What did you do at the range today?

Wrench · 2026-06-01T13:13:05-0600

I ran my latest project through the shop....and the results were favorable. 22" 308win 175tmk @ 2750.

steelheadmike · 2026-06-01T14:47:49-0600

NorthIdahoDude said:
I tried SB6.5 briefly in my 7x57 a while back (just a hair more powder capacity as a 7mm-08 Ackley), and it was definitely VERY "glitchy". I got nowhere near the listed Hodgdon max loads or velocity before I was getting obvious pressure signs; case head swipe, sticky bolt lift. ES/SD were horrific as well (over 100 FPS spread), and I was using WLR Mag primers, so I don't think I was under-powered primer-wise, LOL. Maybe it works better in a Creedmoor or a 30-06, but I kind of gave up on it at that point and haven't messed with it since.

If you have't tried it already, you might try some Varget in your 7mm-08. I was pushing 140's around 2850 FPS at a grain under Hodgdon's listed max in my 22.4 inch Tikka, and it was the most accurate load I found for it back when I had that gun. I'd bet you could comfortably get a 150 up into the 2680 to 2700 range (Hodgdon and QuickLoad both agree), and would have quite a bit less temp sensitivity than you got there.

I haven’t tried Varget yet but have been tempted to give it a shot. I have a 19” barrel so I have been happy to trade a little bit of temp sensitivity for a good velocity bump, hence the SB6.5 and N550.

I did the temperature tests more to see what would happen in hotter conditions and make sure everything was gonna be good. I shot some near max loads using Superformance last year in hot conditions that resulted in super heavy bolt lift, solid ejector marks, and some fairly flat primers. Just trying to avoid that for the most part.

43.6N · 2026-06-01T19:56:57-0600

Today I made sure the video recording software and hardware (aka my phone leaning against a shooting bag and binos on the hood of my truck) was fully functional in preparation for the upcoming cold bore challenge.