My new 6.5x47 Borden

[DHuffman]

I appreciate that, but my choices are limited at the moment. I've thought about building a different bench that may be more stable, but this one is pretty close to the limit of what I can physically handle moving in and out of my truck. For now, it's just a part of the equation and a small excuse anytime I didn't shoot as good as I had hoped to, haha.

I'm wrestling with the same dilemma on the weight / size / ease of maneuvering a portable bench while making it BR stable.

 

[M14AMU]

Not trying to be snarky here, but "pretty stable" when you are trying to assess load, bullet, powder, seating depth is just not good enough. If its all you have, so be it, but find a range with some rock solid benches to shoot from. Good luck.

IMG_3177 by Sharps Man, on Flickr

 

[Evan]

For those who may be interested, I worked up a ladder today with a relatively unloved powder around here that I have had great luck with in the past: Winchester 748. It was a beautiful day with warm sun, but it was only 40 degrees out.

I want to caution anyone thinking of trying these loads out that I'm just a random guy on the internet who thinks 40 and sunny is a warm, pleasant day and you can't assume anything below is safe. Note that ball powders are sensitive to temperature changes and the max shown here could be way over pressure and ALOT faster in 90 degree heat.

 

[Infrequent Shooter]

Got up nice and early this morning (4) and went shooting before work:
View attachment 1194036
Tested 40.2 up to 40.8gns of RL16, 147 ELD seated 0.007" into the lands, 0.002" into the lands, 0.003 out, and 0.008 out (0.005" steps), all with CCI 450 and virgin Peterson brass.
View attachment 1194037
Target was set at 330 yards.

40.2 up to 40.4 had a stable point of impact. when I stepped up to 40.6, it hit 2" high (2nd row, 2nd column). Clicked back to down and all the way up to 40.8 stayed pretty consistent. This high "node" is 2850fps. If you try this, work up to it. It's crunchy!

I can't make any sense out of seating depth. Doesn't seem to shoot better at one setting. All in all I don't think this is the powder/bullet combo I'm looking for. Kind of mediocre. Smallest group (row 1, column 2) is 0.70". Most are in the 1-1.5" range.

I'm excited for my Berger 144 and 153.5 to show up. I also have some 140 Hybrids on hand too. See if one of those 3 performs a little stronger. If it doesn't shoot any of those bullets better, it'll be time for a powder swap. Can't say I'm thrilled about how compressed these loads are anyway. I've got some Shooters World Long Rifle, Precision, and SW4350 to try. I have plenty of IMR4350 and 4064. And I have the speed demon, Reloader 17. Something will work.

The rifle is an absolute delight to shoot. Recoil is very mild, the BRL drop port is slick and I can run it very fast. My stock tracks straight. All in all, I'm very happy with the outcome. 100rnds down the tube as of today.

EDIT: I studied my log and this target: Row 1, column 2 and column 6 (far right) are both seated 0.002 out. Row 2, column 4 is also seated 0.002 out. These are 40.2, 40.4, and 40.6 respectively. Row 3 and column 3 would have been the next 0.002 out at 40.8, but wind wasn't cooperating with me at that point, as seen by the increasingly larger group sizes. I think in this rifle, the 147ELD prefers to be 0.002" out of the lands.

beautiful sunrise. what state?

 

[Evan]

beautiful sunrise. what state?

That is the Pawnee grasslands in the north east corner of Colorado. I find it to be a very relaxing place to visit. Desolate and peaceful

 

[DHuffman]

That is the Pawnee grasslands in the north east corner of Colorado. I find it to be a very relaxing place to visit. Desolate and peaceful

Your testing has me wanting to revisit my 47L improved, it will all depend on what kind of winter we have though.
The way it's started out I bet I'll have to take the grader with wing and V plow just to get to my range.

 

[Evan]

So I could use a little advice. I suspect that there may be something wrong with the rifle. I broke out the glue-in, carved away a good bit of the bedding and then re-bedded and glued it in (with Devcon) again. I checked that there is no interference between any of the trigger assembly or bolt handle with the stock. I also completely unmounted and remounted the scope in the process. Fast forward several days and I shot this yesterday:

On top is this gun and on the bottom is my 20 Vartarg, which to this day remains the most consistent and accurate rifle I have ever shot. Following this deeply unsatisfactory result, I unthreaded the barrel and broke out my last barrel on hand for this platform, a new 22BR. I have another gun with a 22BR barrel on it which was fantastically accurate and I have a great deal of confidence in what to load and what to expect this new 22BR barrel to be able to do. I have not shot it yet, but I wanted to see if there are any other things I should check out before trying the new 22BR barrel. The only thing left in my mind is the firing pin spring and swapping scopes with my 20 Vartarg.

 

[X-Caveman]

Don “Stick” Starks told me several years ago when he built me my first custom, a 6.5x47… “Put a 130VLD over 40gr of H4350 and stick it in the lands about .020”. If that don’t shoot, it ain’t the load.” 37ish grains of Varget / RL15 should be close, too. I’ve also noticed a strong preference for light neck tension (like .001” interference)- something you can’t do with compressed loads / heavy for caliber pills. I understand the appeal of the heavies, but 123-130s really seem to be where it’s at. 140s when it gets longer in the throat. And yes, swap the scopes.

Good luck. Hope you get it sorted out!

