellot ammunition has always been held in high regard when it comes to quality rifle and pistol ammunition. My introduction to the manufacturer was around 25 years ago, when I bought my first centrefire rifle, a sporterised Swedish Mauser M98 in 6.5x55mm. The only factory ammunition back then I could find were the Sellier & Bellot loads and these performed well for my needs during my early centrefire years. Fast forward to 2014, and Beretta Australia has begun importing the centrefire, rimfire and pistol ammunition manufactured by Sellier & Bellot. Admittedly, there are other smaller importers of this ammunition, but the partnership between the Czech ammunition producer and Beretta Australia will see the Sellier & Bellot range of ammunition be available much more readily throughout Australian firearm dealers and in a larger range of calibres too. Sellier & Bellot JSC has been a major player in the European ammunition arena since 1825, making it one of the oldest manufacturers globally. Its production currently involves ammunition for the military, commercial and recreational markets. For the recreational hunter or sporting shooter, top-quality shotgun, rifle and pistol ammunition continues to be produced with conformity to ISO 9001/2009 standards, ensuring effective quality management system is maintained. Such standards have been in place for 12 years, which ensures all manufacturing at Sellier & Bellot JSC adheres to the strictest quality principles and guidelines - a big win-win for users of their products. Sellier & Bellot currently manufactures rifle ammunition from.22 Hornet to 9.3x74Rmm, pistol ammunition from 6.35 Browning to.45 ACP, and rimfire ammunition in countless configurations. In 2009, one of the company s biggest milestones took place with the acquisition of Sellier & Bellot by the Brazilian giant, Companhia Brasileira de Cartuchos SA (CBC), also known globally as Magtech. Another group member is the German company MEN, a global leader in the production of small arms ammunition for military, law enforcement and commercial markets. With the backing of 70 Australian Hunter
these two global entities, the future of Sellier & Bellot JSC has been assured. Beretta Australia sent for review a sample of Sellier & Bellot s most popular centrefire loads in.223 Remington,.22-250 Remington and.243 Winchester calibres, as well as some standard- and high-velocity.22lr rimfire and.22 Flobert ammunition. The chosen centrefire calibres would have to rate among the most popular.22-calibre/6mm hunting loads in Australia today, being perfect for varmints and small- to medium-sized game. The humble.22lr rimfire needs no introduction to Australian shooters, being part of Australian hunting folklore. Both the centrefire and rimfire ammo provided for review would be tested at the range and in the field respectively. For me, it would be a personal reconnection with a brand discovered all those years ago and always held in high regard. Furthermore, what is very pleasing is that Beretta Australia is importing 12 handgun, 37 centrefire rifle and three rimfire loads, as well as small and large rifle primers for the reloading enthusiasts. This commitment by Beretta Australia will ensure that the Sellier & Bellot brand will be here for many years to come and win many new fans in the process..223 Remington What is immediately evident with the Sellier & Bellot.223 Remington loads is the size of the carton in which the 20-rounds come. Measuring 100x60x20mm, it certainly is very compact, which is a very big plus if you are a mobile hunter. Indeed, you could easily carry two packets in a coat or shirt pocket without it feeling bulky or awkward. The distinct green and yellow box states the projectile type (in this case, an SP or soft-point), the weight in grams and This fine eating springtime fallow doe was taken cleanly with a Sellier & Bellot 100- grain soft-point.243 projectile. The animal fell at the shot. grains, and the product number. The side flaps of the box also feature this information, as well as indicating that the load contains the 4.4mm small rifle boxer primer. This particular load contained a 55-grain (3.6g) projectile, which is the standard projectile weight usually found in most.223 Remington factory loads. Upon closely examining the loaded ammunition, I could see they were of very high quality, all very uniform in length, and the brass was very highly polished. This load would find great acceptance in the Australian market, as the presence of the.223 Remington in Australia is unsurpassed. For varmints and small game, it would be a great choice for a hunter wanting a reliable and accurate hunting load that is very well priced too..22-250 Remington Like its smaller.223 Remington stablemate, the.22-250 Remington load will find a very favourable response in the Australian market. This load accommodates a 55-grain (3.6g) softpoint boat-tail projectile, and contains the 5.3mm large rifle boxer primer. Quality of the finished product is once again superb, with beautifully polished completed rounds and excellent length uniformity. The use of the boat-tail projectile will ensure a very accurate load, which will be perfect for longer range sniping at pests and smaller game up to the size of smaller goats and pigs, as well as the usual suspects in feral cat, hare and fox. Packaging of the.22-250 Remington load is on par with the rest of the Sellier & Bellot centrefire range, with the distinct green and Australian Hunter 71 >
