I'm developing two 600 yard, F class rifles, one .223 for F/TR and the other 6mm BR for F-Open, both with Savage target actions, Shilen Select Match barrels, etc. etc. Both guns shoot bullets on the heavy end of the spectrum, but within their capability. The 6mm is 1:8 twist, 28" and shoots Berger Hybrid 105gr bullets rather well. The .223 with a 1:7 twist 26" barrel shoots Berger VLD 80gr bullets OK but not as well as it should.
I am happy with the 6mm load. Yesterday, during a recipe confirmation test, it shot an average MOA at 100 yards of .350 with a worst group of .379, all 5-shot groups. The average SD was 7.25 and one group showed an ES of 4 fps with an SD of 1.79, which made me giggle.
After lots of fiddling, my brass preparation and loading routine is apparently refined enough to give my fellow belly floppers a run for their money, at least when it comes to ammo. Today I'll load enough rounds for the next couple of matches before I switch my reloading equipment over to .223 caliber.
Unfortunately, the .223 F/TR rifle is not yet as good as required and it exhibits erratic performance. During load development the best 5-shot MOA at 100 yards was .167 with a decent number of groups in the "twos", so there is some hope. Unfortunately, this is definitely NOT the norm and the same recipe which puts 5-shots in the twos will shoot the next five well outside 1/2 MOA and then do poorly again with the following five shots. In addition the SD figures are all over the place too, sometimes single digit but often in the 30's and 40's.
I hate to enter even a low-key F/TR match with a rifle which I cannot guarantee will shoot sub 1/2 MOA, especially since my Howa 1500 "fun gun" will do that every time without fuss.
The entire reloading and load development process is identical for both guns except that I use CCI 450 (magnum) primers in the 6mm and CCI BR primers in the .223.
If anyone has seen a performance increase, especially in the area of consistency, by using magnum primers in their .223, please give me the details.
I am happy with the 6mm load. Yesterday, during a recipe confirmation test, it shot an average MOA at 100 yards of .350 with a worst group of .379, all 5-shot groups. The average SD was 7.25 and one group showed an ES of 4 fps with an SD of 1.79, which made me giggle.
After lots of fiddling, my brass preparation and loading routine is apparently refined enough to give my fellow belly floppers a run for their money, at least when it comes to ammo. Today I'll load enough rounds for the next couple of matches before I switch my reloading equipment over to .223 caliber.
Unfortunately, the .223 F/TR rifle is not yet as good as required and it exhibits erratic performance. During load development the best 5-shot MOA at 100 yards was .167 with a decent number of groups in the "twos", so there is some hope. Unfortunately, this is definitely NOT the norm and the same recipe which puts 5-shots in the twos will shoot the next five well outside 1/2 MOA and then do poorly again with the following five shots. In addition the SD figures are all over the place too, sometimes single digit but often in the 30's and 40's.
I hate to enter even a low-key F/TR match with a rifle which I cannot guarantee will shoot sub 1/2 MOA, especially since my Howa 1500 "fun gun" will do that every time without fuss.
The entire reloading and load development process is identical for both guns except that I use CCI 450 (magnum) primers in the 6mm and CCI BR primers in the .223.
If anyone has seen a performance increase, especially in the area of consistency, by using magnum primers in their .223, please give me the details.