N550 in 6mmBR
- Thread starter Travelor
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I have since shot some with the 32.5 grains of VV550 with the Sierra 107 grain MatchKings seated .020" off with Federal 205M primers and Lapua cases and am getting 100 extra fps with no signs of excess pressure.
Groups were noting special so I will continue with developing a load for this powder. The service rifle shooters are reporting this same kind of increased velocity with no pressure signs in 223's and are getting longer barrel life than with Varget.
Groups were noting special so I will continue with developing a load for this powder. The service rifle shooters are reporting this same kind of increased velocity with no pressure signs in 223's and are getting longer barrel life than with Varget.
DukeDuke said:
If you don't mind, how much of it?
Did you ever try 540, or do you think it is just too fast?
Thanks!
I'm using 33.8gr with a moly 105gr berger VLD seated 0.010" in the lands,Lapua cases, CCI450 primers and a freebore of .120" in my Bartlein 5r barrel. Groups are a consistent 0.3 MOA for 10 shots and run around 3020fps. My barrel appears to generate a lot less pressure than most so be careful and start at 31gr naked /32gr moly and work up. I'm very pleased with the performance.
cheers
Kevin
cheers
Kevin
PrimeCase, are you shooting a regular 6BR or are you shooting an Improved version? Also, what is the length of your barrel. I am having a 6BR built with a Bartlein 28", 1-8 twist barrel. I am having it chambered with a .100 lead, so I am interested in the VV-550 powder information. 3030fps with a 105grn Berger, out of a regular 6BR, is awesome.
I am going to use the 87grn V-Max and the 105grn A-Max for varmint hunting out to 600 yards so if I could get an extra 100fps by using the VV-N550, that would be great. I am planning on using Lapua Brass, Varget powder and CCI 450 Primers and I am hoping to get 3100fps with the 87grn V-Max and 2900fps with the 105grn type bullets.
Anymore info regarding your rifle set up and the VV-N550 would be great.
I am going to use the 87grn V-Max and the 105grn A-Max for varmint hunting out to 600 yards so if I could get an extra 100fps by using the VV-N550, that would be great. I am planning on using Lapua Brass, Varget powder and CCI 450 Primers and I am hoping to get 3100fps with the 87grn V-Max and 2900fps with the 105grn type bullets.
Anymore info regarding your rifle set up and the VV-N550 would be great.
OK a bit more background on the rifle and some thoughts
The action is a RPA Quadlite chambered in bog standard 6BR Norma with a freebore of .120" rather than the standard .104" so I can seat the Berger 105 vld out further than would be the norm, giving me a lot of room in the case. I do hope that throat erosion isn't too much of a problem as there isn't a lot bullet shank in the neck now. If I did this over I would probably go with the recommended .104" freebore. Barrel length is 30" from the bolt face. Bartlein 5r with a 1 in 7.5 twist medium Palma taper.
The fired H2O capacity of the case with the water level with the top of the neck is 39.25gr,averaged from 5 cases). That is very important, if you have a tighter chamber you will hit pressure sooner everything else being equal.
Now something I have heard of from other shooters is that some barrels get faster once they have had a couple of hundred rounds through them, mine was no different and gained about 100fps after I had shot 2 80+8 prone matches, the loads had to be readjusted to bring them back into the sweet spot.
anyhow, some specifics that may give you an idea how this performs with other loads, It will also let you do a rough comparison when you get your rifle back from the gunsmith.
Sierra 107gr MK,naked)/31.2gr Norma 203b/CCI450 0.010" off the lands gives an average of 2965fps with very mild pressure signs a tiny amount of cratering on the primer, easy extraction and no case head expansion measurable. Good accuracy but not stellar 0.5 MOA.
Same as above except 30.6 varget gives 2860 fps with no pressure signs whatsoever, very accurate and good chrono numbers ES14 SD6 a good go to load,the 0.6gr over the standard load may be down to the extra room in the case I have with the longer throat on my rifle).
Again the same as above with 33.8 VV N-550 gives 3015 fps with ok/so so accuracy,0.75 moa) and moderate pressure signs...I didn't mess with this too much I may revisit later and mess with the seating depth a little
Changing the Sierra for the Berger 105 VLD MOLY seated 0.010" in the lands gives an average of 3020fps and outstanding accuracy,for me anyhow!) 0.3MOA!!...chrono statistics give an extreme spread of 32 and an SD of 11....I'm hoping this can probably be improved with a change to the wolf primers.
