Range Report-RL17 in .308 Winny!

[liltank]

Liltank, I have only chronoed the load once and had a ES of 20fps over 10shots. I have several groups with .5-1" vertical spread at 400yards. I will do some serious testing either tomorrow or Sunday, or both.

What primer are you sparking it with?

Tank

 

[Oliveralan]

CCI-BR2s and Fed 210M still need to do more testing but I think the 210Ms are giving me a lower spread and surprisingly not flattening as much as the CCIs, neither are showering any real pressure signs but the Fed 210 looks even more normal, of that makes sense.

 

[trebark]

Beat me to it! i was going to wait till sunday so i can get one or two more range trips in before i make my stand.

I am shooting 208gr A-maxs with 48grs of RL17 in a 1-11tw 28" Hart on my .308win.

I am getting 2820fps and most of the seating depths ive tried produced just at .5 MOA, at 400yards! I have a 5shot group under 2" and a 3 shot 1.5" group on the same target.

I will probably test again tomorrow and do drop testing at a variety of ranges to confirm my results. I will then post about my results aswell.

Oliver

So far my drops have been consistent with 2830fps and also got that from a chronograph with witnesses. I was going to shoot a bit more before doing a full blown report. I think I will still post my finding Sunday because this is a combo that finaly makes the .308win viable for 1k deer.

Oliveralan...he speak the truth! It was my chronograph he shot over and I watched every single round fired and watched the read-out with almost disbelief. There were two other guys at the range that were balancing between smiling with anticipation of working up their own loads and crapping their pants. One other little fact....velocities were measured in 28-30 degree temps!

Further, It was my mild steel plate that those 208grain Amax's almost penetrated at 400 yards. Here's a pic of one of the groups. The ruler isn't quite oriented right in the pic. It's right at .5 moa

RL17 in the 308 is the shizzle!

 

[liltank]

It's right at .5 moa

RL17 in the 308 is the shizzle!

I'll say it again... that's just amazing. If I knew this, I would have stuck with the .308 and started playing with RL17 sooner and heavier bullets. Oh well, what are you going to do. RL17 is becoming scarce in my area.

Tank

 

[Stormrider]

I just ran this load on Quickload and it says the pressures are running a bit over 77000 psi...

 

[liltank]

I just ran this load on Quickload and it says the pressures are running a bit over 77000 psi...

I'm getting some cratering with my load of 46.5grns with the 175's. I am going to back it down .5grn for the summer. The 48.0grns with the 168 is good to go. Little to no signs of pressure.

Tank

 

[trebark]

I just ran this load on Quickload and it says the pressures are running a bit over 77000 psi...

what's the 'danger' point?

 

[Oliveralan]

what's the 'danger' point?

I believe this is pretty subjective. Chrome moly actions are harder than SS ones and they are definetely tested to well over 77k psi. I know several comercial short action cals that have an operating pressure of 65k psi so the action shouldn't have a problem with it.
I wasn't experiencing any hard bolt lift or any of those normal watch-out-for pressure signs. A little primer flattening but acceptable.

Everyone who has to do with an action gives it a different rating depending on lawyers and personal experience. A lot like loading manuals.

 

[Stormrider]

The max SAMMI pressure is 60191 psi for the 308Win.

 

[trebark]

The max SAMMI pressure is 60191 psi for the 308Win.

ok - so Oliveralan's load is waaaay over SAMMI spec. But I was there and none of his brass showed any pressure signs and his bolt opened as usual - never a sticky lift. So what's the danger of running such a high pressure load? (besides the obvious - the chamber might blow open).

 

[liltank]

ok - so Oliveralan's load is waaaay over SAMMI spec. But I was there and none of his brass showed any pressure signs and his bolt opened as usual - never a sticky lift. So what's the danger of running such a high pressure load? (besides the obvious - the chamber might blow open).

As far as I am concerned, as long as there are no obvious signs of dangerous pressure, the load should be safe. I probably will be corrected on this theory though. Everyone can use a little edge-uh-muh-kay-shun!!!

Tank

 

[Oliveralan]

As far as I am concerned, as long as there are no obvious signs of dangerous pressure, the load should be safe. I probably will be corrected on this theory though. Everyone can use a little edge-uh-muh-kay-shun!!!

Tank

exactly my point of view, but i think you can have dangerous pressure without obvious signs, also, how did they get the pressure without knowing what depth i seat by bullets at? i remember reading jammed into the lands gives around 80k psi, but mine arent jammed.

 

[liltank]

Another factor that I am seeing here in this discussion is twist rate. If the twist rate is less, then it is going to be less pressure than me who has a 1:10 twist. I bet if tested in a 1:12 we would even see less pressure and the usage of more powder safely. 1:11 does not seem a lot less, but it is still 1 inch less twist resulting in less material preventing the projectile from exiting. (Whooo, my brain hurts now.... somebody get a fire hose!!!!!)

Tank

 

[gunner45]

Interesting thread as I am just starting to play with RL17 too. In my 300RCM MOA handgun with a 15" barrel and 150 Hornadys, I am getting 2920 fps. And around 1/2 moa groups. Next to play with will be a short barreled 308. So far I really like this powder.

As to the pressure discussion, the 77k load will probably put a lot of wear and tear on your action sooner than the 60k loading. I feel sure the action won't blow up but will stretch and wear out sooner with the hotter load. I'll bet it's almost a proof load.