Painless load development (mine)

[Harvey_NW]

Thanks, I had adjusted my velocity in my calculator when my shots weren't lining up at 800 yards but then had someone suggest changing my bullet bc instead. Was not sure if it mattered or which was correct. I had originally dialed to 6.3 mils at 800 and had to back down to 5.7 mils. Which was about 120 fps velocity change in the calculator.

Something else to note that's bitten me in the past, when truing (or getting any ballistic solution for that matter) you have to input the line of sight range and shot angle into the calculator so it solves for time of flight, angle modified range is not accurate and the error gets amplified the farther and steeper the shot angle. Not unrealistic to have to adjust velocity a little bit but typically when all my inputs are spot on and I use the box BC and chrono velocity everything lines up damn close.

Also, known repeatable scope? Might be worth doing a tracking or tall target test to be sure there's no error there as well.

 

[lak2004]

Something else to note that's bitten me in the past, when truing (or getting any ballistic solution for that matter) you have to input the line of sight range and shot angle into the calculator so it solves for time of flight, angle modified range is not accurate and the error gets amplified the farther and steeper the shot angle. Not unrealistic to have to adjust velocity a little bit but typically when all my inputs are spot on and I use the box BC and chrono velocity everything lines up damn close.

Also, known repeatable scope? Might be worth doing a tracking or tall target test to be sure there's no error there as well.

Scope is the bushnell lrts, not sure it's gone through the drop test regimen but I'll do a ladder test on it.

 

[wind gypsy]

I've done tracking tests on a handful of LRTS/LRHS scopes from a fixture on a calibrated target. IIRC they were all within 1 click over 10 mils of elevation adjustment.

 

[WesternSlope]

When bumping my brass 0.003” I get inconsistent sizing. Some are bumped .002” and others .004”. Will this show up on the target or am I making a mountain out of a molehill?

 

[wind gypsy]

When bumping my brass 0.003” I get inconsistent sizing. Some are bumped .002” and others .004”. Will this show up on the target or am I making a mountain out of a molehill?

I wouldn’t worry about it, that’s normal. Its why trying to just bump 0.001” doesn’t work for me, some end up with resistance to close the bolt.

 

[Animalnoises67]

I love this thread!

 

[elkmaster]

For this gun I needed about 1-1.1 moa. Had this load shot over that I would have changed powder by 1 grain then reshot it. If it didn’t meet what I needed then I would ha e changed powder completely. Any load that needs to be tweaked with small powder weight changes, incremental seating depth changes, or only a certain primer, etc- that stuff doesn’t make a difference. It only seems to due to small sample sizes and if you tested the exact combo again, a different load/length/etc would come out on top. IF the load is that picky, it’s going to be finicky and you’ll be chasing your tail with it. Screw that




No doubt.

well said

 

[11Justin22]

So I jumped into reloading early this year. I had read this no nonsense idea of reloading and it made a ton is sense to me. My first load, literally ever reloading, for my tikka CTR was right at .7" for 10 shots. I worked with a few other rifles with excellent results. Literally every one just found Max pressure and backed off .5g loaded at mag length and they just shot...... UNTIL I got ahold of some Berger 144 lrht that I had been trying to find to shoot in my CTR for nrl Hunter. Bought 500 and started in. Started with h4350 found pressure backed off and shot



While not necessarily terrible I know the gun would shoot groups half that size. No problem I thought I've read what to do here I thought. Grabbed some rl16 I had and repeated.

That went the wrong way. At this point I was ready to just dump the rest of the Berger and just stop and go find some more of the original bullets (Berger 140, I had run out when I found the 144).... But my momma didn't raise a quitter . Grabbed some 6.5 staball and repeated...... .

That's better good enough for my intentions and would no doubt shoot better if shot off a bench like my other loads ( I was checking the initial groups here at the house and not at the range).

 

[Bluumoon]

Better to be lucky than good. Was worried that the 130gr TMKs I ordered wouldn’t shoot well. Rifle was previously zeroed. I loaded one round, fired just to check for pressure, then loaded 10 rounds. Repeat for 2nd powder.

