Frequently Asked Questions
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Please check out our frequently asked questions below. If you still have questions beyond what's explained below or information you may find in our loading procedures, please check our forum or email us with questions. We will be happy to help.
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Q: Why are the bullets you recommend in your Afterburner line so light? I'm worried about penetration on the larger game I plan to hunt.
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A: We've designed our Afterburner line for both deep penetration and high shock, two things normally difficult to accomplish at the same time. In relation to penetration, momentum and parasitic drag are the two prominent factors dictating depth of penetration with parasitic drag being far more significant. Momentum is mass multiplied by velocity, whereas energy is one half the mass multiplied by velocity squared. In summary, momentum calculations are far more sensitive to bullet weight than energy calculations, which favor velocity more. Parasitic drag is something very complex to model for a deforming bullet, but its effect closely relates to the temporary wound channel, which represents the total displacement of material from the bullet while it is traveling through the medium. The permanent wound channel, which represents the wound channel that has permanent damage after the bullet has run its course, such as the remaining hole size, tissue tears and ruptures, etc. is something else. More on that in a bit.
The front section of our Afterburner line is designed to shear off very quickly, retaining between 60-75% of the original weight with a flat front for a slightly larger than full diameter wadcutter profile. The petals will continue on and do their own damage as an ancillary benefit. Because the process of getting from ballistic shape to terminal shape is so rapid, the parasitic drag exerted on the bullet during this early stage transition, is much lower than that of a traditional expanding mushroom. This allows the bullet to retain more of its original velocity once it achieves its terminal shape.
Furthermore, a surface normal (90 degrees) to the direction of travel, which a wadcutter is, displaces material more quickly than a rounded front cross-section (mushroom). This higher displacement speed more effectively supersedes flesh's ability to elastically conform to the bullet as it passes by. Upon exceeding this elastic threshold, flesh will tear. In effect, this means the permanent wound channel for a wadcutter shape, as the bullet continues through its target, becomes a much larger percentage of the temporary wound channel, improving efficiency, and therefore effectiveness, greatly. The wadcutter profile itself imparts less parasitic drag than the larger, rounded mushroom, allowing it to retain even more original velocity as the bullet progresses.
This higher velocity during and after the first 12 inches, along with the wadcutter profile, are both critical in maintaining a large, effective, deep, permanent wound channel, especially on angled shots requiring long distances before reaching the vitals.
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Both the high muzzle velocity and superior ballistic coefficient of the Afterburner ensure impact velocities are the maximum possible, accentuating the terminal performance described above even more. We anticipate that our lighter Afterburner bullets may penetrate deeper with a more dramatic hydrodynamic shock effect than anything you're typically accustomed to shooting.
Q: The Afterburner bullets seem light for the recommended twist rates. Why?
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A: There are two things at play here. One is gyroscopic stability, and the second is terminal stability. Both are very important and needed in a hunting bullet for game. Gyroscopic stability (SG) refers to the stability during flight. This stability is easier to achieve than terminal stability, which is the bullet's ability to remain facing nose first and continue in a straight line after impact. All of our Afterburners are optimized for an SG of 1.5 or higher for the twists recommended to ensure proper terminal performance, and for our bullets with tips, we fully include the tip in the calculation. Because our Afterburners are proving to be some of the fastest opening tipped bullets which allows us to achieve hydrodynamic stability very early, we have dropped our minimum twist to achieve an SG of 1.3 or greater. Two twists are now listed for each bullet, optimum and minimum.
For a given caliber and barrel twist rate, bullet length and weight are the largest contributors in determining the SG of a bullet. The longer a bullet is for the same weight, the more twist it needs for stability. Since our bullets are solid copper with a lightweight tip, they are longer than most other bullets due to the increased length to weight ratio. That, coupled with the contoured design making them even longer than bullets with a similar material construction, adds to that effect. These are the reasons behind why faster twists are required for our Afterburner bullets versus like-weighted bullets from competitors.
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The good news here is that due to the extremely high ballistic coefficient, nothing is given up in the way of trajectory, quite the opposite. With higher BCs than most competitors' bullets weighing two to three weight classes heavier coupled with higher potential muzzle velocities due to lower bore friction and lighter weights, Afterburners will undoubtedly be the flattest shooting, best wind bucking bullets you've shot to date.
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Q: How fast can I push your bullets?
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A: The Afterburners, tested in 10% ballistic gel at impact speeds as high as 4100 fps, achieved outstanding results. On very large animals (> 1000 lbs) where heavy, immediate resistance is met, such as a near side knuckle joint hit, we'd limit the impact velocity to 3300 fps for this extreme condition.
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In relation to the Haymakers, we prefer to keep max impact velocities at or below 2400 fps, as they're designed to operate down into subsonic velocities.
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Q: What other bullet lines do you plan to have?
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A: For hunting, along with our Afterburner, we now have our Haymaker, a homogeneous, open tip, copper bullet. Haymakers are focused on cartridges that typically operate at muzzle velocities less than 2400 fps. We will continue our predominantly hunting focused approach as we progress, but we recently launched our solid target bullet line for both competition and for those looking for a lower cost option to the Afterburner when punching paper.
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Q: Why didn't you design your Afterburners for 100% weight retention?
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A: The answer to this can be an entire book, but in brevity, here it goes. The most efficient shape for a permanent wound channel is a wadcutter. A mushroom does not create that shape. The front of the Afterburner exists on the bullet for aerodynamic properties. It's purpose is served once the target is reached. At that point, it is better served by removing it rapidly from the rest of the bullet, so that the bullet can become the aforementioned wadcutter profile. As an ancillary benefit, the petals are of a size that they create secondary wound channels penetrating deeper than one would normally anticipate. The resulting shock and penetration imparted on the target with the shearing nose, wadcutter design is more effective than a full retention design.
Furthermore, designing a bullet to ensure 100% weight retention at higher velocities creates physical and metallurgical challenges detrimental to other aspects of the bullet's performance.
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Q: What is the minimum velocity the Afterburners will perform at?
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A: This is a bit of a floating answer as different calibers will exhibit their own behavior, but in general, we'd like to see a minimum of 1650 FPS for proper performance. This is not only in reference to expansion, but also in maintaining a straight path through the intended target and ensuring the petals shear off. We give a failing grade to a somewhat expanded bullet that hooks and veers around as it progresses forward with little to no stability or trauma. We know ours will still expand much lower than the recommended minimum velocity, but we expect high performance at all velocities considered. Below is a picture of the 153 grain, .308" caliber bullet fired into wet newsprint at 1644 fps. Total penetration was 13" for the base (dead straight) and 5" - 6" for the petals. All petals radiated away from center in a consistent pattern, signifying early separation when rotation was still high.
Q: What makes your bullets unique? Why should I try your bullets?
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A: The simple answer to the first part of the question is our patented geometry (PAT#: US 11,519,704) which reduces bore friction and fouling while significantly improving accuracy potential. Furthermore, it aids in consistency from rifle to rifle, a vital trait for those contemplating loading Apex Outdoors bullets in factory ammunition.
For the subjective second part of the question, at Apex Outdoors, we are hunters that seek the best all-around performance we can in all aspects, the bullet being one of those vital components. We've made a bullet in the Afterburner that we believe constitutes a "no compromises" approach to performance, ranking really high or the highest in every category a hunting bullet can be ranked in and weak, or even just average, in none. At the end of the day, our bullets are the ones WE want to hunt with.
Q: Do your bullets contain lead and can I use them in lead-free restricted areas?
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All of our bullets are 100% lead-free and may be used lawfully in the state of California.
