- Joined
- Jan 26, 2015
- Messages
- 1,553
First semi-custom, first premium barrel, first AI, so this is new territory for me. Rifle is trued and "printed" Remington 700 SA, 243 AI w/ 26" Rock creek 8tw, 5R cut barrel and Wyatt's extended box. Loading 43 gr RL-22 behind 105 AMAX (because I have some left over and want to use up). Using new Nosler brass. Getting a 10 shot average of 2936 fps. ES on first 5 was 58fps, and next five was 26fps. These are my first ten shots and I was wondering if the large ES is due to fire-forming or break-in? It seemed to get better as I shot. Data on this powder- bullet combo is wildly varying from source to source (some have max @42.5 gr and others as high as 46 gr for 243). No signs of pressure and shoulders are slightly rounder than Hornady American Whitetail factory ammo. Should I continue with this load or go up a bit? Will ES stabilize as barrel gets broken in? Or is this a fact of life whilst fire-forming? Could it Just be an erratic "node"? Again, all new territory for this shooter. Sorry for such a long post. Any insight/suggestions would be most appreciated.