Re 17 suggestions

[icepick]

I'm currently shooting 105 Lapua's and using 29.9 gr of RE 15.
It shoots fantastic but I still wanna experiment. I just got my hands on a lb of RE 17 and want to try it.

Has anyone used this with any success?

I'm looking for suggested loads.

 

[rcw3]

RL17= too slow a powder for a 6BR

 

[Steve Blair]

With all due respect to rcw3, he is wrong. RL17 is not a slow powder. Published comments that it is between 4350 and 4831 show ignorance of the homogeneous deterrent effect. RL17 is a medium rate powder with excellent progressivity, allowing higher velocities for a given peak pressure.

Please take a look at my previous post. Since then, the weather has cooled and I have tried loads up to 33.4 for 3038 fps, 8.8 ES and 3.9 SD. I am seeing groups around .75 to 1.25 at 300 yards with Sierra 107s.

I no longer shoot anything but RL17 in 6BR.

 

[rcw3]

I guess there's always and exception to the rule, but in the two 6BR's I tried it in, it was not a good match up with the 6BR case capacity.

 

[tiny68]

I played with RE-17 with the 95BIBs in my 6BR. Velocity was superior to RE-15 and Varget by over 50 fps. Didn't group quite as good as the RE-15. Pulled that barrel and haven't been back to it. But, my data indicates that RE-17 may have some promise with the 6BR capacity. Maybe it shines even more in a 6BRX or other larger cases, but I will take what I can get.

Tiny

 

[Steve Blair]

I understand that experiences vary but all indicators are that RL17 is a nearly ideal match to the 6BR. At ~59ksi, loading density is 99%+. Velocity is over 3000 fps from my 30' barrel. ES and SD are in single digits. Accuracy runs between .25-.4 moa at 300 yards. I don't know what more could be asked. The attached image is my best group to date, fired 4 September. This was fired at 0815 and there was not a bit of wind, unusual in San Diego.

QuickLOAD shows maximum in every category; loading density, velocity and pressure. Propellant burnt is 100% at 30'. This correlates very well with my experience and chrono data. Additionally, the powder is burning very cleanly.

The caveat is that I have only seen this performance level with Wolf KVB-5.56M primers. I tried CCI BR4 and Fed 205M but neither performed as well as the Wolf. Velocities were close but ES & SD were more than double the Wolf numbers.

If you will, please describe the components and load used during your testing.

 

[Forum Boss]

Sleepygator, in the other post, indicated he has 39.0 grains of case capacity,for his 6BR). Most 6BR shooters are probably closer to 38.0. This could affect SG's ability to get enough RL17 powder in the case to achieve good velocities.

 

[icepick]

Sleepygator,,,, I see you mentioned 300 yds, was that target shot at 300?
Also what bullet weight are you getting that speed with and what powder weight?

I found with my last BR that cramming in as much varget I could fit didn't help it make things worst and started to show signs of pressure, I backed off to a slower load around High 2800's and the groups got alot smaller and more predictable.

Thanks
Mike

 

[Steve Blair]

The target was shot at 300 yards at South Bay Rod & Gun Club in San Diego and is the best I have ever fired at that distance. Amazing what a lack of wind can do.

This earlier thread has my initial post regarding RL17 load development. The attached PDF has all pertinent info.

The Editor indicated that Savage barrels may be a little loose and, judging from water capacity, the chamber may be slightly larger than most custom guns. There are no visible case bulges and the cases otherwise appear as they would from a tight chamber. The capacity was measured with distilled water on an Acculab VIC 123.

The load when that was shot was:

Lapua case, neck turned to .013
Sierra 107 MK, naked
Wolf KVB-5.56M
32.5 grains RL17
chrono @ 15' - 2908.7

The temperature was around 75 degrees at 0815.