6arc 103 ELD-X

[RussDXT]

Wondering what everyone is loading for this in a bolt gun?

I was thing of going .5 grns off hdy max loads but wasn’t sure.

I have Cfe 223, varget, and lever on hand.

 

[BLJ]

Friend loads 28.4 grains of Varget with 103 ELDX. 2659 from a 20” RA GEN 2.

Be advised that I don’t know if that’s alot or not.

 

[General RE LEE]

I got 2657 FPS out of my 22" Howa Mini with 27.2 grains of Varget. Its a very accurate load and easy on brass primer pockets.

 

[RussDXT]

I got 2657 FPS out of my 22" Howa Mini with 27.2 grains of Varget. Its a very accurate load and easy on brass primer pockets.

Did you run into issues with a higher charge?

 

[General RE LEE]

Did you run into issues with a higher charge?

28.4 grains was very accurate but hit pressure and was hard on brass. 27.5 wasn’t bad, 27.8 and 28.1 weren’t very accurate. 27.2 was the happy place for my barrel.

 

[WyOwen]

If you are hunting/ shooting in varying temps I would use varget. If you only use it in one temp bracket cfe & lever are both good options but definitely more sensitive to temp.

My howa mini carbon likes 29.3gr cfe223 with a 103. Velocity of 2660 below 40deg

My Seekins dmr 24” really likes 27.5 gr of varget with a 108 eldm for 2657fps

 

[General RE LEE]

If you are hunting/ shooting in varying temps I would use varget. If you only use it in one temp bracket cfe & lever are both good options but definitely more sensitive to temp.

My howa mini carbon likes 29.3gr cfe223 with a 103. Velocity of 2660 below 40deg

My Seekins dmr 24” really likes 27.5 gr of varget with a 108 eldm for 2657fps

I agree. I also think running Varget in 6 ARC produces more than adequate performance to take game. Sure other powders get higher velocities, but is the negative to positive ratio worth it in a hunting environment?

 

[NevadaMike]

I have a RA Gen 2 also. For the 103 I am using 26.5 of Varget. That is the starting load by the book and I am only getting a little over 2500 fps. I am using Starline brass and much more becomes compressed and my accuracy goes to hell.

 

[Gtscotty]

I know you're specifically asking about bolt guns, but I've had a lot of luck in ARs across several bullets in that general weight range with 29.1gr - 29.3gr of LVR. Specially with the 103gr ELDx in my 18" AR, my load is 29.3gr. Might be worth a try in your bolt gun as well.

 

[eric1115]

I'm getting 2550 with 28.0 Lever. Easy metering, way below max pressure, basically replicates factory match. Kids gun doesn't need every last fps I can get. 20" Howa mini.

I'm so far below pressure that I'm not worried about temp stability from a pressure standpoint, and that rifle gets shot 300 and in so velocity variation is a non issue as well.

I like lever and tac over Varget for this because I can throw charges and not have to mess with trickling/weighing. I'm planning on trying staball match to see if I can get best of both worlds. Loading a bunch rounds at a time for the kids to burn up makes the ball powders very appealing to me.

Edit: this is with a 108 ELDM, not the bullet you specifically asked about, but the thought process should apply to both.

 

[General RE LEE]

I'm getting 2550 with 28.0 Lever. Easy metering, way below max pressure, basically replicates factory match. Kids gun doesn't need every last fps I can get. 20" Howa mini.

I'm so far below pressure that I'm not worried about temp stability from a pressure standpoint, and that rifle gets shot 300 and in so velocity variation is a non issue as well.

I like lever and tac over Varget for this because I can throw charges and not have to mess with trickling/weighing. I'm planning on trying staball match to see if I can get best of both worlds. Loading a bunch rounds at a time for the kids to burn up makes the ball powders very appealing to me.

Edit: this is with a 108 ELDM, not the bullet you specifically asked about, but the thought process should apply to both.

I'm OCD with reloading and weigh each ball powder charge and trickle or remove a .10-.20 of a grain if needed.

I need to load up some rounds just dropping charges after the meter is set and see how it translates to accuracy. Sure would make reloading fast!