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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Reloading
Savage 111 LRH 6.5-284 Loading Questions
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<blockquote data-quote="Nimrodmar10" data-source="post: 752788" data-attributes="member: 36369"><p><strong>Re: Savage 111 LRH 6.5-285 Loading Questions</strong></p><p></p><p>Thanks for all the good info so far guys. I'm soaking it all in.</p><p> </p><p>I decided to do a little accuracy testing between 51 and 53 grains of H4831SC. I loaded 3 shells with 51.0, 51.5, 52.0, 52.5 and 53 grains of H4831SC. I left the 140 VLD .040" off the lands and went to the range. I set up the chronograph about 10' from the barrel and used sand bags on a shooting bench. I had moved the scope back one notch on the picatinny so the first shots would be sighters. I had three rounds left from a box of HSM factory loads that I used to break in the barrel. They were loaded with the Berger 140 VLD Hunting bullet also, but were seated short to fit a short action magazine. Out of curriosity I shot them through the screens. The first two rounds both shot 2962 fps. I got the gun sighted close enough to shoot groups so I decided to save the last round for an autopsy.</p><p> </p><p>The results of the five group of three rounds ended up as follows:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>CHARGE ____VELOCITY____ GROUP SIZE</p><p> </p><p>51.0 grs.____ 2706 fps____ .580"</p><p>51.5 grs. ____2745 fps____ .720"</p><p>52.0 grs. ____2783 fps____ .898"</p><p>52.5 grs. ____2808 fps____ 1.110"</p><p>53.0 grs.____ 2838 fps____ 1.165"</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Not exactly the results I was hoping for. Looks like the rifle likes the 51 grains of H4831SC more than the hotter loads. The Berger reloading manual says that this load will produce 2753 fps with a 26" barrel and each 1" of barrel loss will reduce this by 32 fps. This puts my 24 inch barrel very close to expected velocities. I was really hoping for 3000 fps with the 53 grain load but that isn't happening, not with my reloads at least.</p><p> </p><p>I took the lone HSM 6.5-284 shell home and pulled the bullet to see what made it shoot 2962 fps, 124 fps faster than my highest reload. When I weighed the powder it contained exactly 53 grains of powder. The powder looked quite a bit like H4831SC but it wasn't. The grain size was a little smaller and it was a little darker. I went through the 15-20 different powders on my shelf and none of them matched. Anyone by chance know what powder HSM uses for this shell. I doubt they would tell me if I called, but I may give them a call anyway.</p><p> </p><p>I also wonder if the bullet being seated quite a bit deeper into the case might also contribute to the higher velocity? Maybe so. I've read that with the bullets seated longer, giving more useable powder capacity, you reduce the pressure of the load. Any thoughts or information on this?</p><p> </p><p>I think I'm going to go ahead and load 20 rounds with the 51 grain load just to give me something to hunt with. But at the same time I'm going to start testing some of the other powders such as Retumbo, Norma MRP or IMR7828SSC. If you've tried these powders I'd appreciate your thoughts. I think I'll also try some of the Sierra 142 gr. SMKs I have on hand.</p><p> </p><p>Off to the reloading store.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nimrodmar10, post: 752788, member: 36369"] [b]Re: Savage 111 LRH 6.5-285 Loading Questions[/b] Thanks for all the good info so far guys. I'm soaking it all in. I decided to do a little accuracy testing between 51 and 53 grains of H4831SC. I loaded 3 shells with 51.0, 51.5, 52.0, 52.5 and 53 grains of H4831SC. I left the 140 VLD .040" off the lands and went to the range. I set up the chronograph about 10' from the barrel and used sand bags on a shooting bench. I had moved the scope back one notch on the picatinny so the first shots would be sighters. I had three rounds left from a box of HSM factory loads that I used to break in the barrel. They were loaded with the Berger 140 VLD Hunting bullet also, but were seated short to fit a short action magazine. Out of curriosity I shot them through the screens. The first two rounds both shot 2962 fps. I got the gun sighted close enough to shoot groups so I decided to save the last round for an autopsy. The results of the five group of three rounds ended up as follows: CHARGE ____VELOCITY____ GROUP SIZE 51.0 grs.____ 2706 fps____ .580" 51.5 grs. ____2745 fps____ .720" 52.0 grs. ____2783 fps____ .898" 52.5 grs. ____2808 fps____ 1.110" 53.0 grs.____ 2838 fps____ 1.165" Not exactly the results I was hoping for. Looks like the rifle likes the 51 grains of H4831SC more than the hotter loads. The Berger reloading manual says that this load will produce 2753 fps with a 26" barrel and each 1" of barrel loss will reduce this by 32 fps. This puts my 24 inch barrel very close to expected velocities. I was really hoping for 3000 fps with the 53 grain load but that isn't happening, not with my reloads at least. I took the lone HSM 6.5-284 shell home and pulled the bullet to see what made it shoot 2962 fps, 124 fps faster than my highest reload. When I weighed the powder it contained exactly 53 grains of powder. The powder looked quite a bit like H4831SC but it wasn't. The grain size was a little smaller and it was a little darker. I went through the 15-20 different powders on my shelf and none of them matched. Anyone by chance know what powder HSM uses for this shell. I doubt they would tell me if I called, but I may give them a call anyway. I also wonder if the bullet being seated quite a bit deeper into the case might also contribute to the higher velocity? Maybe so. I've read that with the bullets seated longer, giving more useable powder capacity, you reduce the pressure of the load. Any thoughts or information on this? I think I'm going to go ahead and load 20 rounds with the 51 grain load just to give me something to hunt with. But at the same time I'm going to start testing some of the other powders such as Retumbo, Norma MRP or IMR7828SSC. If you've tried these powders I'd appreciate your thoughts. I think I'll also try some of the Sierra 142 gr. SMKs I have on hand. Off to the reloading store. [/QUOTE]
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