yellow box and product specifications on the front, sides and back..243 Winchester If the.223 Remington is unsurpassed in the Australian hunting arena, then the.243 Winchester would be one of the few calibres able to challenge this claim. The.243 would have to be one of the most versatile, with its greatest claim to fame being its low recoil and great ballistics. While the.243 loaded with lighter bullet weights in the 55- to 80-grain range may have some merits, the 100-grain projectile in the.243 Winchester is a cracking combination. To this end, Beretta Australia is importing the Sellier & Bellot.243 Winchester load with its 100-grain (6.5g) soft-point projectile. The loaded rounds were of very high quality and very uniform in length. This superb 6mm hunting load with the 100-grain slug will be very well received by countless fans of the.243 Winchester, and will be very potent for larger game such as goats, pigs and even some species of deer, but please ensure you adhere to your state or territory s regulations on calibre requirements. In my home state, fallow, rusa and red deer would easily be accounted for with the 100- grain load, and I have had prior experience and complete success with this in the past..22lr and Flobert The three different rimfire loads supplied for evaluation were going to be given a good test, by both an experienced shooter and a complete novice, with the latter having the first go with the.22lr HV HP (High Velocity Hollow Point),.22LR SB Standard and.22 Floberts. Sellier & Bellot s experience in producing centrefire The.22-250 load using 55-grain soft-point boat-tail projectiles are very well suited to longer range hunting of pest species and game. The distinct yellow and green packaging is consistent throughout the entire centrefire rifle range. and handgun ammunition is applied equally to the rimfire loads. The two.22 Long Rifle loads showed a high degree of finish and came in the standard 50 rounds per box. The HV HP load contains a 38-grain (2.45g) hollow-point projectile very well suited for small game such as rabbits and hares, whereas the SB Standard load contained the 40-grain (2.56g) solid projectile, which is suited more for range work The.22LR high-velocity hollow-point ammo would stack 10 shots into the bullseye all day at 50m. A very consistent load indeed. The.22-250 Remington loads with the 55-grain soft-point boat-tail projectile were simply brilliant through Con s hunting rifle. The 55-grain.223 Remington loads would be just the ticket for some longer range varmint shooting, as indicated by this five-shot group at 100m. 72 Australian Hunter
with rimfire handguns and rifles, but also adaptable for hunting in areas where a quieter load is required. The.22 Flobert ammunition is simply a great short-range plinking load, being fantastic for ranges up to 25m - and being lots of fun in the process! On the range and in the field The centrefire loads sent for evaluation were tested over the bench using my factory-manufactured hunting rifles. While die-hard hunters out there may use specially tuned rifles and custom handloads, the majority of hunting folk opt for factorymanufactured rifles and ammunition. Furthermore, I consider results from the bench and field far more important than other ballistic tangibles such as bullet velocity, as the proof is always on the paper target or in the projectile s performance on the targeted game. For users of factory ammunition who wish to know how fast a particular projectile in a given load is travelling and its ballistics, either the packaging supplied or the manufacturer s website will provide all this information. Sellier & Bellot s excellent website contain all the relevant technical information for its products that the sporting shooter should ever require. The.223 Remington loads were tested with several five-shot groups fired at 100m. I personally like to shoot five-shot groups when using.22 centrefires off the bench, as it gives a better indication of accuracy. The review ammo loaded with the 55-grain soft-point projectile showed excellent performance, with the three five-shot groups averaging between 25 and 30mm. I shot two targets of five-shot groups out at 200m and obtained some impressive results - groups in the order of 45 and 55mm respectively. The remaining ammunition was then used in the field for some testing and serious sniping at wily pest birds at distances around the 200m mark. With the correct amount of holdover (just a fraction), the