My third reloading story, this time in caliber 6XC

[jeffreybehr]

This started as a 6mm Creedmoor story, or rather the rifle started as a 6Creed, but I'll start from the beginning.

A month or so ago, I bought a new Savage 110 Elite Precision rifle in 6 Creedmoor.. Try as I might, after 450 rounds and at least a half-dozen different bullets, this week I gave up on trying to make it shoot precisely, so I thought I'd buy a new Criterion stainless barrel from Northland...
http://northlandshooterssupply.com/barrels/criterion-savage/
...which I've done succesfully twice previously.. BUT...no barrels that I want for at least 20 weeks.. So back in my little shop, I stared at my Savage 110EPR, retrieved my Savage 12BR from the safe, and removed its 6XC-chambered, THIRTY-inch bull barrel.. Then removed the 110's original barrel and installed the long, heavy 6XC barrel.**


I thought it might look a bit silly, but it looks great.

Discovered something I didn't realize or remember from '17--this barrel is rather short-throated--the magazine's maximum length is 2.81" while the throating allows only about 2.65".. Oh well, I can accommodate that until I get it rethroated.. Created 10 different loads using the Berger BTT 108 and Nosler RDF105, shot them today, and I'm very pleased.. Will load four more new combinations this WE and shoot them next week.

FWIW, I talked to a local, almost-retired gunsmith whom Lester Bruno called the best gunsmith he has ever known.. He'll rethroat and shorten this barrel for a very reasonable amount next month, so I think I've just saved myself about $300!

* That was the summer of 2017 when my right shoulder was finally wearing out and hurting so badly that I had the joint replaced and ended my shooting for many months.

** I still have all the tools to do that plus dies, etc.

 

[jeffreybehr]

Discovered tonite that my 6XC barrel is NOT short throated; I just thought it was.. I can set the BarnesMB105s to just longer than 2.74" which leaves the bullet's bearing surface occupying only about half of the neck length.

Shot a bunch at Usery today and found ONE bullet worth working on, this Barnes Match Burner 105.. I drove it with Rel.19, which is a little slow for the 6XC, but a sort-of-full load of 43.8g. produced 3200FPS from my 30" barrel and with a OAL of 2.65".. Now that I know I can seat the bullets longer, I'm working up in 0.2g. steps.

Oh ya...found some Rel.17 (AKA Unobtanium-17) thx to two kind Arizona reloadists!

My new riflecase arrived today...an SKB iSeries 50"er (from B&H, the world's largest foto-equipment retailer)...

Photography Cameras & Photography Equipment | B&H

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Still waiting for my Zeiss V6 5-30X50.
There's another 2" layer of foam I've removed while I rethink what I want to carry in this HEAVY, STRONG case.. Probably I'll cut hollows in it to better locate all the stuff.. As you can see, I don't HAVE to shorten (or replace) the 30" barrel, but probably I'll have it shortened to 28".

 

[jeffreybehr]

Received my new 5-30X50 Zeiss Conquest V6 rifle scope and installed it.. It has the very simple reticle 6 (or 06)

Reticles | ZEISS Hunting

www.zeiss.com

(scoll down)
Its optics look GREAT in the little gazing I did, so we'll see tomorrow.

This time I was more careful leveling it, and I think I got it right.. It's eight ounces lighter than the NF 12-42X56 that was on it (and previously on my Savage 12BR benchrest rifle).. Also am trying other AR-type grips on this Savage; the original MDT-chassis vertical grip is not at all comfortable for me.. The complete rifle, ready to shoot including scope and magazine but not bipod, now weighs 16 pounds, 15 ounces, barely 'legal' for 1000yd.-benchrest 'light' rifle class.. Now all I need to do is come up with ONE reliably-half-MOA load for it.

 

[Lone Hunter]

Looks Good. All the Zeiss scopes I had were crystal clear. I like the 6XC. Currently have a 28” barrel on one of my rifles. Used to shooting.308 then shoulder surgery. Like shooting a .22lr with the 6XC plus the accuracy is great too. Like the case also.

 

[jeffreybehr]

After another day at the range with another $75 worth of loads, I came home with NOT ONE satisfactory group.. I have given up on this barrel and ordered another that--SURPRISE!--Northland (NSS) had in stock.. It's another Criterion stainless bull barrel in 6XC, this time 28" and with a 7" twist; it shipped today the 19th.. Starting over seems like a good idea.

