Are these tumbling? 225 gr Hornady BTHP's in 300 WM

[rickiesrevenge]

They still don't look round to me.

 

[fdshuster]

That "ruler" looks like a yardstick to me. If you continue to think there is something wrong with the rifle, and the 225 gr. bullets are not the problem, contact me & I'll be glad to take the rifle off your hands. ;D

 

[cowboyarcher]

Well it's actually 3 rulers so. . . :

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

The holes look fine, corrugated cardboard does not always show very clean holes.

 

[cowboyarcher]

Ok, one more question; given that 2.625" or so group, will this rifle ever be able to shoot these bullets to say, 1 or 1.5 MOA? I'm still fairly new to handloading and just wondering if such a thing can be judged to be likely? These are loaded to mag length BTW, so getting them closed to the lands is not really an option for this rifle.

I just don't want to spend the components and time, if a rebarrel will serve me better.

Thanks for all the help gents! This forum is the best I am on hands down!

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

Leave the seating depth alone, that's just something used to fine tune an otherwise good load.

I see no reason why you can't find a good load for those bullets. The barrel is a little short for a 300WM, but it's still not an issue. Just run an OCW using 1gr increments at first and see what you're getting.

The Hodgdon website shows a range from 76 to 81 grains for Retumbo for a 220SMK and 71.6 to 77 for a 230gr BER TACT (whatever that is.) If it were me, I would try from 71 to 78gr. But I'm just a guy on the Internet so make your own judgment call.

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

I will add that I'm glad I'm not the one doing the testing. The recoil and muzzle blast must be fierce.

 

[spclark]

Corrugated's not too good for this use, the construction will influence how the surface sheet indicates each bullet's passage. Try to locate a standard rifle/pistol target of heavy paper, then hang it in such a way that the top & bottom are captive while the backside is left open.

A couple of those holes look round enough, mostly, but I think the uneven support of surface layer along with its brittle nature (too much starch for our purposes!) is showing some uneven tearing.

 

[cowboyarcher]

I had no idea the target material made such a difference, but I can see what a difference it does make!

As for recoil, yes, it is stout. Maybe the worst I've dealt with. As pictured the rifle is under 9.5lbs so there is no help there. The blast is not as bad as I would have guessed.

As for the OCW, I assume you mean something like this:

http://optimalchargeweight.embarqspace.com/#/ocw-instructions/4529817134

Looks like I need to find some more Retumbo. . . I was getting sticky extraction at 76 gr so I think I need to run a max of 75 gr. I hope to be able to spend some more time with this rifle in June, so I'll try and get you all an update!

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

Yep, that would be the procedure or you can customize it to your needs. As for the target material, you can continue to use cardboard (I do because I have large pieces of it and that's great for thermometer-type targets.) Just don't infer anything from the holes not being perfectly round on it, but we now know your bullets are very stable, so just have fun with it.

And yes, 71-75 would be just dandy, let's hope you can find a node in there somewhere and you may want to go in .5 gr increments because of the small range (4 grains.)

Good luck.

 

[Dgd6mm]

Quickload:
I ran your load of 76 grs. of Retumbo with a 225 Hornaday at a OAL of 3.461 . Pressure is supposed to be in the 51000 - 52000 psi area. If so, I can't understand why you'd have pressure problem starting.

 

[queen_stick]

I see some others also suggested better target material as well.

Here's a link to the exact stuff that I use, it's called 'card stock' or 'cover stock' - http://www.staples.com/Staples-Cover-Stock-Paper/product_SS992811#id=%27dropdown_145851%27

I went with the 67lb weight, as it's the heaviest my printer will feed... works great!
Now that I've used the heavier paper, I'll never go back to cardboard or thin paper again. I Also never thought I'd make a 'big deal' about this subject, but it really does make life so much easier lol!

these are 6mm bullets (600yd target):

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

Yeah, this is the kind of stuff that is used in competition where it's important to distinguish the exact diameter of the bullet. We even have gauges for these measurements.

However, for what the OP is doing, cardboard is just fine since the bullets are definitely not tumbling as everyone can plainly see.

 

[cowboyarcher]

This rifle is full of interesting issues it seems. . .

 

[wapiti25]

Look at the target that Queen_stick has on his post. Nice black ring around the hole. Your 150's did that, the others did not. Your heavies are not going thru the target point on.