Hi All,
Went to the range today to do some more testing with non-magnum primers as suggested from the first thread. I got to the gate and realized that I forgot to pack my chrony. Oh well, next time I will have velocities.
I loaded several different bullet types at various seating depths using IMR7828 and Federal 210 primers.
The results seemed to improve.
Kirby, I still have not received my new stock, and I just can't keep my fingers off this rifle so I just have to shoot it the way it is. That said, I still think this rifle shoots **** well, bedded or not.
First some pics of my dies. I use the Forester full length re-sizing die and Micrometer seating die as suggested by Kirby. They are the best value out there.
I use old cases to make overall length templates for setting up the micrometer die for different bullets. The Ogive is different for each bullet type. So once I find the best over all length for a bullet type, I make a dummy round that I use to set up my micrometer seater.
At first I tried to write down the measurement off the dial, but forget that. It's way too hard to read the dial.
Above is a pic of some loaded bullets with 140gr Accubonds. Currently my favorite bullet for this rifle.
All loads above were loaded with Federal 210 primers. The Lower Left group of .375 was IMR7828-69.5, 140 AB, 3.390=OAL. That group makes me very happy.
Target-2 shown above has a .43 group. Same loading as above but OAL=3.400. This also makes me happy.
Target-3 shows something interesting. I had some 140gr, Barnes XBT bullets. First shot was thru a just cleaned barrel, the other 2 shots were touching. In the next target I used a 145gr Swift A-frame bullet. I had the same situation but barrel was not cleaned and the first shot went in low and the next 2 were on top of each other. These bullets refused to shoot thru my old barrel, but show promise in this one. I will have to test more. The brass on that low one might have been at the end of its reloading life.
The image above shows the inside of my barrel. You can see a copper streak. The rest of the barrel is spotless, just this one stubborn streak is in the barrel (at least near the muzzle where I can see). Must be a slight groove or something. I have to use a Que tip with Barnes Copper Solvent to get this one spot out. Don't know what the rest of the barrel looks like inside, no bore scope.
When Kirby sent me the rifle, he shot one round thru it. It took me about an hour to get it clean. This streak was in there at that time. The rest of the barrel seems to be cleaning up easier each time I clean it, but this streak is bugging me. Is this normal or is this a nick in the barrel from cutting the rifleing. Any opinions?
All in all it doesn't seem to be affecting the accuracy as it seems to be shooting pretty well.
Well that's all for now. Next report will be after I receive the new stock for this rifle.
Take care,
Vic
Went to the range today to do some more testing with non-magnum primers as suggested from the first thread. I got to the gate and realized that I forgot to pack my chrony. Oh well, next time I will have velocities.
I loaded several different bullet types at various seating depths using IMR7828 and Federal 210 primers.
The results seemed to improve.
Kirby, I still have not received my new stock, and I just can't keep my fingers off this rifle so I just have to shoot it the way it is. That said, I still think this rifle shoots **** well, bedded or not.
First some pics of my dies. I use the Forester full length re-sizing die and Micrometer seating die as suggested by Kirby. They are the best value out there.
I use old cases to make overall length templates for setting up the micrometer die for different bullets. The Ogive is different for each bullet type. So once I find the best over all length for a bullet type, I make a dummy round that I use to set up my micrometer seater.
At first I tried to write down the measurement off the dial, but forget that. It's way too hard to read the dial.
Above is a pic of some loaded bullets with 140gr Accubonds. Currently my favorite bullet for this rifle.
All loads above were loaded with Federal 210 primers. The Lower Left group of .375 was IMR7828-69.5, 140 AB, 3.390=OAL. That group makes me very happy.
Target-2 shown above has a .43 group. Same loading as above but OAL=3.400. This also makes me happy.
Target-3 shows something interesting. I had some 140gr, Barnes XBT bullets. First shot was thru a just cleaned barrel, the other 2 shots were touching. In the next target I used a 145gr Swift A-frame bullet. I had the same situation but barrel was not cleaned and the first shot went in low and the next 2 were on top of each other. These bullets refused to shoot thru my old barrel, but show promise in this one. I will have to test more. The brass on that low one might have been at the end of its reloading life.
The image above shows the inside of my barrel. You can see a copper streak. The rest of the barrel is spotless, just this one stubborn streak is in the barrel (at least near the muzzle where I can see). Must be a slight groove or something. I have to use a Que tip with Barnes Copper Solvent to get this one spot out. Don't know what the rest of the barrel looks like inside, no bore scope.
When Kirby sent me the rifle, he shot one round thru it. It took me about an hour to get it clean. This streak was in there at that time. The rest of the barrel seems to be cleaning up easier each time I clean it, but this streak is bugging me. Is this normal or is this a nick in the barrel from cutting the rifleing. Any opinions?
All in all it doesn't seem to be affecting the accuracy as it seems to be shooting pretty well.
Well that's all for now. Next report will be after I receive the new stock for this rifle.
Take care,
Vic