Another 'twist'--the Zeiss scope looked fabulous optically, but it has only 30MOA gross change in elevation, which wasn't enough to overcome, for short-range siting and group evaluations, my 20MOA scoperail ; I actually reversed the direction of my scope rail at the range! I decided last nite that I 'need' one with a much broader gross elevation change and a larger objective lens (and tube) for larger exit pupil, so ordered a

Trijicon 4.5-30x56 Tenmile SFP Riflescope (MOA Long-Range Reticle)​

Trijicon 4.5-30x56 Tenmile SFP Riflescope (MOA Long-Range Reticle)

Buy Trijicon 4.5-30x56 Tenmile SFP Riflescope (MOA Long-Range Reticle) featuring MOA Long-Range Reticle, 2nd FP, 34mm Maintube, 1/4 MOA Impact Point Correction, 100 MOA Elevation, 50 MOA Windage, Exposed Zero-Stop Turrets, 6061 Aluminum Housing, Fully Multi-Coated Optics, Repositionable...

www.bhphotovideo.com

...from B&H, one of my most-favorite retailers..

Next week I'll reinstall the 20MOA rail in the right direction and spend hours at the range breaking the barrel in.. I'm not a very patient person, so shooting and cleaning and shooting and cleaning...ad nauseum...is not easy for me, and I tend to short-cut the process.. If someone has some concrete recommendations, pls send a link.

I'll restart my load development with my longest bullets, the just-purchased Berger VLD 115, Barnes Match Burner 112, Sierra MK110, and Berger Long Range Hybrid Target 109.. Also, I'll pay more attention, earlier, to seating depth rather than powder charges, in an effort to consume less ammo in the process.

My efforts at gathering more Unobtanium-17, known sometimes as Reloder-17, have produced more results, with contributions from two more kind souls.. We'll see what I end up with.. Have recently bought a jug of '19.. Have plenty of primers, CCI 41s.

I believe, with the lighter barrel but heavier scope, the rifle will still qualify as 'Light Rifle' for 1000yd. BR shooting, which I'd like to try again.

 

[jeffreybehr]

Update--
1. The Trijicon Tenmile 4.5-30 scope performs excellently; it has PLENTY of elevation adjustment so that I can shoot my 20MOA-rail-equipped rifle at short distances.. It's optically excellent, and the elevation, windage, and distance focus/parallax adjustment indications seem to be dead-on; so far, it's the best scope I've ever owned.. (The Zeiss V6 5-30 will be happily used on my Uintah UP-15 6ARC rifle; it too is an excellent scope but with only 30MOA of elevation change.) FWIW, I'm using the Zeiss low 34mm rings...

ZEISS Ultralight 1913 MS Riflescope Rings with Bubble Level (Low, 34mm)

Buy ZEISS Ultralight 1913 MS Riflescope Rings with Bubble Level (Low, 34mm) featuring One Ring with Level in Each Pair, Level Assures Proper Rifle Alignment, Position Level on Left or Right Side, Fits Picatinny Rails, Lightweight 7075-T6 Aluminum, Type 303 Stainless Steel Screws, Micro-Radiused...

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...with the Trijicon, and the scope is plenty high enough.

2. James at Northland shipped the barrel quickly, and I got it on with no problems.. Got it broken-in, or at least I think I have.

3. My initial pressure tests indicated that the new Criterion barrel is VERY close in that respect to the old one, but it shoots more precisely.. That's GOOD news and a relief to me.. BTW it's a 7" twist instead of the older barrel's 8" twist.

4. The initial tests indicated the Berger 109 and the Barnes 112 shot most precisely with the R17 and R19 I'm using, so I loaded and shot--actually finishing tomorrow--17 different combinations of these bullets and powders and charges totaling 51 three-shot groups--plus three/six combinations with the Berger Hybrid 105.. Preliminary results of about two-thirds of the groups (three 3-shot groups @ 100 yards) include four 0.4"ers or smaller, 11 from >0.4 thru 0.6", and five more >0.6 thru 0.8".. This is MUCH better than from the old barrel.. I'll be finishing shooting tomorrow and will post final results, but I've already ordered more BarnesMB112s.

Also received the Caldwell Fire Contol frontrest.. Bought an inexpensive front bag/pad to accommodate my narrow forearm.. It all works quite well so far.

 

[Uncle Mike]

What reamer was used for the chamber?

 

[jeffreybehr]

What reamer was used for the chamber?

I have no idea.. You might contact Criterion and ask what they use.

 

[jeffreybehr]

SUCCESS!!! TWO loads for long-range shooting, starring the famous and very efficient Berger Long-Range Hybid Target 109, with a G1 BC of .568, and the Barnes Match Burner 112, with a G1 BC of 0.624.. I shot @ 100 yards what seemed like millions...actually 'only' 74...three-shot groups--in trios of the same load--over five sessions in THREE days at Ben Avery.. One load with the Berger and Reloder averaged 0.33" center-to-center (with the largest trio at 0.5"), and another with the Barnes and Rel. 17 averaged 0.42 inches.. Each of these winners (and all the rest, too) were loaded to 2.77" overall, and I have no idea where the lands are.. The next tests for seating depths will be loaded 10-thousanths and another 10-thousanths longer to see what wins there.. Smallest group of all (NOT with either of the winners) was 0.11" C-to-C, not that I can measure that closely, but I sure can measure to a twentieth of an inch with an engineer's scale, outside-to-outside, and then subtract the 0.24" bullet diameter.