The last load I tried with the rifle I didn't chrono at all but gave outstanding accuracy was a 105gr A-Max Moly seated 0.025" off the lands with 30.8 of varget..practically one ragged hole, I will be revisiting this when it warms up a little and the deer hunters aren't monopolizing the local range.
point to note, the 105gr A-Max has a much longer bearing surface than the Berger 105 vld and will develop more pressure everything else being equal.
I hope that is of some use
Now I hate doing this but I have no idea what action you are building this rifle on but i would suggest having the firing pin bushed if it is a Remington/Savage/Winchester,as that will save you a lot of grief with primer cratering). The numbers I have posted are with the components I have on hand and a chronograph that may not be 100% accurate or consistent with what you will use. I use them for my own record keeping first and formost and to verify a load when changing lots of powder or primers. Please do not get too wrapped up in the numbers, start low and work up to an accurate safe load that has reasonable velocity, in a hearbeat I'd use the 30.6 varget load even though it's fairly slow, the bullets go where I point them and that's what is important.
The action is a RPA Quadlite chambered in bog standard 6BR Norma with a freebore of .120" rather than the standard .104" so I can seat the Berger 105 vld out further than would be the norm, giving me a lot of room in the case. I do hope that throat erosion isn't too much of a problem as there isn't a lot bullet shank in the neck now. If I did this over I would probably go with the recommended .104" freebore. Barrel length is 30" from the bolt face. Bartlein 5r with a 1 in 7.5 twist medium Palma taper.
The fired H2O capacity of the case with the water level with the top of the neck is 39.25gr,averaged from 5 cases). That is very important, if you have a tighter chamber you will hit pressure sooner everything else being equal.
Now something I have heard of from other shooters is that some barrels get faster once they have had a couple of hundred rounds through them, mine was no different and gained about 100fps after I had shot 2 80+8 prone matches, the loads had to be readjusted to bring them back into the sweet spot.
anyhow, some specifics that may give you an idea how this performs with other loads, It will also let you do a rough comparison when you get your rifle back from the gunsmith.
Sierra 107gr MK,naked)/31.2gr Norma 203b/CCI450 0.010" off the lands gives an average of 2965fps with very mild pressure signs a tiny amount of cratering on the primer, easy extraction and no case head expansion measurable. Good accuracy but not stellar 0.5 MOA.
Same as above except 30.6 varget gives 2860 fps with no pressure signs whatsoever, very accurate and good chrono numbers ES14 SD6 a good go to load,the 0.6gr over the standard load may be down to the extra room in the case I have with the longer throat on my rifle).
Again the same as above with 33.8 VV N-550 gives 3015 fps with ok/so so accuracy,0.75 moa) and moderate pressure signs...I didn't mess with this too much I may revisit later and mess with the seating depth a little
Changing the Sierra for the Berger 105 VLD MOLY seated 0.010" in the lands gives an average of 3020fps and outstanding accuracy,for me anyhow!) 0.3MOA!!...chrono statistics give an extreme spread of 32 and an SD of 11....I'm hoping this can probably be improved with a change to the wolf primers.
The last load I tried with the rifle I didn't chrono at all but gave outstanding accuracy was a 105gr A-Max Moly seated 0.025" off the lands with 30.8 of varget..practically one ragged hole, I will be revisiting this when it warms up a little and the deer hunters aren't monopolizing the local range.
point to note, the 105gr A-Max has a much longer bearing surface than the Berger 105 vld and will develop more pressure everything else being equal.
I hope that is of some use
Now I hate doing this but I have no idea what action you are building this rifle on but i would suggest having the firing pin bushed if it is a Remington/Savage/Winchester,as that will save you a lot of grief with primer cratering). The numbers I have posted are with the components I have on hand and a chronograph that may not be 100% accurate or consistent with what you will use. I use them for my own record keeping first and formost and to verify a load when changing lots of powder or primers. Please do not get too wrapped up in the numbers, start low and work up to an accurate safe load that has reasonable velocity, in a hearbeat I'd use the 30.6 varget load even though it's fairly slow, the bullets go where I point them and that's what is important.
Some more to chew on....the VV powders are fairly sensitive to temperature changes, varget on the other hand is about the best I have used in that regard. Sitting out in the summer heat can play havoc with your loads, Varget would be my number one choice in powder given your intended use.
