Berger question

[NCBoy]

I recently had Kevin Rayhill build me a 7WSM on a Savage action. The gun shoots great but I have a question. I have shot Nosler Hunting Ballistic tips and Berger 140 VLDs out of the gun and they shot sub .5 MOA. The last group of Bergers shot one hole and was less than .3. My question is this. When I went to the 168 Bergers they did not group well. I used the same load as the other two. I used 68 grains of 4138SC and loaded them just off the lands (.005 off the lands). It shot well over 1 inch. Why would these be more difficult that the other loads. Thank you for your suggestions.

 

[brentc]

I recently had Kevin Rayhill build me a 7WSM on a Savage action. The gun shoots great but I have a question. I have shot Nosler Hunting Ballistic tips and Berger 140 VLDs out of the gun and they shot sub .5 MOA. The last group of Bergers shot one hole and was less than .3. My question is this. When I went to the 168 Bergers they did not group well. I used the same load as the other two. I used 68 grains of 4138SC and loaded them just off the lands (.005 off the lands). It shot well over 1 inch. Why would these be more difficult that the other loads. Thank you for your suggestions.

What do you mean by same load? Same powder charge?

You need to re-work every load to optimize performance, especially when you're making a change of 28 grains of bullet weight. If your load is optimized for a 140 grain bullet, it is most likely over pressure with a 168.

 

[jsthntn247]

68 grains of 4831 behind a 168 is 4 grains over book max. You might need to read a few more pages of that reloading manual before you hurt yourself.

 

[Mikecr]

Yeah you need to STOP and get some help

 

[bamadawg2009]

Im supprised you didnt have to beat the bolt open with a rubber mallet!!!!! What did the primer look like and how far down did the case split. I got a buddy that overcharged his 270wsm by 2grs and all of the above where side effects.

 

[NCBoy]

Please forgive me. I had a senior moment and typed wrong. The powder is H4831SC and the data I found said 63 to 67.3. I am so sorry about the mistake. I found it shot best with 140 at 68. The primers and cases are fine and they are not difficult to chamber before or after shooting. This is clearly my mistake and I appologize.

 

[jsthntn247]

Nc, what we are trying to tell you is that you can't use the same charge for the 168's as you did the 140's. 68 is 2 grains over max for the 140's which if you worked up to it it might not be too bad in your gun. 68 iis 6 grains over max for the 168's which ain't safe in any gun.

 

[frankidaho]

I also have a Savage 7mm wsm built by Kevin Rayhill that shoots awesome. 66g of Retumbo behind the 168g Berger VLD shoots 1/2 groups. You may want to try working up loads with other powders. Good Luck

 

[rick523]

What twist rate? That could be another issue.

 

[Joe King]

And try different seating depth. Just because 1 bullets shoots well at 1 distance off the lands doesn't mean any other bullet will. My personal experience has been that 0.020 off the lands is usually a good place to start. There really are no good shortcuts to working up a load.