F-Open...First day out.

[Joe C]

Well, the weather here has been horrible. Monday and Tuesday the winds were in the 20-30mph range so no shooting was done. Today, the wind finally died down to a tolerable 15mph out of the north (directly into my face when shooting). Then there was the drizzle. Oh and it was about 40 degrees. LOL! But I just HAD to get out to the range.

So I took the new rifle out to shoot for the first time at 100 yards after breaking it in recently. Here a pic of the rifle just so you remember.



The groups were not bad considering I could not shoot off the ground due to the 2" of rain we had last night. I shot off a rather rickety shooting table and the wind kept blowing my last shot off even though I was shooting as though I was trying to "keep it in the pits" as my friends Mark and Bob have instructed me. The last shot kept eluding me...

This rifle is a .240NMC and I'm pretty happy with it. You can see the load data next to the targets. I was shooting Sierra 107 SMK seconds that I sorted by ogive length. Not sure it mattered as the last target I shot was as good as the others. But it mattered to me. Also, I should note these were fire forming rounds.

Anyways, here is the first target shot. It had six shots on it including the sighter:



Here was the third target shot. The first four were all in a cluster. Then I let the wind catch me on the old table and well...the last shot happened:



And here is the entire sheet of targets if you can see them:

 

[The Viper]

Hey Joe,

Not to shabby for your first time on the range with that rifle. You are starting to show some real promise.

 

[Joe C]

Hey Joe,

Not to shabby for your first time on the range with that rifle. You are starting to show some real promise.

Thanks Viper. Tried to call today but you must have been busy! Got the packages! Much thanks!

 

[FroggyOne2]

Joe,

Having shot the 240NMC some bit, may I suggest to you to change up from Varget to N150. The load should be around 36.0 to 36.5 grs with a moly'd SIE107. I was getting 3000+ FPS with this combo. Some guys are using H4350, I never did. Another powder to look at maybe, would be 2000MR.

 

[Joe C]

Joe,

Having shot the 240NMC some bit, may I suggest to you to change up from Varget to N150. The load should be around 36.0 to 36.5 grs with a moly'd SIE107. I was getting 3000+ FPS with this combo. Some guys are using H4350, I never did. Another powder to look at maybe, would be 2000MR.

Froggy, if I could find an adequate supply of N150 I sure would! I have some 160 on order now but as it is this 32lbs of Varget will have to suffice for a while...thoughts?

 

[FroggyOne2]

If I coorrectly recall, when I was shooting this round, at the time, Randy Gregory was using a max load of 34.0 grs of Varget. When I was shooting it, I was using a moly'd SIE107. Might want to look at that. But will tell ya, when I was using N150, the load would put ten shots in a hole @ 200 yards. They were way better shooters than the shooter was!

 

[Joe C]

Froggy,

Alright already! I'll break out the N150 and give it a go with the 107SMK's. Got a charge you like more than another for non moly bullets? Make a believer out of me and I'll have to call my supplier and order a bunch more! ;-) Not that it is a bad thing mind you.

 

[Erik Cortina]

Joe, stay away from moly, you don't need the extra headaches and there is no real gain using moly.

You don't need to "keep target in the pits" for shooting groups, just make sure you are comfortable and confident with your results.

Good luck!

 

[FroggyOne2]

Not knowing how much freebore you have Joe, do a ladder test starting @ 32.0 grs and up each charge by 3 tenths of a grain to 35.0 grains. If you start to hit pressure stop there. Your accuracy node prob will be about half a grain below the max charge.
Once you have found the node, load five of each. From 2 tenths below the node to 2 tenths above the node. Loading five each in one tenth increments, one of those is going to shoot lights out.

I personally shoot ladder test at 200, but 300 yards would be better. Then shoot my accuracy tests at 600 yards. Which ever load holds the best elevation at 600 yards is the load I usually run with. Like today, I shot my new 22BR @ 600 yards. 32.4 grs of 2000MR held a flat line of elevation. That will be the load I will run with at 1K.

PM me Joe, I will give you my number if you would like to talk about it on the phone.

Randy

 

[Joe C]

Well, I've taken the "Stick" out twice more now, once to shoot at 100 again and then today to shoot at 600 for the first time. Finally took Froggyone2's advice and loaded up some N150. Impressed? Yes. Vertical in the 1.5-2" range for 600 yards on only the second load. I know, it's not "AWESOME" yet but it is way better than the Varget loads I tried out. AND I'm finally getting the velocity that several other .240NMC shooters have told me is where the good node is for this round.

With Varget I was still about 80fps away from the velocity at a close to max load so overall I'm happy with the choice. Now I get to shoot my first match with it on Saturday and then I'll adjust a few more things to see how good it can be dialed in for this "Stick".

Thank you all for your help!