N560 and 180 VLDs in .284 Win and proof loads

[Longrange338]

I am getting a .284 Win built. Due to local laws in Finland the rifle has to be proof fired in a proofing facility before delivery to me. Unfortunately they do not have any .284 Win proof loads so my gunsmith asked me to load some for him. The rounds will be loaded long 3.15" and not to the short action length the round orginally was designed for.

COL: 3.15" or 80,0mm
Brass: Brand new Lapua 6.5X284 Norma opened up to .284" (holds 66,6 greins of H20)
Bullet: Berger 180 VLD (naked)
Powder: Vihtavuori N560
Primer: Federal 210

Barrel of the rifle is a Border Barrel .284 in CrMo with 5R rifling. 700mm long.

According to my QL 3.3 the max load would be 57,3 greins. That sounds an awfull lot where people in real life are maxing out with 53 or 54 greins of 4351SC which has a similar burn rate. This load would be 104% of case capacity which is doable but a bit full.

I was NOT asked to provide proof loads so I can back up a little but of course I would like to know the rifle will hold together even with full power loads. I can not develop loads at this time as I can not get the rifle before proof firing. A kind of catch-22.

The rifle will be shot remotely in safe room so if the rifle blows to pieces nobody will get hurt except my checkbook

I plan on loading 3 rounds with 55,1 greins of N560 which should give me 100% fill rate and be 10% below max allowed pressure. After the proofing and delivery to me I will make ladder test and find out the real max loads with this combo.

What kind of loads with .284 Win and Berger 180 VLD you have used with N560 ? What do you think about the 55,1 grein load ?

 

[GLC]

Hi Longrange,

I shoot a .284 for Fclass, rifle was chambered for 180 Bergers (long) and I have tried N560 and H4831, my rifle would not shoot the 180 Berger no matter what I tried, however it shoots 175 Sierra's very very well.
My Match load is 57grains N560 with the 175 Sierra so I would start at least a few grains less, when testing Bergers I did max out at 57 Grains, no real excessive pressure signs but i did notice looser primer pockets after re-loading.

Note: this was ok in MY rifle, so as ever start a few grain lower, I was usuing CCI BR 2 primers, your suggested load of 55.1 should be fine, probably a little light on velocity but fine for proofing.

I am presuming you will be usuing this for F Class or Benchrest?
I am located in the UK, I note you have a Border Barrel, was the rifle shipped from the UK?
With regards
Gary Costello

 

[GLC]

Apologies,
I should have read your post better! it clearly states you are having the rifle built Locally!

with regards

Gary Costello
UK

 

[scout1]

Longrange338,

I ran this on Q.L., 55 grns of N-560 will have you at just over 100% case fill on a sized case loaded to 3.15".

98.92 % burn in a 28" barrel. 56,341 psi under a P-max of 63,817 psi with predicted speeds of 2836 fps,

A forum aquaintence was doing some testing with the .284 Sheshane and Bergers and was having the best luck with IMR-7828SSC.

Good luck

 

[flatlander]

Gary,
I've chambered three bbls. for the straight 284 Win. - 1. 28" PacNor 3-groove; 2. 30" Bartlein 4-groove; 3. 30" Krieger 4-groove - all are 1:9tw. The PacNor is consistently more accurate with S175MKs than with either Berger or JLK 180VLDs, though it's no slouch with the 180s. Both the 4-groove bbls. shoot the 180s slightly better than 175s. The PacNor & Bartlein are fitted to a trued LA Rem 700 with an oversized PTG bolt, while the Krieger is on a BAT 3LL.

I get nearly 100fps more velocity with RL17 than H4831 produces in all three bbls., but RL17 is a little more difficult to tune for best accuracy, while H4831 shoots very well with just about every load I've tried. Have never tried N560, but have had good accuracy & decent velocity with N165. Anytime I load warm enough to get any noticable harder bolt lift, the primer pockets on my WW cases wind up looser - I'd think that'd be as close to a proof load as I care to go.