Reading what I have on several web sites with the freebore you have chosen and the projectiles and taking into consideration your barrel length I think 2900fps with the 105 A-max may not be achievable, certainly I think mid 2800's is a more realistic figure...
cheers
Kevin
Reading what I have on several web sites with the freebore you have chosen and the projectiles and taking into consideration your barrel length I think 2900fps with the 105 A-max may not be achievable, certainly I think mid 2800's is a more realistic figure...
cheers
Kevin
Primecase, thanks for all the info, it will be helpful. Here some background on my Custom 6BR rifle;
1. Stiller Predator Short Action Single Shot.
2. Bartlein 28", 1-8 twist, 236 bore barrel. It will be throated with a .100 lead.
3. Jewel Trigger.
4. Manners T4A stock.
Regarding the 105grn A-Max, 2800+ will be just fine with this bullet. I think it will be a perfect 600 yard bullet for squirrel killing. The 105grn A-Max gives you high BC and good killing power compared to the other VLD bullets. The 105grn A-Max expands much better, giving the hunter the red mist factor we want while also having a high BC for killing vermin at the longer ranges.
Are you shooting all Moly Coated bullets or do you go back and forth between moly and naked. I was thinking about shooting the Moly Coated 105grn A-Max. What is your opinion on the moly coated bullets?
Thanks for all the info, I am going to try VV-550 no matter what.
1. Stiller Predator Short Action Single Shot.
2. Bartlein 28", 1-8 twist, 236 bore barrel. It will be throated with a .100 lead.
3. Jewel Trigger.
4. Manners T4A stock.
Regarding the 105grn A-Max, 2800+ will be just fine with this bullet. I think it will be a perfect 600 yard bullet for squirrel killing. The 105grn A-Max gives you high BC and good killing power compared to the other VLD bullets. The 105grn A-Max expands much better, giving the hunter the red mist factor we want while also having a high BC for killing vermin at the longer ranges.
Are you shooting all Moly Coated bullets or do you go back and forth between moly and naked. I was thinking about shooting the Moly Coated 105grn A-Max. What is your opinion on the moly coated bullets?
Thanks for all the info, I am going to try VV-550 no matter what.
Hello guys, developing a long range load 400-1000y with vit n560 for my 243 1 in 8 twist barrel with Lapua brass ccibr and the berger molly 105g VLD, I noticed a lot of you guys are soft seating your bullets with light neck tension and seating long and letting bolt closeure seat bullet to lands, would this also apply to molly bullets or should more neck tension be applied when loading the molly bullets, I have noticed that extream vl can be gained with the vit high energy powders loaded a couple of rounds with 46g vit n560 for my 243 with the berger molly 105g vld and vl was in the 3500fps range, I will be sticking to loading in the 2975 range, thanks for info, paul.
6BR
The rifle sounds like it'll be a winner! good choice of components
The A-max I messed with in my .223 and found it to be an OK projectile for target use, however they have improved them a lot over the last few years and I should spend a little more time with them. I was very surprised with the accuracy last time to the range, and I'll take absolute accuracy over BC any day.
Knowing that you'll be using a bartlein barrel with the .236 bore I'd stick with the A-max with moly just because I believe that it helps with pressure and barrel wear, some people swear by moly others swear at it, find what works for you! Keep us posted on how it works out. I had my rifle put together by Al & Dan Warner and their work is first class and very reasonably priced.
paulT
I haven't reloaded for a .243 but what I do know is it can be a superb long range round but being very overbore it doesn't have much barrel life. Saying that, what I do know is barrel life is dependant on the total amount of powder burnt so I'd choose a slightly faster powder and a little less of it if possible. As for soft seating, I have never got it to work for me although some of the best shooters in the country load that way. Again you will have to find what works for you, I hate to think how many 105gr VLD's you can launch at that velocity before you start experiencing blow ups on the way to the target, so if they work for you I'd try the thick jacket version of the 105 as they are a lot more robust.
cheers
Kevin
The rifle sounds like it'll be a winner! good choice of components
The A-max I messed with in my .223 and found it to be an OK projectile for target use, however they have improved them a lot over the last few years and I should spend a little more time with them. I was very surprised with the accuracy last time to the range, and I'll take absolute accuracy over BC any day.
Knowing that you'll be using a bartlein barrel with the .236 bore I'd stick with the A-max with moly just because I believe that it helps with pressure and barrel wear, some people swear by moly others swear at it, find what works for you! Keep us posted on how it works out. I had my rifle put together by Al & Dan Warner and their work is first class and very reasonably priced.
paulT
I haven't reloaded for a .243 but what I do know is it can be a superb long range round but being very overbore it doesn't have much barrel life. Saying that, what I do know is barrel life is dependant on the total amount of powder burnt so I'd choose a slightly faster powder and a little less of it if possible. As for soft seating, I have never got it to work for me although some of the best shooters in the country load that way. Again you will have to find what works for you, I hate to think how many 105gr VLD's you can launch at that velocity before you start experiencing blow ups on the way to the target, so if they work for you I'd try the thick jacket version of the 105 as they are a lot more robust.
cheers
Kevin
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