Post by GLSHOOTER on Aug 30, 2014 14:55:47 GMT -8
I've had this barrel on a Savage action for quite some time but life kept me from the desert. It finally dropped below 110 and the monsoons had stopped so I headed to the desert. These were the first rounds put through the rifle. 260 Remington 24" 1:8 3P standard weight. Range was 100 yards.
I had a batch of 123 Nosler CC's and Hornady 123 AMAX bullets and decided to limit my self to two powders and two seating depths on each bullet. I also had some 140's that I wanted to try for a quick look.
Here are some results of my time in the dust. The barrel certainly performs well. I hadn't sat down at a bench for several months so this was enlightening. I also had forgotten what a 308 sized case feels like shooting from a bench. It makes my LBC's and 6.8's pale in compoarison. The good news is exactly zero bruising or soreness. I guess I haven't forgot how to handle a bit of push back yet.
First up was some of the AMAX. They did OK for not tuning much. Two different charge weights and seating depths. It likes running hot.
Moving on to the Nolsers with two differnt powders and two seating depths was intersting. They are frequently available cheap and have the same BC as the AMAX. They are also shaped a bit differently. I picked up 750 of them and I do like how they shoot in this one and the 264 LBC.
I shot two groups of the 140 Hornady BTHP's and had an average group size of right on 0.946. They were both vertical so the speed dragon wil ge tthe call on them next time. They loafed along at 2733 for the day.
I know this one will shoot now. If I take this one to a 1000 F-Class the Noslers will get some refinements. For a quick six hours in the heat I did learn a great deal. I now have fire formed 110 Lapua cases so now I can trun the necks for nice consistent release. I found that every charge fired showed nice round primers. Bolt lift was nice and easy and the chronorgaph numbers were nice and predictable. I still have room to work. I checked my velocites against the current Hodgdon data and found my 123's, compared to the 125 Nolsers, were considerably faster across the board with less powder and my 140's were loaded a bit over their recomendations but were once again faster.
I found that of all the loads that I shot with both 123's the rifle would consistently keep them in sub-MOA with most of them grouped in the 0.6 to 0.7 area. None too shabby. Certinaly adequate for a hunting load and almost good enough for way way out yonder. The 123's have a BC of 0.510 and the 140's run 0.580. The extra speed of the 123's cuts down on drop at 1000 by about 10" inches but looses the windage battle to the 140's by right on 6". I think I can add 1/4 on windage to handle that little problem for less recoil.
Just a quick peek at what I finally got to do. The next up will be my secret weapon for long range if all the nuumber crunching plays out. Stay tuned...
Greg
PS: I almost forgot. I want to thank my Range Master, Range Safety Officer and my spotter for their invaluable assitance. My experince was greatly enhanced thanks to their attention to detail and proper safety procedures.
I had a batch of 123 Nosler CC's and Hornady 123 AMAX bullets and decided to limit my self to two powders and two seating depths on each bullet. I also had some 140's that I wanted to try for a quick look.
Here are some results of my time in the dust. The barrel certainly performs well. I hadn't sat down at a bench for several months so this was enlightening. I also had forgotten what a 308 sized case feels like shooting from a bench. It makes my LBC's and 6.8's pale in compoarison. The good news is exactly zero bruising or soreness. I guess I haven't forgot how to handle a bit of push back yet.
First up was some of the AMAX. They did OK for not tuning much. Two different charge weights and seating depths. It likes running hot.
Moving on to the Nolsers with two differnt powders and two seating depths was intersting. They are frequently available cheap and have the same BC as the AMAX. They are also shaped a bit differently. I picked up 750 of them and I do like how they shoot in this one and the 264 LBC.
I shot two groups of the 140 Hornady BTHP's and had an average group size of right on 0.946. They were both vertical so the speed dragon wil ge tthe call on them next time. They loafed along at 2733 for the day.
I know this one will shoot now. If I take this one to a 1000 F-Class the Noslers will get some refinements. For a quick six hours in the heat I did learn a great deal. I now have fire formed 110 Lapua cases so now I can trun the necks for nice consistent release. I found that every charge fired showed nice round primers. Bolt lift was nice and easy and the chronorgaph numbers were nice and predictable. I still have room to work. I checked my velocites against the current Hodgdon data and found my 123's, compared to the 125 Nolsers, were considerably faster across the board with less powder and my 140's were loaded a bit over their recomendations but were once again faster.
I found that of all the loads that I shot with both 123's the rifle would consistently keep them in sub-MOA with most of them grouped in the 0.6 to 0.7 area. None too shabby. Certinaly adequate for a hunting load and almost good enough for way way out yonder. The 123's have a BC of 0.510 and the 140's run 0.580. The extra speed of the 123's cuts down on drop at 1000 by about 10" inches but looses the windage battle to the 140's by right on 6". I think I can add 1/4 on windage to handle that little problem for less recoil.
Just a quick peek at what I finally got to do. The next up will be my secret weapon for long range if all the nuumber crunching plays out. Stay tuned...
Greg
PS: I almost forgot. I want to thank my Range Master, Range Safety Officer and my spotter for their invaluable assitance. My experince was greatly enhanced thanks to their attention to detail and proper safety procedures.