My First Attempt At 6 mm PPC

[alinwa]

I have five different load data books and Varget is listed in most of them. The Hodgdon book also lists CFE 223 and several others. I use CFE223 for my AR 15 rifle with good results but it would not fill the case up like Varget. I have a large powder order coming in next week which will include N133. I'm sure others have tried Varget. Everyone tells me N133 is the go to powder.

OK Nick...... I'ma say this real careful......"That Gun Is Not Designed For Reloading Manuals"

Ain't NO MANUAL, No Where, No How gonna' go where that gun goes......

Varget is 'wayyy down the speedchart from the true PPC powders. You want to try an off-the-shelf powder try H322 (similar to VV130) and while it's not "PPC Specific" like 133 it's actually in the burn rate where you can make 'er BARK!

You've got a serious hotrod there....

 

[Nick Caprinolo]

I agree, there certainly are other powders that will work here. Part of the fun I get from shooting is to try new loads.

When I bought this rifle,. I was given a list of the powder and bullets that worked for the previous owner. We have established a really good relationship between us and I really trust his judgment. He recommended the VV 130 so before I do any experimentation, I believe it would be beneficial, to follow his recommendations and at least use that as a base, for comparison purposes.

It is my belief, that this rifle is capable of one hole groups no matter what powder you use. The only reason all my groups are a bit wide is me. I can almost guarantee, where each shot will hit the target, as soon as I pull the trigger.

Anyhow, at this point, I am having the most fun you can with your clothes on.

 

[Greyfox]

I agree, there certainly are other powders that will work here. Part of the fun I get from shooting is to try new loads.

When I bought this rifle,. I was given a list of the powder and bullets that worked for the previous owner. We have established a really good relationship between us and I really trust his judgment. He recommended the VV 130 so before I do any experimentation, I believe it would be beneficial, to follow his recommendations and at least use that as a base, for comparison purposes.

It is my belief, that this rifle is capable of one hole groups no matter what powder you use. The only reason all my groups are a bit wide is me. I can almost guarantee, where each shot will hit the target, as soon as I pull the trigger.

Anyhow, at this point, I am having the most fun you can with your clothes on.

Nick,
It's clear that you are having fun, which is what this is all about. Another thing that is clear is that there are several folks who are eager to help you in your accuracy quest. I'd like to think I am one of them. With that in mind please allow me to save you a lot of barrel life and time. Don't try and reinvent the wheel. While benchrest shooting is a pretty obscure pastime, there are literally hundreds of folks who either have or are currently playing this game. There may be some minor variations in bullets that work pretty well for most. But the overwhelming majority will tell you that you will get your best accuracy with a hand made 62-68 gr bullet from a boutique bullet maker. There are several and many of us will be happy to recommend our favorites should you ask. The other thing is powder. I'm sure that a few have had success with a number of different lesser used powders. In the past these have included H322, H4198, Benchmark, 8208 and a few more. Currently the field has narrowed to N133 and LT32. There is a reason for this.....they shoot. My personal favorite is LT32 for several reasons including consistency in a wide range of temperatures. N133 can be slightly better, but most would agree that it is harder to keep in tune. You would be mistaken in thinking that you can use any powder and get one hole groups. I wish it were that simple. It isn't. Long story already too long is don't waste your time, (and at 82 there probably isn't all that much of it) components and barrel life on the other stuff. I repeat, don't reinvent the wheel. Plenty of folks have already done the research. All you have to do is reap the rewards.

Rick

 

[Nick Caprinolo]

Nick,
It's clear that you are having fun, which is what this is all about. Another thing that is clear is that there are several folks who are eager to help you in your accuracy quest. I'd like to think I am one of them. With that in mind please allow me to save you a lot of barrel life and time. Don't try and reinvent the wheel. While benchrest shooting is a pretty obscure pastime, there are literally hundreds of folks who either have or are currently playing this game. There may be some minor variations in bullets that work pretty well for most. But the overwhelming majority will tell you that you will get your best accuracy with a hand made 62-68 gr bullet from a boutique bullet maker. There are several and many of us will be happy to recommend our favorites should you ask. The other thing is powder. I'm sure that a few have had success with a number of different lesser used powders. In the past these have included H322, H4198, Benchmark, 8208 and a few more. Currently the field has narrowed to N133 and LT32. There is a reason for this.....they shoot. My personal favorite is LT32 for several reasons including consistency in a wide range of temperatures. N133 can be slightly better, but most would agree that it is harder to keep in tune. You would be mistaken in thinking that you can use any powder and get one hole groups. I wish it were that simple. It isn't. Long story already too long is don't waste your time, (and at 82 there probably isn't all that much of it) components and barrel life on the other stuff. I repeat, don't reinvent the wheel. Plenty of folks have already done the research. All you have to do is reap the rewards.

Rick

Rick

I really appreciate your comments. I will be receiving the N133 next week and I have some of the boutique 65 grain bullets coming next week also along with 100 pieces of Lapua brass. I had always intended to use them from the start. I simply did not have any of the good stuff on hand and really wanted to shoot my new toy. I used up my last LT32 loading .223 ammo for my AR's. I got caught up in the AR fad several years ago and built a lot of them in my shop from scratch. I put a 24 inch bull barrel on one and it is a tack burner. Every once in a while I like to go to the range and just burn some ammo and AR's are the gun for that. Every few months my family gathers at the range all the way down to the great grandchildren and we just have a lot of fun.

Sorry that I digressed from the subject at hand, but we all own guns and like to get together for some family fun.

I have the specifications that the previous owner used relating to powder and bullets, for this rifle along with the dies. The seating die is made using the same reamer as the rifle was cut from and is a beauty. I will have everything together in another week and then the fun really begins. As far as I know the bullets come from Ron Hoehne.

Nick

 

[alinwa]

AFAIK Ron carries Bart's and Ulrich's bullets....... should be good stuff

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Where you gonna get n130?
Dont even waste time with anything but lt32 and n133. Once you shoot 50-60lbs of that then you may can branch out. Branching out right now is not learning anything its muddying the waters of info to process