Nah, was wanting to use it in the 300NMI that I'm about to have in hand. I have H1000 for the 30-28 and my regular 300NM.
Kept reading how consistent it is on your builds but then Alex comes in and says H1000 is his preferred. Now RL50!
300 Norma Improved
- Thread starter rpierce
- Start date
Nah, was wanting to use it in the 300NMI that I'm about to have in hand. I have H1000 for the 30-28 and my regular 300NM.
Kept reading how consistent it is on your builds but then Alex comes in and says H1000 is his preferred. Now RL50!
Well I tried some H50bmg powder and 230 bergers in my heavy test rifle. Did a ladder test and found two different nodes that were a grain wide and held under 2" vertical at 580 for that spread. Very wide powder nodes and stupid accurate. Heres two groups from the upper node I shot at 580 yds tonight in a 10mph wind with 98.2 gr of h50bmg. The one group had .394"/.064moa vertical. The second group had .523"/.086moa vertical. The 6 shots at 580 had a ES of 10 fps and average velocity of 3045 fps in the 30" barrel. With my elk hunt coming up I decided to throw that load in my carbon barrel to try out. Sent 3 rounds into .100"@100 and had a ES of 3 fps and SD of 1.6 fps Gonna do a small ladder test to make sure im in the middle of the node and then see how wide my seating depth window is. But Im definitely in the general vicinity of where it wants to be shot LOL. Ill stretch it out in a day or two. As a side note you will have to use a drop tube if your going to use Reloader 50 or H50bmg. Theres definite powder crunch with both. I had loaded some rounds up and let them set for a few days to see if the powder would push the bullet back out a hair. Didn't even move a half thou so Im good to go there.
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I decided to try some retumbo in my 26" proof carbon barrel. did a powder charge/ladder test at 580 yds using a 600yd fclass center. 4.5 gr spread in powder had 5" vertical. There was a couple nodes. Decided to try the one at 2945 fps. Loaded up 6 rounds and they had 1.4" vertical with a decent amount of mirage when i shot. 5 out of 6 had .9" vertical. The nice thing is even on the powder charge test the shots that weren't in the velocity node still landed in the same spot. retumbo definitely had a tighter vertical spread for that range of powders compared to some of the other powders Ive tested. Went and confirmed my 100 yd zero with a perfectly centered .113" group.
Well I did a seating depth window test yesterday morning at 580 yds for my retumbo load with 230 bergers. Used a 600 yd fclass center. All my testing is done off a modular evolution bipod and a armageddon gear game changer lite fill bag. I knew .020 off hammered so i decided to shoot .023 off first before the wind picked up. Shot .023 off and the group was 1.4". Went back into the shop and loaded 3 up at .020 off. First two shots went right into the group of .023 off. While letting the barrel cool for the 3rd shot the wind picked up a hair and sent the 3rd shot to the right a hair. Went back and loaded up .017 off. First shot hit the left side of the x ring. I aimed at the left side of the x ring for the next two shots and they landed into the main group. Total of 2.387" vertical for the combined 9 shots. Not bad for getting off the rifle every 3 shots. .017 off had 1.392" vertical, .020 off had .823" vertical and .023 off had 1.19" vertical. Being able to plot every shot with a Targetvision camera is priceless.
So I loaded some up at .020 off and took the rifle out this morning to 810 yds to confirm drops seeing as 580 was a hair high. First shot went a hair over the target and on the left side of it. Being able to watch the vapor trail allowed me to follow it all the way to the target and see where it missed. I came down .1 mil for the next shot and it hit the top left of the target. Came down another .1 mil and over to the right .2 mil. Next two shots went into the same splash on the steel plate and perfect up and down. 3rd shot went 2-3" low and right of the first two. Happy with the vertical and group. Reason it was originally high and off the 10"x14" plate is I was using a old box of 230 gr target hybrids and they had a printed G7 bc of .368. I plugged in their updated g7 bc of .385 and adjusted my velocity 15 fps in the kestral 5700 elite and she lined up perfect. Everythings ready for the upcoming elk hunt
So I loaded some up at .020 off and took the rifle out this morning to 810 yds to confirm drops seeing as 580 was a hair high. First shot went a hair over the target and on the left side of it. Being able to watch the vapor trail allowed me to follow it all the way to the target and see where it missed. I came down .1 mil for the next shot and it hit the top left of the target. Came down another .1 mil and over to the right .2 mil. Next two shots went into the same splash on the steel plate and perfect up and down. 3rd shot went 2-3" low and right of the first two. Happy with the vertical and group. Reason it was originally high and off the 10"x14" plate is I was using a old box of 230 gr target hybrids and they had a printed G7 bc of .368. I plugged in their updated g7 bc of .385 and adjusted my velocity 15 fps in the kestral 5700 elite and she lined up perfect. Everythings ready for the upcoming elk hunt
Well i had to shoot a few more rounds through the rifle @580 yds before the hunt. Shot one shot off the tripod and two off the bipod. 7mph wind. Group had .503"/.082 moa vertical. Group measured 1.757"/.289 moa. This retumbo load is stupid accurate. 100 yd groups are 1/8 moa or less with the last 3 shot. Great confidence booster before the hunt
muleystalker
Silver $$ Contributor
Nice shooting Ryan, what brand and model is that tripod?
