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  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by mustangfreek View Post
    Nice , what powders are you working with again, and what one next...

    Im following along as i just got some 77gr noslers to play with for my 18" RA mach barrel
    I tried Nosler's with Varget and gave up quickly with out posting the data. I can't seem to make Varget work in this rifle with any bullet brass combo i have tried.

    H4895 was a big hit right out of the gate so i am going to stick with it for a while. Maybe exclusively for the Nosler test.

    The book calls for TAC and RL-15

    Unfortunately i am unable to obtain those types of powder.....

  2. #17
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    So....

    I ended up finishing a box of WSR primers and tried a different batch. This new batch will be much better for testing as i have 1000 of them. I wanted to go up from 23.0 grains of H4895 but decided with a new lot of primers i better hold fast.

    The next round of Nosler's i will up the ante.

    This time i went out to the 200 yard range.

    Unfortunately it was a bit windy and the target may have been moving around a bit?



    I did not have to trim the Nosler brass after the first firing because it came extremely short. Doing case prep i sorted out the longest of the batch. Turns out there where 5 that where distinctly longer. They seemed run from 1.748-1.753. I loaded them and kept them separate. I think it is ironic and a coincidence but..... They where the 1st of the lot fired at the center of the target and posted by far the best group.

    The wind was calm at the time and then picked up for the rest of the groups. I found when i got down to the target stand to pull my targets, that the board the target is stapled to was moving back and forth. The wind seemed to be blowing from right to left. Unfortunately no excuses. And i am not sure the target moved enough to result in groups this bad. The Nosler book says the H4895 powder gets more accurate until right at the max 223 pressure.

    So far i have a good feeling using these components and will continue to test them. I really like the speed of the H4895 and the quality of the Nosler components.



    The 2nd group i only loaded 4 rounds into the mag on accident. I got distracted B.S.'ing. The 1st 3 shots where great! I took a 20 minute break to talk to the range officer, popped the mag out to see if i had loaded 5 and fired the shot.

    Huge flyer to the right. The wind had picked up and the rest of the target does not look that great at all. I wish i would have focused and got a few groups on paper before the wind came.

    More testing will see how this load works when going a bit faster and in hopefully calm conditions.

    I always shoot the center 1st. Then go clockwise from upper left around.

  3. #18
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    Anybody interested in the real reason a hand loaded bullet, case, powder & primer combination can be more accurate than factory ammo should watch part 7 of this series.

    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...BZi0vDCIcEPxUn

    Anybody interested in long range shooting should watch the entire series.

    This guy has devoted a large portion of his life to give this information to us. It is great.

    The long and the short of part 7 is barrel harmonics. It starts with the bullet leaving the barrel when the barrel is flat or on the center of its vibrational axis.

    This can be a faster load with some components and a slow load with other components. I have been doing a lot of reloading and a lot of shooting behind the scenes here.... I am learning that you just cant buy the internets forums favorite powder and load it up and shoot one hole groups. Results will vary in every rifle. The type of gas block you have or how tight or loose your barrel nut is torqued could change the dynamics of the entire rifle. Different chambers and different contour barrels will definitely change it.

    I have shot a bunch of Berger bullets with W748 and had STELLAR accuracy. The problem with my favorite target load is..... It passes my chronograph at 2400fps.

    Even with the Berger bullets excellent B.C. this speed won't get me to the 600 yard line on a cold day in the winter. I had no luck with accuracy with this same bullet/brass combo using IMR XBR 8208 and Varget.

    I will likely try H4895 with the Berger bullet/Norma brass combo.

    Problem is....

    The Berger manual calls max load at 22.9 grains for there unusually long high B.C. bullets. The Nosler bullet has a shorter length and a lower B.C. Their book calls max load (223 pressure) 23.5 grains.

    Sierra 77gr SMK max H4895 is 23.6 grains. Ironically the Sierra bullet has a little higher B.C. than the Nosler and is a tad bit longer.

