.223 groups 100 yards

[josebd]

69 bthp Sierra,reloader 15, br4 primer,lake city brass
Savage 7 twist
1.24.9
2. 25.1
3. 25.3
Next 3 groups with varget powder
4. 25.3
5. 25.5
6. 25.7


primers still looked good,i may go to 25.4 on rl15 and 25.8 on varget

 

[USMCDOC]

Group two.. that is the load to investigate further.. nice veritcle. What were the wind conditions?

 

[josebd]

5 mph,from 4-10 oclock

 

[USMCDOC]

what were you using as a holding point? what kind of scope.. free recoil or hard hold?

 

[USMCDOC]

go back to the range with the RL15, 25.0 25.1 25.2 and see what happens.. shoot it at 200 if you can

 

[josebd]

Scope is sightron s3 36x,hard hold,I'm .095 from lands,it's a 7 twist factory savage barrel

 

[josebd]

I can't reach any closer with that bullet

 

[josebd]

why group #2?

 

[USMCDOC]

why group #2?

Group two because of the vertical dispersion, that is why. Though the group may be affected by influences from wind or such, if all shots were conducted with with the same technique, then this load is working really well. Your best long distance accuracy is not from a tiny hole, but from the vertical dispersion that your load incurs. Getting the rest of it right is on you. But what i am getting at here is, the node, this is a good node on group two, so you want to look at next tenth above and below it, to see if it will tighten up. This is where i would start looking, but at a greater distance. Also, you can plainly see that Varget is not working with this rifle.. too much vertical. I went back and looked again at the groups. How was the pressure with 25.3 using the RL15? Might also try 25.4 if your still with no pressure signs. Primers still rounded, or are you already flattened out?

 

[josebd]

primers still rounded,no signs of pressure

 

[josebd]

your right on group #2,varget does seem to have alot of verticle

 

[USMCDOC]

My way of finding a load is taking a known working load, reduce it 15% and then slowly work up.. till i find pressure. One round at a time, in one tenth increments, watching for nodes and pressure. When i find pressure, i back off from there, in my experience in the past, a good working load is around 4 to 5 tenths below that first sign of pressure.

 

[josebd]

One load of each only,or load 3-5 and shoot only one round at a time for each load?

 

[USMCDOC]

One load of each, going up one tenth at a time, reasonable knowledge should give you a very good point to start at, if your a prudent person.

 

[Liven The Dream]

Test at 200 or 300 that is the point Boat Tail Bullets work at .
I like lowest SD when testing.

 

[USMCDOC]

Well yes, when your shooting groups.. but the way i see it.. first you have to find where the stop point is, then reduce and go from there. And i agree, that ES and SD help, esp at greater distance, but not only on the printout, but the prove in the pudding will indeed be on the paper. Taking into account a possible error in judging the wind drift and correcting for it, good loads hold excellent water line.

 

[Fotheringill]

I have a Savage with 7 twist 30" barrel and shoot the SMK 69 gr.

How hot was your barrel when you were shooting Varget>

I found 25.0 gr Varget best for my rifle.

 

[CharlieNC]

Thats an extremely narrow range to look at powder as an initial assessment. You will have nice nodes with much less powder too, and I suggest starting at 23 gr and work up in 0.2 increments to where you showed here. In this way the nodes will become more evident. I like two loads per charge for this first assessment. If you plan on shooting longer than 100yd, then test at as far as you feel confident with your ability and weather conditions. I like 200yd at my local range to get a more clear definition of nodes without interference from the severe mirage at 300yd.

 

[savagedasher]

3 things cause vertical

1 Bags rest stock Or shooter

2. Primers powder or loading practices

3 case capicity internally of the cases .
2 and 3 will show up when you have wide
E S . Normally you decrease vertical with bullet speed Good luck with finding what is causing it. Larry

 

[USMCDOC]

3 things cause vertical

1 Bags rest stock Or shooter

2. Primers powder or loading practices

3 case capicity internally of the cases .
2 and 3 will show up when you have wide
E S . Normally you decrease vertical with bullet speed Good luck with finding what is causing it. Larry

He is going to be doing some more tests at 200, so we shall see if there is some repetition to the load or if it is technique. Or loading.. but your right, it is going to be one of those or a combo there of.