Brett Bracken
Well-Known Member
I have been working on developing a new load for my 300 WM using 220 gr ELD-X bullets and R-22 powder. According to the Hornady reloading manual the max load for that combination is 71.3 grs using Winchester Large magnum rifle primers. According to the manual this load should produce close to 2800 fps MV. I went through the whole OCW process and it just so happens that 71.3 grs produced the best results. Next I went through Berger's seating depth process and found that a .050" jump was the best. Finally, I took some test shots at 834 yds and according to my Kestrel I needed around 20 MOA of elevation (can't remember the exact number) which sounded reasonable to me since my Berger 210 VLD hunting load requires about 18.75 MOA elevation at that distance. So I dialed in 20 MOA "up" elevation and holy cow.....I was impacting close to 2 feet high. After shooting several rounds and making "down" adjustments accordingly, working the POI down, I was down to around 16.50 MOA elevation, if my memory serves me correctly. How could that be with a heavier bullet? I eventually ran out of loads with the Winchester primers and had to switch over to some that I had loaded with Federal Gold Medal magnum match primers.....same load though. Same results....shooting much higher than my Berger 210 gr VLD's which supposedly have a MV of 2904, according to my Kestrel. With the new loads my Kestrel was telling me that my MV was 3030 fps. That just didn't seem right so I checked the MV with my Magnetospeed chrono and got 2959, 2957 and 2958 fps (3 shots). I would have shot more but didn't have enough.
I guess my real question is....do those MV's seem possible with that heavy of a bullet out of a 300WM? Has anyone else noticed discrepancies between Kestrel MV's and chrono MV's i.e. the Kestrel MV's are higher than actual chrono MV's? And then my final question has to do with the FGMMM primers......has anyone else noticed elevated MV's using them verses the Winchester primers?
I would appreciate any input.
Brett
I guess my real question is....do those MV's seem possible with that heavy of a bullet out of a 300WM? Has anyone else noticed discrepancies between Kestrel MV's and chrono MV's i.e. the Kestrel MV's are higher than actual chrono MV's? And then my final question has to do with the FGMMM primers......has anyone else noticed elevated MV's using them verses the Winchester primers?
I would appreciate any input.
Brett