80 GR Bart Dominator
- Thread starter NCVarhtr
- Start date
WyleWD
Silver $$ Contributor
I've used them in 12 twist 6br's. I really like them for competition shooting. Relatively easy to tune and consistent quality from bullet to bullet. I've found N135, 4895, and 8208 all seem to do pretty well. Here's a link that should give you a great road map to follow for load development. http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/6-bra-12-twist-testing.3936321/ the fellow that did that work is one of the best. JME. WD
I've been shooting Barts 80s in a Grinch for about a year now. I like Benchmark, vv133, and vv135. I run them somewhere between touch and jam 5. I get my best results around 3300 fps. You won't be disappointed with them.
dirtworks5
Gold $$ Contributor
What jacket length is Bart using on this 80?
Thanks,
Vern
Thanks,
Vern
dirtworks5
Gold $$ Contributor
Thanks for the reply Bart. I will have to give them a try sometime soon.
Vern
Vern
In a straight 6 Grendel, 3,300fps has been easy and no brass problems. 3,400 with Benchmark was doable but hard on brass. 31.4gr of 8208XBR may well be close to 3,400. At my last test, i did not chrono it. It showed zero pressure signs in my rifle and shot great there.
I've spoken with him a bit too. As I recall, they were running at or near 3,300 and that 3,400 was too hard on brass. Also, that Bart has a Grinch and Billy has a Grendel, but both were getting same speeds.
Nevertheless, I'm reporting my own findings, not theirs. I chrono'd several loads in previous testing and found that in my rifle, I could get to 3,400 with Benchmark without having hard bolt lift on FF'd brass and I'm still using that same brass. I have switched bullets, for testing, and am shooting 8208xbr in this test. 31.4 shoots lights out and feels considerably better than the BM load. I have not chrono'd this load yet but will on a good day. I'm extrapolating velocity of approx 3,400 based on being the same charge as others have reported 3,250fps with, from a BRA, which of course is larger in capacity.
I've loaded the same pieces of brass several times..maybe 7-8, without any problems. These were the same cases that I shot 3,400 with the BM. Those were chrono'd and shot very very well. I only went away from BM when I changed bullets, as these seem to prefer the 8208 better.
If I can reach the 3,400fps node with a straight 6 Grendel, maybe there is something left with the BRA that just hasn't been tested yet.
All of the above is with 80fb gr bullets.
Jim,
Recently (by a happy coincidence) we found that with V133 we could run the Grinch case up to 3300 with the 80gr Dominators and not wreck the primer pockets. Accuracy there is phenomenal!
Bart
Hi James!
Did you run into pressure before finding the next node up? Logically, I'm thinking a BRA should be able to reach the next node, due to having more capacity than the Grendel that I'm working with.
I never pushed it much past the point where it shot good when you hit mid zero and lower groups, it seemed to be a good place to stop. I ordered some new barrels and will see if I can get it up a little more and shoot good...... Jim
I didn’t see a need to look any further. 3250 seems to be a really good node. I didn’t see anything at 3400 to make me want to keep pushing it on up for accuracy.
We have a BRA 12 twist so decided to test the 80BT Barts with the XBR8208 the barrel is a 22&1/2 inch Bartlein 104 free bore. started out with 33.0 went .3 up to 35.1 no pressure signs. 33.3 was 3163 and went up 35.1 was 3380,full case of powder. By the way it did shoot very well at that speed. I am sure the long barrels had a lot to do with the higher velocity reported before. If anyone tries these loads please start lower than I did and work your way up, my speeds were checked with a labradar
Interesting, Dean, thanks for the good information! That does seem to conflict with other reported data here, that shows 31.4 range of 8208 and an 80gr bullet giving approximately 3,250fps in a BRA...or maybe I misread something.
When I tested 31.4 of 8208 in a straight 6 Grendel, I could feel that it felt much softer than my chrono'd BM load at 3,400fps, and that pressures were noticeably less than with BM.
That's why I specifically said that my approx speeds were extrapolated from speeds of 3,250fps posted here of the same powder charge and bullet weight, but from a BRA vs in my straight 6 Grendel.
I seriously doubt I was getting 3,400fps from that charge, after reading this post and seeing and feeling the difference. Those things can fool you, but your numbers seem very realistic. I'm still using an old style chrony, so the last few days here have not been conducive to getting good results. Maybe the sun will shine in a few days.
What is your group sizes at 3400? Shooting very well doesn't mean to much if it is 1/4 min. groups... Jim
Jim,
Dean and his Son Brett are both accomplished short range and 600 yard shooters. The 80 gr Dominator was actually Brett's idea. Brett just won at St. Louis last week shooting the 80 gr Dominators. So Dean knows what a competitive tune is.
Bart
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