troublesome birds didn t know what hit them. For sniping at pest species and vermin, these 55-grain loads would be ideal. The.22-250 Remington loads were subjected to an identical testing regimen, and results were impressive to say the least, with groups at 100m around the 25 to 30mm mark and at 200m around 55 to 60mm. I looked forward to field-testing this load at extended ranges of 250m or more. Finding a suitable group of rabbit warrens, a position was assumed 300m from it and with the bipod attached and a groundsheet laid, we waited patiently for the first bunnies to appear. Aiming a smidge over the rabbits, we managed to shoot six from six shots in the space of 30 minutes, showing the fine performance of the ammunition. These loads would be dynamite on shy foxes, wild dogs, hares and even goat and smaller pigs. All cases extracted flawlessly from the test rifle, and the primer strike showed no indication of excessive pressures, with the fired.223 Remington cases showing similar characteristics. I would highly recommend this particular load to any hunter looking for a reliable and hardhitting.22-250 Remington factory load. The.243 Winchester loads with the 100-grain projectile were rangetested on another occasion. While we had fine conditions and light winds during testing of the.22 centrefire loads, strong winds and rain greeted us at the range on this occasion. Shooting three-shot groups through my Sako 85, the loads showed acceptable accuracy of groups in > SSAA Insurance Brokers The Shooter's Broker Stand-alone firearms insurance You asked for it and we listened Thanks to Covertec, SSAA Insurance Brokers can now provide an insurance policy just for your firearm. Exclusive to SSAA members and features a low excess. To get instant cover, go to www.firearmsinsurance.com.au Covertec Pty Ltd (Covertec) ABN 94 151 402 925 AR 406235 is an Authorised Representative of Protecsure Pty Ltd (Protecsure) ABN 26 094 997 163 AFS Licence No. 238815. We act as an agent of Protecsure. Protecsure has a binding authority from the insurer, Chubb Insurance Company of Australia Ltd (Chubb) ABN 69 003 710 647 AFSL No. 239778 to provide this insurance and manage claims. You should consider the Financial Services Guide and Product Disclosure Statement before buying this product, available from SSAA Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd ABN 86 077 822 970 AFS Rep No. 315403 are Authorised Representatives of Westcourt General Insurance Brokers ABN 35 558 434 006 AFSL 238447 Australian Hunter 73
the order of 30 to 45mm at 100m, which was very pleasing despite the atrocious weather. I only managed to shoot one three-shot group at 200m (a long way to walk while it s raining!), which measured a tad more than 55mm. I am sure with calmer weather they would have shot much tighter groups, but when out in the field, we can t dictate the weather. The 100-grain.243 Winchester loads were to be put up against some springtime fallow deer and some late-afternoon stalking produced a couple of nice fallow does, all prime eating specimens. Taken at ranges of 85 and 120m, both animals fell at the shot. I mentioned previously that I have shot and seen other hunters use the 100-grain projectile in the.243 Winchester to great effect on all manner of game. This Sellier & Bellot load can confidently be used to take medium-sized game at close and extended ranges. It really was a super factory load. The range-testing ended with the.22lr and.22 Flobert ammunition. I never tire of shooting my old Marlin 925 in.22lr, and the Sellier & Bellot HVHP and SB Standards shot very well through the microgroove Marlin barrel at 50m. Putting 10-shots into a 40mm group was done with ease. Having said that, the Marlin has never been fussy when it comes to shooting and it groups anything particularly well. These two loads would be perfect for rabbits in the field and informal plinking at inanimate targets. Regarding plinking, the.22 Flobert loads were a hoot to shoot. The only minus was having to single load them directly into the chamber. We set up a series of mini clays at 25 paces and had a great time smashing them. I don t think these could be used on any pest species, but for plinking they are great - and you get 100 in a pack! Summary Australian hunters are very fortunate, being spoiled for choice when it comes to factory ammunition. While handloading has its merits (and validly so), many of us, myself included, opt for factory-manufactured ammunition to keep us shooting. This current range of Sellier & Bellot centrefire, rimfire and pistol ammunition, with the backing of importer Beretta Australia, is certain to appeal to many shooters and hunters alike. The extensive range on offer is sure to cater for everyone s varied taste and needs, and I am sure it will win many fans and rekindle old times alike. For more information on the Sellier & Bellot range of rifle and handgun ammunition, see your local gunshop or visit www.berettaaustralia.com.au. 74 Australian Hunter