Apologies for the long post, Guys. In need of some school'n here.
Started Load development with my Savage 12FV and (not new) Criterion 26" 8 twist barrel in 223 Rem. Been shooting this awhile but decided to try out the Hornaday 52 gr. HPBT Match and H335, CCI400 and Winchester brass on it's 12 cycle. Never tried H335 before but had an unopened pound sitting in the cabinet so...what the heck?
Sierra manual lists this combination for it's accuracy load, 26.9 grs at 3300 fps. with a maximum load of 27.6 grs. I deviated from my normal routine of start low and work up looking for all nodes. I thought I had a pretty good idea how it would shoot in my rifle.
Loaded up 10 sighters at 26.9 grains and -.010 off the lands which gave me a much shorter (2.170) OAL than the Sierra book of 2.250. Nevertheless, the charge only filled the case to near the bottom of the shoulder, so plenty of room.
Began shooting with a cold barrel and Magnetospeed attached, 86 F, winds 8 to 12 and boxing the compass (switching from all directions). First shot when straight into the 1" dot at 100 yds, at 3479 fps, which is 179 fps faster than book and sped up with successive shots. All followed the first into the dot.
1 3479
2 3511
3 3520 10 min break, scratch head, record velocities.
4 3506
5 3527
6 3547 Cease Fire break, marvel at target, but no one else there.
7 3508
8 3532
9 3563 Pierced primer, disassembled bolt
10 3518
Average speed 3521, SD 25, ES 84
Barrel never got that warm, due to Cease Fire and breaks, but you can see a definite pattern.
By the 9th round I pierced a primer and had to disassemble the bolt to remove the piece of primer cup jamming my firing pin. Group measured .6 moa for nine rounds with the 10th taking it out to .9 moa after the bolt disassembly. A pretty good start aside from the extreme velocity, but never got to the rounds exploring further towards the lands before I quit the test due to primer blanking.
I think I see ignition issues that maybe a CCI450 or Rem 7 1/2 might remedy, and no doubt I'll cut back on the charge too. I've read that ball powder is hard to light and magnum primers are standard. Any comments or experiences on this powder and primer would be appreciated.
Any opinions/ experiences regarding H335 being extremely temperature sensitive?
BTW: I measured the Sierra 52 gr p/n 1400 and compared it to the 52 HPBT Match. They were identical in diameter and bearing length as near as I could tell.
Any help to explain this experience would be appreciated. This barrel is not known by me to be exceptionally fast. I typically shoot 69 to 73 grain bullets out of this barrel and get expected results.
Started Load development with my Savage 12FV and (not new) Criterion 26" 8 twist barrel in 223 Rem. Been shooting this awhile but decided to try out the Hornaday 52 gr. HPBT Match and H335, CCI400 and Winchester brass on it's 12 cycle. Never tried H335 before but had an unopened pound sitting in the cabinet so...what the heck?
Sierra manual lists this combination for it's accuracy load, 26.9 grs at 3300 fps. with a maximum load of 27.6 grs. I deviated from my normal routine of start low and work up looking for all nodes. I thought I had a pretty good idea how it would shoot in my rifle.
Loaded up 10 sighters at 26.9 grains and -.010 off the lands which gave me a much shorter (2.170) OAL than the Sierra book of 2.250. Nevertheless, the charge only filled the case to near the bottom of the shoulder, so plenty of room.
Began shooting with a cold barrel and Magnetospeed attached, 86 F, winds 8 to 12 and boxing the compass (switching from all directions). First shot when straight into the 1" dot at 100 yds, at 3479 fps, which is 179 fps faster than book and sped up with successive shots. All followed the first into the dot.
1 3479
2 3511
3 3520 10 min break, scratch head, record velocities.
4 3506
5 3527
6 3547 Cease Fire break, marvel at target, but no one else there.
7 3508
8 3532
9 3563 Pierced primer, disassembled bolt
10 3518
Average speed 3521, SD 25, ES 84
Barrel never got that warm, due to Cease Fire and breaks, but you can see a definite pattern.
By the 9th round I pierced a primer and had to disassemble the bolt to remove the piece of primer cup jamming my firing pin. Group measured .6 moa for nine rounds with the 10th taking it out to .9 moa after the bolt disassembly. A pretty good start aside from the extreme velocity, but never got to the rounds exploring further towards the lands before I quit the test due to primer blanking.
I think I see ignition issues that maybe a CCI450 or Rem 7 1/2 might remedy, and no doubt I'll cut back on the charge too. I've read that ball powder is hard to light and magnum primers are standard. Any comments or experiences on this powder and primer would be appreciated.
Any opinions/ experiences regarding H335 being extremely temperature sensitive?
BTW: I measured the Sierra 52 gr p/n 1400 and compared it to the 52 HPBT Match. They were identical in diameter and bearing length as near as I could tell.
Any help to explain this experience would be appreciated. This barrel is not known by me to be exceptionally fast. I typically shoot 69 to 73 grain bullets out of this barrel and get expected results.