    To throw a complete curve ball....

    Lyman makes a stellar AR15 reloading manual. This new manual covers all the favorite calibers found chambered to the AR platform including sub sonic loads for the 300 black out.

    They call for Remington brass and Rem 7.5 primers, SMK 77's and 24.5 grains of H4895.

    That is a large difference in max load.

    Trying to find the powder, primer, brass and bullet combo that gives you the accuracy AND velocity you require is a chore you must be willing to take on prior to committing to being a hand loader.

    I have loaded the Berger's up to max with W748. Accuracy is ok. I have not choreographed it yet, but can tell accuracy is fading from sub MOA. to MOA+

    I have also been loading the Hornady 75's with CFE 223 and W748. Both have great velocity. Especially the CFE 223. But accuracy is still a problem.

    If the new reloader learns anything from me i would hope it would be that.... You have to work up very slowly to find the accuracy node. Jumping up a grain is just to much. Next you will find that the brass you use is shot out prior to finding that perfect harmonic set up.

    From now on, instead of loading 25 bullets looking for five, 5 shot groups i will load 10 cartridges in increments of 2 tenths of a grain, looking for 2 5 shot groups.

    Nosler, Norma, Lapua and Hornady brass is expensive! The case mouth starts loosing its grip after 4+ firings and then the whole science project is off.

    Reloading is not cheaper or easier than buying factory ammo in bulk. Then there is the problem of finding components.

    I enjoy it though.
    Last edited by aklaunch; 9 May 2014 at 22:45.

  4. #19
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    tnoutdoors9 is another fellow who has very educational videos that are interesting and enjoyable to watch.

    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...ADF6F5E8BD7455

  5. #20
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    I so far have had stellar results from properly formed and guaged LC brass compared to a short brief experimentation of lapua brass, which for the price wasnt theilled about as i did not different for me in 223 and 308..

    Atleast from my gun and selection of components as i know every gun/setup is different.

  6. #21
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    I am going to be away from my testing center for the next couple of weeks.

    Before i left i did a quick rifle set up on one of my carbines.

    It has a 16 inch barrel with a Leupold VX-R Patrol 1.25 x 4 scope on it.

    I normally only shoot 5.56 mil type ammo through it. Normally for plinking i use M855 and for comps that have steel targets i use the XM193

    I ran 5 shots of each through the chronograph.

    XM193 averaged around 3042fps at 200 feet above sea level with the temp around 53 degrees Fahrenheit. The altimeter setting was 30.19

    This is federal ammo that is head-stamped LC 09. No NATO cross.

    I used a 50 yard zero

    Going back to my ballistic app it shows

    +1.3 @ 100yds.
    +0.0 @ 200yds.
    -3.0 @ 250yds.
    -7.9 @ 300yds.


    Not bad for point of aim point of impact. This ammo is not very accurate though.

    Same temps, pressure and altitude for the M855

    M855 averaged 2931fps

    +1.2 @ 100yds.
    -0.3 @ 200yds.
    -3.4 @ 250yds
    -8.3 @ 300yds.

    Both loads seem to need around 25 inches of hold over at 400 yards.

    I have a decent amount of both types of ammo, and plan on only shooting those two lots this year. I wanted to figure out how many clicks up or down i would need to go on my scope when i want to switch over.

    Turns out the M855 flew a couple of inches higher than the 55 grainers... (to my surprise)

    So the recipe is 2 clicks up when switching over to the 55 gr. FMJ's

    My scope has easy to read numbers. It works out to be: 0.9 for the 62's and 1.1 for the 55's.

    I printed that out on a label maker and attached the label to my butt stock incase i forget.

    The velocity spread on both the types of ammo was very minimal. Maybe 20-25fps variation max.

    Now i can drill holes in the center of 50 yard targets with both types of ammo with an easy to remember couple of clicks either way.

    IMO the rifle is now ready for what ever.

    I stress about these little things i guess....

  7. #22
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    Any more on this..

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