 

[moondog]

I just screwed my second 47 barrel on and Finished doing a break in. First one was chambered for 140s and it always shot great. This one is chambered for 130s and looks promising too. 37.4 Varget. Other one liked H4350. Something is up.

 

[Evan]

I just screwed my second 47 barrel on and Finished doing a break in. First one was chambered for 140s and it always shot great. This one is chambered for 130s and looks promising too. 37.4 Varget. Other one liked H4350. Something is up.

Agreed! I ran the first barrel hard and got good results. I haven’t found anything else since then. I suspect an ignition issue. Want to check everything I can before I send it off to be fixed.

 

[Sandstorm]

A firing pin spring may be your culprit...Its something thats worked for me in the past,
and I replace mine with every barrel now religiously.

 

[X Count]

Don “Stick” Starks told me several years ago when he built me my first custom, a 6.5x47… “Put a 130VLD over 40gr of H4350 and stick it in the lands about .020”. If that don’t shoot, it ain’t the load.” 37ish grains of Varget / RL15 should be close, too. I’ve also noticed a strong preference for light neck tension (like .001” interference)- something you can’t do with compressed loads / heavy for caliber pills. I understand the appeal of the heavies, but 123-130s really seem to be where it’s at. 140s when it gets longer in the throat. And yes, swap the scopes.

Good luck. Hope you get it sorted out!

Exactly my experience with the 47

So I could use a little advice. I suspect that there may be something wrong with the rifle. I broke out the glue-in, carved away a good bit of the bedding and then re-bedded and glued it in (with Devcon) again. I checked that there is no interference between any of the trigger assembly or bolt handle with the stock. I also completely unmounted and remounted the scope in the process. Fast forward several days and I shot this yesterday:
View attachment 1401515
On top is this gun and on the bottom is my 20 Vartarg, which to this day remains the most consistent and accurate rifle I have ever shot. Following this deeply unsatisfactory result, I unthreaded the barrel and broke out my last barrel on hand for this platform, a new 22BR. I have another gun with a 22BR barrel on it which was fantastically accurate and I have a great deal of confidence in what to load and what to expect this new 22BR barrel to be able to do. I have not shot it yet, but I wanted to see if there are any other things I should check out before trying the new 22BR barrel. The only thing left in my mind is the firing pin spring and swapping scopes with my 20 Vartarg.

I'm not really sure what this target is supposed to demonstrate? There multiple different powders, bullets and loads. Are you looking to stumble on something?

As mentioned above. Start with a 130gr Berger and 4350 in the lands .010" at about 40gr and work up watching pressures. Depending on your throat you might get a touch over 41gr. If you can't find anything that shoots consistent .3 with that you have a problem.

If you ES isn't all over the place with that load you don't have an if ignition problem. If it is, then start with the easy thing by swapping primers. There are bad batches out there that will cause minute hang fires.

 

[moondog]

I never thought about firing pin spring replacement before talking to Kelbly's. I was ordering a few items and they asked, "anything else?" I jokingly asked what else I needed. Jim said to send my Bolts in at the end of the year and they would replace the springs. My Bighorn TL2 has been through 7 barrels and never had a spring. I take the bolt apart and clean every barrel change. Do you guys replace springs often?

 

[OmegaRed]

I never thought about firing pin spring replacement before talking to Kelbly's. I was ordering a few items and they asked, "anything else?" I jokingly asked what else I needed. Jim said to send my Bolts in at the end of the year and they would replace the springs. My Bighorn TL2 has been through 7 barrels and never had a spring. I take the bolt apart and clean every barrel change. Do you guys replace springs often?

Annually. I have personally seen it fix an accuracy problem with no other changes to the gun or load.

 

[moondog]

Annually. I have personally seen it fix an accuracy problem with no other changes to the gun or load.

Good to know, I think I'll order some springs.

 

[Evan]

Exactly my experience with the 47


I'm not really sure what this target is supposed to demonstrate? There multiple different powders, bullets and loads. Are you looking to stumble on something?

As mentioned above. Start with a 130gr Berger and 4350 in the lands .010" at about 40gr and work up watching pressures. Depending on your throat you might get a touch over 41gr. If you can't find anything that shoots consistent .3 with that you have a problem.

If you ES isn't all over the place with that load you don't have an if ignition problem. If it is, then start with the easy thing by swapping primers. There are bad batches out there that will cause minute hang fires.

It's perhaps confusing on its own. These are all loads that the barrel, at various points in its 1400 round life, seemed to like. I say seem, because it's been mercurial all along. This thread details when and how those loads were developed. My 20 Vartarg on the bottom was my truth test that my reloading techniques and bench manners are still OK. That gun is still shooting as I expected it to in the gusty conditions I was steering it through.

 

[X-Caveman]

Just read the original post with the reamer spec. Ø.293" neck seems a little cozy. Mine is Ø.2945". What do your loaded rounds measure? Maybe skim a few and see if it helps? Sorry if you've been down this road. Admittedly, I didn't read everything.

 

[Evan]

Just read the original post with the reamer spec. Ø.293" neck seems a little cozy. Mine is Ø.2945". What do your loaded rounds measure? Maybe skim a few and see if it helps? Sorry if you've been down this road. Admittedly, I didn't read everything.

I appreciate the advice. I skim the neck’s already and my loaded rounds run 0.289 which I think is enough. I run pretty light neck tension - about 30lbs on my k&m inline to start the bullet moving. I use a 287 bushing.