Sorry for the delayed response. I got it from Two Vet Sporting Goods.
What an amazing experience my wife Jodi and I had with Carter Downing, Wes Silcox and everybody else at Wild Man Adventures Inc. The views and experience was incredible. Everybody in camp made us feel right at home. The horseback ride in was awesome. First morning and the first half hour of the hunt I passed a real nice 6x6 bull up at 625 yds broadside. Didn’t wanna end the hunt that quick. Saw a few bulls that morning and then it started raining and down pouring and sleeting. We got high enough to glass and figure out where they would be the next day. Next morning we decided to hike up this mountain and see if there was a nice bull with those cows we saw. We figured it was the same herd we saw the day before. After what seemed like hiking up Everest for this flat lander we made it to the top
. Wes let out a bugle and a bull answered right back 400-500 yds away. We got on top of the rise and settled into some trees. Jodi threw me the tripod and I got all set up. After Wes and the bull bugled back and forth for a minute we realized he was coming to take a look at who was bugling at him. I adjusted the scope for where we figured he would pop out, 350 yds. He snuck out of the trees at that spot, bugled and looked right at me. Seeing how wide and nice he was I instantly decided to pull the trigger. Click. Forgot to throw one in the chamber
. Fortunately, cause Wes realized he forgot to plug his ears when it went click. I jacked one into the chamber real quick and sent one right at the crease of the shoulder. I saw it hit perfect and him suck it up so I jacked another round in and sent one into the same spot before Wes could say send another. The 300 Norma improved and 230 Berger did its job. Two rounds weren't needed but I generally unload my gun on big game if they don't drop right away. He went behind the trees and started getting tipsy and then he started rolling. After a hike around and down to him we found him piled up in some trees. While on cloud nine we sat down on the side of the mountain and enjoyed a sandwich while taking in the views and what had just happened. We rolled him down the hill about 300 yds before we could get him rolled over for pictures and processing. The knife from Wayne Meligan/Pirate Forge worked like a champ. The whole experience on how I got the bull was amazing. Getting him off the mountain and to the horses was a bit of a chore but was just another great chapter on this hunt. After getting all that squared away I spent the rest of the week chasing beautiful cutthroat trout a few hundred yards from camp. Anybody looking to experience the backcountry in Wyoming, Idaho or Utah get ahold of Carter at Wild Man Adventures. Carter, Wes, Garrett, Wynn, Hardie, John, Dale and Mike were an awesome bunch of guys and made the trip incredible. Thanks again guys and cant wait to be on the mountain with you again. Im really proud of my wife. She's never done a hunt on horses before and only rode them a couple times in her life. She rode up and down the mountains, landed on her feet, hiked up the mountains, helped pack elk down the mountains, all without a single complaint. Shes a grinder and Im really glad I got to experience it all with her. Definitely very fortunate my wife enjoys doing the same things I do.
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Ryan,Well i had to shoot a few more rounds through the rifle @580 yds before the hunt. Shot one shot off the tripod and two off the bipod. 7mph wind. Group had .503"/.082 moa vertical. Group measured 1.757"/.289 moa. This retumbo load is stupid accurate. 100 yd groups are 1/8 moa or less with the last 3 shot. Great confidence booster before the hunt
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What stock is that on your 300 NM ?
Manners eh1 with their carbon fiber shell adjustable cheek piece. Its like 30oz with an adjustable cheek piece. Best long range hunting stock Ive seen and also the lightest.
To h
Thanks.
Thank you. Im really happy with it. The whole experience made it even better. It was a blast and Im glad that my wife and I got to experience it together. Now its her turn for a bull
Had my first opportunity to shoot past a mile. One of Ryan Pierce's 300 Norma Improved rifle builds. A mild load of N570 with 230 Berger's at 2980fps. 2203 yards 69.75 MOA up and 10-13.5-MOA wind. 3 shots in under .5 moa, 4 in .8 moa and 5 in 1.3 moa! The flyer was my first shot . The black X was the aimpoint, about 1/4 moa hole in the cliff face. Before heading out to Colorado it shot multiple 1/4 moa or better 3 shot groups at 917yds!
thats some awesome shooting.
Plus you'll be breathing smoke unless you can get above it! Been raining ash for months now where I live.
Ryan, are you selling the Kelbly atlas actions for the 300NMimp?
Yes. I have them instock. $1100 shipped. Comes w nitride, mechanical ejector, trigger hanger, dual pinned recoil lug, 20 moa rail w 2 anti shear pins and four 8-40 screws. pm me if you want one.
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