 

[FilippoMo]

The proof house will make a load that delivers about 20% (maybe more)
increase over the pressure of your load.You can surely submit
a more sedated powder charge then you can use the best load the rifle will handle being still well below the proof house load.
I think that the 284 Winchester is in the C.I.P. tables,so the
finnish proof house should have the specs.
Remember they check minumum chamber dimensions except for head space so a longer throating is an advanrage.
I would submit a a few cartriges made to spec taken from reloading manual for 284:this will avoid overstressing your gun by the proof house.
sincerely
Filippo

 

[TonyR]

I have tested VV N560 in fully fire-formed 284 Shehane cases using necked up Lapua brass. My loading would not be safe in your gun but I did find QuickLoad to be very accurate in predicting velocities and the absense of pressure. I typically load long and jammed about 0.010 inches, about 3.200 overall, with the 180 Bergers and N560 gets me close to 3000 fps out of a 31 inch 1:9 Krieger. That is not a node and I don't shoot it there. I have also not done a full workup with that powder because I haven't found a reliable supply here in the US but it was great in my 6.5X284 when I had that barrel on the gun.

 

[Longrange338]

My rifle was proofed with the 55,1 grein of N560 load for two rounds. Nothing special happened. Now the rifle is being stocked with a McM A5.

The once shot Lapua brass has now an internal volume of 67,45 greins of H2O. The diifference between this and Shehane seems to me very minor. Of course there still is apprx. 1,5 greins difference in volume for the benefit of Shehane but now I can use box-stock dies (Forster Ultra and Redding FL S-type bushing dies). My rifle is built for tactical competitions and I have to FL-size to keep the rifle going in mud and dirt. With a minimum chamber FL-sizing is not a such big deal than it is for facotry rifles which tend to have pretty big chambers and brass gets worked too much if full length sized every time.

My rifle did not meet CIP-specifications for .284 Win due to the smaller neck and was given a new non-standard caliber name: 7X55.

The rifle has a .317" neck which equals 8.05mm. The CIP requires the minimum neck to be 8.18mm or .322". I use solely 6.5X284 Norma brass made by Lapua and do not turn necks. Works fine with a .310" sizer bushing. Loaded ammo with Berger 180 VLD has a neck of .312"

 

[Longrange338]

Update on ladder tests

Bullet Berger 180 VLD Match
Brass Lapua 6.5X284 Norma opened up to .284
Powder N560
Primer Fed 210 and Fed 215
C.O.L. 3.15"
Barrel 27.55"/700mm, neck .317"/8.05

For the first 5 loads with Fed 210 I removed all copper from the barrel after each shot so the velocities may not be normal.

Fed 210 primer
55.1 grein 2795 fps
55.6 2892
56.1 2836
56.6 2886
57.1 2898
57.6 2930
58.1 2936 (case is full, no pressure signs)

Fed 215 primer (no barrel cleaning between the shots)

55.1 grein 2789 fps
55.6 2812
56.1 2879
56.6 2904
57.1 2917
57.6 2989
58.1meter did not read (case is full, no pressure signs)

My experience with N560 in 338 Lapua has been that below a certain pressure level the powder just does not work properly. Even the sound signature changes when it gets to the proper pressure level.

I will stick to the Fed 215 and continue with ladder test folloing 57.7; 58.0; 58.3 and 58.6 to find the max load. I believe 58.0 will be just fine in my rifle at +24C. It does not get much warmer here at all.

It seems that my goal of 3000 fps or 900m/s with this bullet is achievable with safe pressures in MY rifle. YMMV.

No need for muzzle brakes, a lighter rifle and pleasant recoil when compare to my 338LM.

 

[Longrange338]

I have shot some more 180 VLD + N560 58,0 greins, Fed 210 primer (not the 215 magnum which gives lower velocities in my rifle ) and COL 80,0mm is just the ticket for my rifle. No overpressure at +25C and it does not get much warmer than that in Finland.

I get a solid 900m/s with this combo out of my 700mm Border Barrel with 5R rifling.

168 VLDs do not shoot at all in my rifle no matter what I do. If I load them to the same COL than 180 VLD the jump should be the same but these shoot really bad and the 180ies like laser.
175 Match Kings shoots ok but not as good as those 180 Bergers. Lengthening COL is under investigation.
162 Amax is still under investigation. Sometimes it shoots really well, sometimes not. Will have to tone the load down a little and lengthen the COL a little.

Anyway with N560 you can get 900m/s/3000fps with 180 bergers with shorter barrells than 30".
For the time being 180 VLD is the best bullet for my rifle. My rifle is not a BR gun but a mag fed field rifle meant for sniper comps so soft seating etc. are not an option. I do not neck turn either.