I think it is time for me to come out of the shadows. I received a new 24" 6X68 upper from Ritch/RPG on Monday morning, missed it Saturday
, he did a great job assembling it and and was very impressed with the engraving done by Kiz. I haven't uploaded the rifle pics yet so you will have to do with the little ones I can find.
There are some parallel shakedown testings being done across the country on this one and Ritch asked me to shoot the "heavies' as he and Kerry are shooting the light ones. Since I am shooting the F-Class stuff I wanted to try them anyway so I didn't argue too much. I selected my regular Hornady 87 grain HPBT for a test pill as I have shot it for going on three decades and know how well it can shoot...I thought!!
I had 86 pieces of brass that I had formed up and shot in the first barrel so decided that time was short and I wanted to get some results. It was 113 and 30 MPH winds on Monday PM so I figured that was not the day to shoot. I checked the lands measurement to see where I stood and found plenty of room if I seated to max magazine length. I picked IMR 8208 XBR, TAC and RL15 for my propellants. The 8208 is doing VERY well across the board in most of the calibers I shoot so I had it on hand. The TAC was leftover from a 20 Tactical stint a few years ago and the RL15 is my current powder of choice with this bullet in 6X45 at 500 yards.
I had life happen Monday also and I didn't get everything loaded I wanted. I shut the reloading room down at 2200 and called it a night about 1/3 of the way done. That being the case I was up at 0415 this AM and finished the loading. I mounted up my Leupold 24X scope and pulled my match lower off the 6X45.
On to the desert!! Only 85 degrees when I got out in the no mans land and it was 90 by the time I had everything set for the chronograph and the other needs. I cleaned the bore with a couple patches of Hoppes and started getting on paper. I started at 25 like usual and figured I was good to go.......WRONG!! At 100 yards I was apparently about 3 feet BELOW my aiming point. It took me a few rounds, eleven total, to get it where I wanted it.
First three shots for record using 8208 in the new 1:9 barrel:
Velocity was good at 2932 and a 0.354 was not bad even for this old man. Since I had fired 14 rounds I patched it out with some more Hoppes and let it cool a few. I must admit that I didn't do my regular break in today and I was shooting this gun HARD. It was hot to the touch just from the sun and if I'd have had some bacon I'd of made me a samich on that puppy as the morning progressed.
Ten minutes later back at it and I bumped the charge a tad. Made it up to 2992 and laid sown a 0.658 for my first go round on this one. I don't shoot like Ritch so you will have to get use to seeing ragged stuff from me. I'm also retired and can't afford to put pennies on my targets. I save mine for buying bags of hard candy down at the Ben Franklin.
Here you go on this one:
The next charge up laid down an eight shot group of 1.038 at 3041. Overall I am very pleased with the results with the 8208 and after examination of the cases figure I can go up a bit more. That will be a fun time and will hit that magic 3100 I want on this one.
Patched the bore out agaian as it had 27 more rounds down the tube. I'm fouling a pair of shots just like I would in a match after the cleaning as I never have liked going for the Gold with a perfectly cleaned bore. Just my experience over the years. YMMV
Next powder up the spout was the TAC stuff. It is good for light varmint stuff in the 20 calibers so I was interested to see how it would do on a game weight bullet. I decided at this point to shoot one five shot and one three shot group but I only had eight of each of the light charge weights so I was relegated to two three shot groups after the two cleaning foulers.
The TAC decided to come out and play today so here is what I manged to flinch out. I hope to get some instruction on down the road from Ritch or the local BR champion but I have to do with what I have now.
I worked hard on the first pass and this is what I came up with. Notice the velocity is 3000 and I liked that a lot!! Ritch says three shots test the load and five test the shooter. You decide.
I was starting to sweat now as it had hit 95 degrees and the sun was really getting warm. I gave it a few minutes and settled back down. I knew the first ones were good by looking through my spotting scope but I was not sure how good. The next eight shots were "interesting" for me and I hope they start to show what kind of tube Black Hole is turning out linked with Ritch's' brain child.
Velocity was coming up nicely to 3047 heading for that magic 3100. Of course so was the mirage but I didn't have time for that!!
Not a bad batch. The biggest TAC load showed a very interesting VERTICAL displacement at 3086 with a spread of 2.095 vertical and about 0.3 horizontal I shot a three shot group right after that that printed at 0.760 with two in one hole. Overlaid with the previous five it dropped right in the vertical pattern. This is usually a sign that the round wants to go faster and with absolutely no pressure signs I'm going to try that out!! I believe that 3100 is doable without a doubt with a bit more tipping of the jug.
Patched out again and let it "cool" ;D while I strolled down range to change targets. Ten minutes later and the barrel still sizzling I loaded up the RL15 goodies to give it a whirl. Getting hot undert he collar now at 100 and I have drank only about half a gallon of water. No shade and I am seeing Hula Girls under the saguaros.
I had great faith in this one as it is doing well for me in the 6X45 and I just seem to get good consistent results with it. That being said here are all of the record shots for the RL15. Velocity started at 2969 and stopped at 3066. Lowest charge was a pair of three shooters followed by three and five round groups for the other two loads. You be the judge on what you would do with this one.
I do believe the RL15 is a viable powder and the primers looked like they were just struck with the firing pin. Rounded edges and more case available. I'll be pushing the envelope on this one.
So, what did I learn?
The new reamer is producing great results. Miced specs are on the nose just like Ritch wanted. Pressures are lower across the board and I am not pushing primers like I was on the first tube. The barrel will shoot 'HOT" and I value that. This will be a viable mid-range F-Class round and may, with a Berger VLD, be a 1000 yard candidate. That intrigues me as the 243 LBC was going to be a candidate for that. Looks like there will be a fist fight in the safe when the lights go out!!
The Silver State brass is holding up and the primer pockets are tight. I have 400 more cases to process and will start on that soon. I am waiting for some of the Tactical Ammunition factory stuff to test and look forward to trying it out.
As you may know, I shoot a 6X45 a great deal and campaign it in IPSC 3 Gun with more than a bit of success along with the F-Class gig. I told Ritch that I felt he has just given the 6X45 a big brother and I do believe I understated it. After hearing how the other guys are doing with groups and stupendous velocities I am starting to think I only need one AR and this may well be the multi-purpose round.
I'll let you cogitate on this bit and I'll get some pics of the new rifle up tomorrow. Have a good night.
Greg
Oh, Oh, PS:: I almost forgot!! I had three extra rounds I had not fired in the TAC group. One of one charge weight and two of a half grain more. I figured I would see what they would do as the chronograph was printing the data and I thought I needed to have at least some "recreational/fun shots" for the day. I mean a guy has to blast a few, right?
So here you go. The last three shots fired today by yours truly in the middle of the Sonora Desert. What say you to this effort?