As mentioned above, I have more Barnes 112s coming, but I sure could use more Berger 109s.

FWIW, the rifle and the Trijicon scope performed excellently, again.

 

[DiffEQ]

initial tests indicated the Berger 109 and the Barnes 112 shot most precisely with the R17

I am confused.
You're trying for accuracy, yes?
Seems you want to shoot 1K ?
My expectation of the group measurements you cite above is that they were shot at 100. Yes?
Yet, information I would expect you to know but do not see:

* your MV, ES & SD. Please enlighten me if I'm ignorant, but knowing BC is useless without MV, unless you are deriving all your dope empirically.​

* the throat length, your distance to the lands for a specific bullet, and the B2O for your cartridges.​

Other questions:​

¿ If you toss all your loaded cartridges in a bag like shown, how do you keep the different loads separate? I didn't see any sharpie markings on the case.​

 

[jeffreybehr]

I am confused.
You're trying for accuracy, yes?
Seems you want to shoot 1K ?
My expectation of the group measurements you cite above is that they were shot at 100. Yes?
Yet, information I would expect you to know but do not see:

* your MV, ES & SD. Please enlighten me if I'm ignorant, but knowing BC is useless without MV, unless you are deriving all your dope empirically.​

* the throat length, your distance to the lands for a specific bullet, and the B2O for your cartridges.​

Other questions:​

¿ If you toss all your loaded cartridges in a bag like shown, how do you keep the different loads separate? I didn't see any sharpie markings on the case.​

WELL...
1. Easy one first.. Who said I toss all my loads 'in a bag like shown'?? Those are tossed-together break-in/fouler loads.. I use cartridge boxes like this one..

They're carefully labeled, and my reloading notes I keep in a 3-ring binder.
2. Yes, I have a chrono, a LABRADAR, but it's so slow that I stopped using it on this project.. Yes, many succesful reloadists use that sort of data when developing loads, but I simply didn't have the time or patience, even over three days, to gather that info.
3. Yes, I understand seating depth is important, and I already indicated that I'll be doing seating-depth tests on these two loads, shot probably @ 200 yards, but that's a LONG walk for this somewhat disabled chubby oldfart.

 

[jeffreybehr]

Gave up on the precision-rifle-chassis aspect of long-range shooting and have reverted to my no-longer-safequeen Savage 12 BR rifle..

This is 2017's 12 BR stock, action, and scope rail now wearing the 110's 28" Criterion 6XC-chambered barrel and Trijicon Tenmile 4.5-30X45X34 scope.


This action is single-shot, dual-port.


Will let you know Tuesday how we're doing.

One thing I know--it's at least a pound lighter than the 110.

 

[jeffreybehr]

Yesterday I drove to Usery range, where I was colder than I remember from living in Minnesota--I exagerate, of course.. I shot all of six three-shots groups, poorly, and went home.. Today I got to Ben Avery where I spent a delighful three hours shooting lots of groups, a few of which were bugholes and many more were no larger than 0.5".. The Berger 115 shot poorly and I have retired it from consideration.. The Barnes MatchBurner 112 shot well, averaging 0.59" for four 3-shot groups @ 100 yards.. The best of all was the Berger Hybrid 105 which averaged 0.44" for six groups, driven by N550 or R17.. I've assembled with the BH105 a bunch of more-finely spaced trios to refine a load for general LR shooting.. This old BR rifle and I shoot better than I and the 110 Precision did.. FWIW, I can now load all bullets closer to the lands than I could for the magazine-fed rifle--the Berger H.105s I loaded to an OAL of 2.83" which is just a few thou off the lands.

Bought a used Farley Coaxial front rest at Bruno's this morning and used it at BA; it is indeed steadier and easier to use than the Caldwell Fire Control rest, and the rifle is now sliding smoothly under recoil as it ought to be.

Shooting is fun again.

 

[jeffreybehr]

Shot even better results today with the 'refinement' loads.. Shot 30 3-shot groups @ 100 yards using the Berger Hybrid 105 at OAL of 2.83" which is a few thou off the lands.. Results, number of groups:
0.3" and under, 8
In the 0.4s, 9
In the 0.5s, 5
In the 0.6s, 4
Over 0.6", 3.

The powder achieving the smallest average of groups was H4350 (0.38"), the 'middle powder' was N550 (0.45"), and the 'largest powder' was R17 (0.50").. I'll be assembling more refinements of the best loads and shooting them soon.

The Farley Coaxial rest with its new front bag and the Protector Dr. rear bag worked wonderfully today, with many instances of the rifle the rifle sliding in the rests very smoothly and returning to battery dead on.. Been a long time since I've experienced this.. Also seems that my eyes get a bit tired and blurry after a couple hours of shooting.