 

[HighUintas]

Better to be lucky than good. Was worried that the 130gr TMKs I ordered wouldn’t shoot well. Rifle was previously zeroed. I loaded one round, fired just to check for pressure, then loaded 10 rounds. Repeat for 2nd powder.

Killer. Do you know velocity for those two loads?

 

[Bluumoon]

Killer. Do you know velocity for those two loads?

Guessing they are very close in velocity. Either faster or which lines up w quick drops better will be the deciding factor

 

[huntnful]

Better to be lucky than good. Was worried that the 130gr TMKs I ordered wouldn’t shoot well. Rifle was previously zeroed. I loaded one round, fired just to check for pressure, then loaded 10 rounds. Repeat for 2nd powder.

Now that's a beautiful sight!!

 

[Harvey_NW]

Another load done up in a total of 21 shots. Tikka 6.5 PRC - chamber cleaned up with AW2 reamer, throated for 143's, chopped to the flutes roughly 21" bbl.

Tested H1000 and N565 with new ADG brass. First time with N565 and load data is all over the place, started at 54 and ran all the way up to 59 with no pressure signs but hit 3k fps so it was spicy (11gr over published max.. wild. I consulted with a very experienced reloader who loves VV powders before doing this. Do your due diligence!). Initially looked like H1000 would be better but the last 2/10 blew up. First time shooting off the Spartan bipod and noticed they were tight on close, who knows. Either way, N565 for the win! Will make the adjustment and check zero tomorrow morning and take it out to 800 to true everything up.

 

[eyeguy]

My seekins likes v565 also behind the 156 berger eol. I am a bit over book max with no pressure signs. The 565 is great in the 6.5 prc

 

[nidahobrushswimmer]

This is now the 3rd rifle I have done this for. I bought a cheap Savage .243 to scratch the small caliber itch. Loaded in half grain increments until I hit pressure, and then dropped 2 grains. I’m not trying to squeeze everything out of this gun that I can, so I figured go easier on the brass. Loaded to book length and shot ten.
One to get on paper, and then a group of nine. More than good enough for a $400, 400 yd and in rifle in my eyes.

 

[Juan_ID]

After farting around with the 88 eld’s for longer than I care to admit I figured I’d try the 80s. Loaded a few at book max and shot them, no pressure so I decided to run with it. Loaded up a hundred and am excited to try this thing out on some critters this fall.
20” 22GT preferred prefit on tikka t3x action.
80 eld
Alpha brass
H4350
cci450
mv 3190fps

 

[waspocrew]

Great thread! I've probably wasted quite a bit of time and components making minuscule changes that more than likely didn't yield an appreciable result down range.

Trying this out with my 6.5 PRC. N565 and 143 norma bondstrike. VV's load data is definitely on the conservative side as max load (54.2 gr) was ~ 200 FPS slower than the Norma factory bondstrike ammo out of my rifle. Went up to 59 gr before noticing the slightest change in bolt lift and ejector mark. I have 10 rounds loaded at 58.5 gr to see how they group at 100. Velocity is about 50 fps faster than factory ammo. Assuming acceptable results, will load another 10 to true at distance.

 

[Stocky]

Great thread! I've probably wasted quite a bit of time and components making minuscule changes that more than likely didn't yield an appreciable result down range.

Trying this out with my 6.5 PRC. N565 and 143 norma bondstrike. VV's load data is definitely on the conservative side as max load (54.2 gr) was ~ 200 FPS slower than the Norma factory bondstrike ammo out of my rifle. Went up to 59 gr before noticing the slightest change in bolt lift and ejector mark. I have 10 rounds loaded at 58.5 gr to see how they group at 100. Velocity is about 50 fps faster than factory ammo. Assuming acceptable results, will load another 10 to true at distance.

How fast is the factory bondstrike in your rifle. Its been a very anemic load in the 2 rifles i have tried it in.

 

[waspocrew]

How fast is the factory bondstrike in your rifle. Its been a very anemic load in the 2 rifles i have tried it in.

2844 avg across a box of 20 in my Seekins Element with 21” barrel.

 

[Stocky]

2844 avg across a box of 20 in my Seekins Element with 21” barrel.

Thats much better! it was only doing 2730 in 2 different 24 inch Bergaras. Was only 40fps faster than the 6.5 creedmoor factory ammo. Shot great though.