Ultralight Ultralight Rifles

[Jimbee]

Hmm, is that with a 16"? I guess the barrel I was using wasn't broken in yet, but I'm holding off until I get the new hereinaz barrel, since I'm just wasting expensive components. I was aiming for below 1062 fps to be subsonic at 10 F

Yep, 16" BCA barrel. My barrel has less than 100rds so far. I'm near sea level.

 

[Thegman]

I shot 3.1 and down in .2 gr increments.
2.9 and above weren't reliably subsonic, but did seem to group okay. Probably good enough for close range rabbits or whatever

What bullets are you shooting? If you're specifically after subsonics, a somewhat heavier, crimped bullet might help (?). That should at least help keep pressure up and velocity down with the tiny amounts of powder in the case, as long as the longer bullet can be spun fast enough to be stable leaving at ~1,000 fps.

How does you BCA shoot in general with your normal loads?

 

[Jimbee]

What bullets are you shooting? If you're specifically after subsonics, a somewhat heavier, crimped bullet might help (?). That should at least help keep pressure up and velocity down with the tiny amounts of powder in the case, as long as the longer bullet can be spun fast enough to be stable leaving at ~1,000 fps.

How does you BCA shoot in general with your normal loads?

I'm currently using 46gr flat point. Going with a heavier bullet does make sense. I haven't shot it that much yet, but my normal 223 plinking reloads shoot surprisingly well in my opinion. Near or less than 1.5" at 100yds for 10 shots.

 

[Thegman]

I'm currently using 46gr flat point. Going with a heavier bullet does make sense. I haven't shot it that much yet, but my normal 223 plinking reloads shoot surprisingly well in my opinion. Near or less than 1.5" at 100yds for 10 shots.

Yeah, my 46 grain small game load with 4 grains of Trail Boss probably isn't subsonic (never checked) but isn't much if any louder than a 22 LR and shoots about 1/2" at 25 yards.

It might be worthwhile just increasing your charge in increments to see the effect on accuracy and see if you find something that shoots well. Seems like as you go up in charge, you'll usually find the best accuracy node somewhere. 1 grain difference in these loads can make a big difference in how they shoot.

Also, different powders seem to make a difference so I'll sometimes try several. I guess everything above applies to handloads in general.