338 Lapua Magnum Loads and Bullets for a Savage 110 BA 1:9 Twist

[80Maro]

Thanks for the info. I would love to use the 300SMK's but i'm in Ontario, Canada and here you are not allowed to use a fully jacketed bullet for hunting, has to be a soft point so the SMK's are out unfortunatly for me. There is a gun show here on saturday so I'll see what I can find there. I would love to try the 285's just because the 300's shoot so well. I did try some 250GMK's early in my testing when I first got the rifle and was not impressed although with the barrel shot in a bit more now, I may give them another try. Has anyone tried the Hornady's in their 110BA?

Thanks,

[orch]

hey there

my 300gr SMK load is for my BA110

89.2gr Retumbo
cci lr magnum primer
lapua neck sized brass
OAL 3.714"
2780 fps

was shooting at 1030 yards the other day and put 3 in a nice 3.5" group

80Maro
the SMK is a hollow point boattail (legal in Manitoba) not a full metal jacket (not legal in Manitoba for biggame) so you should be good to go with the SMK's.... as NZsavage pointed out they have a long history of taking game at range.... and i hope to add to that history...
as for the Hornady 285's i just picked up a box but i am having a hard time finding any known load data to start with so i just started at my 300gr data and went up till i found pressure signs and backed off abit.....
i ended up at 91.4 gr retumbo oal 3.702" @ 2822fps
preliminary results are pending on accuracy.... i let some fly at 1030 yards and they seemed to be grouping tight but i was hitting on the ground beside the target so i am not sure what the group was....


Orch

[80Maro]

Thanks Orch! I've been scouring the internet and diggin up books trying to figure out in the regs where it says that you can not use a FMJ. I understand what you are saying about the HPBT though. I just got someone to pick up some Barnes LRX 265gn bullets for me. I should get them tomorrow or the next day. I'm not sure where i'm going to start for powder. I have some H1000 and 4831SC on hand so probably start with the 4831SC and see where that goes.

I just finished doing some testing at a meger 200yd playing with the OAL, figuered .030 was working best. With 275 rounds through the rifle, it seems as though the barrel is settling in now.

My load is:
300SMK's
H1000@91.0gn
Lapua Neck Sized brass (8 reloads so far)
2.716 trim legnth
CCI 250M Primer
3.706 COAL (.030 Jump)

Speeds were, 2820, 2823, 2803, 2820, 2793

[80Maro]

Orch, after re reading your post, I am surprised that both of our loads, although with different powders are shooting nearly the same speed. I know the low shot on that target of mine was the 2793FPS and the one right of center was pulled. Interesting anyway. Let me know how you make out with the 285's, i'd love to give those a try.

Must be nice to have a spot to shoot 1000+ yd's. Best I can do here is maybe 600 meters.

[orch]

hey there... yah my dad has a 1/2 section of pasture just behind his yardsite that i can shoot diagonally across from one small dam to another so i'm pretty lucky...just have to dodge the cows when they are grazing infront of the target ....
my cousin that i shoot with has a pile of feilds we can shoot long range on too once he gets the crop off... i live right around the red river escarpment so the land has a lot of rolling hills that make for good backstops... we have a couple places we could stretch it out to a mile plus too, just need to get practiced up before i give it a whirl...

yah i'm thinking the 110BA's sweetspot must be around that +/-2800 range with the 300smk...
how do you like the H1000, i find retumbo gives me sooty necks and i have just gotten used to the fact that i will never have a patch come out white ever again while cleaning....

let me know how the barnes bullets workout... i tried barnes bullets in my 308 and 22-250 8 years ago and had no luck getting them to group. If i recall correctly they were very touchy when it came to seating depth and liked a long jump to the lands.... however another guy i know uses them in his 340 wetherby or 338-378(cant remember which) and figures they are the cat's meaow....

[80Maro]

I tried those Barnes LRX 265gn today, pushed by 87-91gn of H1000. GARBAGE! Well it's the first shot at load development so what can a guy expect. I loaded 3 shots each increment and on my second shot of 91.0 the case got stuck in the chamber and had to be tapped out with a cleaning rod. I loaded them up with a .030 jump so I dont know.

I got a reply from Barnes on some load data. Maybe i'll pick up some more Retumbo and give that a try. I dug a couple bullets out of the dirt pile and the expansion was nice on them.

Living far away from a powder supplier sucks!

80Maro,

[orch]

hey there... sounds like my exprerience with them.... but don't get discouraged yet... i have heard a lot of guys talk about how they like a long jump to the lands... if i were you i would take the highest powder load that didnt show pressure signs from your preliminary loads then load up three rounds each starting at 0.040 to 0.080 from the lands in 0.010 incriments and see which seating depth gives you the best group, then play around with powder charges after you find the best seating depth...

you shouldn't have to worry about pressure getting too high as the further away from the lands you get your pressure should drop (along with your velocity)...
after you find your sweet spot then start pouring more powder to it and watch for your pressure signs again...
hopefully you will find something that works before you run out of bullets ...


orch