Scenar L 7mm

[Ringostar]

Has anyone tried the 7mm Scenar L 180gr bullets? I'm interested in experienced opinion with them. Consistency, jump, how they performed and availability.

 

[ShootDots]

I have not yet tried them during competition. However, their tolerances are on par with the finest custom / boutique bullet makers. The base to ogive is +/- 1/2K, base to tip is not over 7K from shortest to longest. I developed a load with them at 1000 yards. They appear to be very consistent, however, as I stated, I have not tried them during a 1000 yard competition as of yet.

They have an EXTREMELY long bearing surface and in my Shehane, I have a 220 freebore PLUS some wear. I had to seat them within 3K of the lands to keep them out of the lands and still not get into the neck / shoulder junction. However, they shot very well at 1000 yards>>>better than any bullet I have tried thus far!

 

[Steve Blair]

Erik shot them today at your MR match, Ben. He will likely comment when he gets home or maybe tomorrow.

 

[ShootDots]

I believe there was a 3 or 4 way tie for first in F-Open... The top 3 guys had, I believe, 595 with only "X's" between them. It was Mark Walker, then either Matt Davis or Erik Cortina>>> I can't remember if Mike Nguyen has 595 or not>>he may have had a 594... The wind got in everyone's way on the 3rd match.. But Mark Walker won it with a 595-33 "x's" with a 6BR-DX... Matt, had a 7 Walker, Erik has his 7 Shehane and Mike Nguyen has his 7 Walker.. They ALL shot very well considering the 12-15m.p.h. wind in the last match..

 

[Steve Blair]

Yes, Erik said that Mark had 595-33, Erik 595-31, Matt 595-29 and Mike 595-27. It was a 595 kind of day. [br]
He also said Bryan Schneider won F-TR with an outstanding 596-something.

 

[ShootDots]

Yes! Brian got, I believe 38 "x's".. I am very proud of our F-T/R guys! There were one or 2 of them that also got 595 plus whatever X count they gathered.. They are excellent shots!

 

[Ringostar]

Thanks for the info so far Ben. Are you planning on going to nationals in a month? I met, and hung out with Thomas back in Feb. I met Steve and Eric then also. I pulled target for their team.

 

[ShootDots]

No Sir Ringo.. I am not one for BIG competitions, neither do I like distant travel... No nationals for me... I like "our" as in Bayou Rifle's "tournaments" if you will... I also am going to try the Palo Alto State deal in La.. That's about as far as I care to travel..

 

[Erik Cortina]

I was doing my final tuning today and gun shot very well. I dropped 5 points all day and shot 31X's with two different seating depths. I am not sorting bullets in any way. I simply load them out of the box and check my seating depth to make sure they are all within +-.0005

Bullet have been shooting great for me. I will be using them at the LA Midrange Championship next month as well as the TSRA Midrange Championship. I will also be shooting them at Nationals.

Bob Sebold has also been shooting them and tells me they shoot pretty good. Give him a call and ask for his input.

 

[micmac]

Did any of you have issues with the bullet being larger in diameter . I receieved some 180 and 150 bullets but when seating them in the case they were extremely stiff to seat.

 

[Laurie]

Did any of you have issues with the bullet being larger in diameter . I receieved some 180 and 150 bullets but when seating them in the case they were extremely stiff to seat.

I've not worked up full loads for the 180s, but the few who have here say that pressures are noticeably higher than for Bergers, so don't use your normal loads with these bullets without backing charges well off and working up almost from scratch. I have used the 150 version as a short-range bullet, and used the same weight Sierra MK in QuickLOAD to give me some feel for charges and pressures. The results turned out to be way too hot except for the starting load and a half grain or two steps above ut with IMR-4831, and most of my test cartridges had to be pulled and reloaded. Some of these issues seem to be down to bearing surface length, but I believe they are a bit fatter too than the competition. (.284 Win)

It's not just the 7mm bullets. I've just run some trials with five different 0.308 175-178gn bullets in .308 Win. Using the same components and range of charge weights saw an 88 fps MV difference for the maximum charge of Viht N140 between the lowest pressure number (175gn Berger LR BT) and the highest (Scenar-L) with MVs in the 2,700 fps and up range. As with the 7mm bullets, the 175 Scenar takes noticeably more pressure on seating in the case-necks, and that's with a very low neck-tension set-up. If I were loading just for this bullet I'd experiment with larger bushing diameters in the sizer die.

 

[micmac]

Had same expirience with mine when testing fist i shot 162 a-max then made loads for 180 scenar L and Reload swiss RS60 and thing shot at the same velocity as 162 a-max so was way hotter than expected that + hard seating (i suspect donought on expanded cases was paritally to blame) left an impresion that the bullet was larger in diameter .
Altough Janne the head development guy in Lapua when i visited them in July day before taking part in Finnsniper2014 sugested that they were no larger.

I will definetlly have a go at measuring them .but not with a handy mike but by microscope that enables much more precise measurement.

 

[AusFclass]

How much are you having to back your load off and are you able to build back up the same velocity albeit with a lower charge?

Do you feel the BC is as good as the other offerings at this stage? The much longer bearing surface must surly encroach on the ogive and reduce the BC?

 

[ShootDots]

How much are you having to back your load off and are you able to build back up the same velocity albeit with a lower charge?

Do you feel the BC is as good as the other offerings at this stage? The much longer bearing surface must surly encroach on the ogive and reduce the BC?

I agree with you... However, I will tell you "my" story.. I was going to chrono my initial testing with load development. However, the day I chose to develop the load was BRIGHT outside and my wonderful PACT Professional does NOT do well in early morning bright sunlight.. So I did not chrono the loads.. I had a couple of excellent loads going so I decided to simply go to 1000 yards and see just how good the loads work at 1000 yards. I can't chrono at Bayou Rifles at 1000 yards as the shooting berm is too narrow to shoot and erect a chrono. I did not know where to set my "come-ups" as I did not know the velocity. So I screwed up the elevation adjustment to the exact point where my load is with 180gr. POINTED Hybrids. I shot 5 shots at 1000 yards and drove to see where I hit. All 5 shots were inside the 10 ring of the 1000 yard target. They were "centered" at "12 o'clock" from the top of the "X" ring to the top of the 10 ring. I can surmise this: either the velocity is considerably faster IF the B.C.'s are that much lower, OR the B.C.'s are not far from the Hybrids. I use 56.6grs of H4831 with the Scenars and 57.0grs with the hybrids... By the way>>> the loads shot NO LARGER than 6.5" and down to just over 3"!.. I can't wait til the next 1000 yard match at Bayou Rifles to see exactly how this load performs under competition...

 

[Erik Cortina]

Ok guys, you can assure that bullets are larger in diameter without measuring them with very precise equipment. Feel is not a very accurate measuring devise.

 

[ShootDots]

Ok guys, you can assure that bullets are larger in diameter without measuring them with very precise equipment. Feel is not a very accurate measuring devise.

C'mon Erik! Are you trying to tell me you can't measure to the 1/2K or smaller in bullet diameter variations by FEEL!!

 

[Ringostar]

Great info so far guys. Thanks! Eric, I haven't been able to reach Bob yet. He never answers his phone.

 

[AlanPF]

.... hard seating (i suspect donought on expanded cases was paritally to blame) left an impresion that the bullet was larger in diameter ...

I think you hit the nail on the head. The bullets probably aren't larger diameter, just longer in bearing surface. Sounds like they need a longer throat than everything else.

 

[kris4ocean]

Actually it did help a bit inside reaming the expanded cases (Lapua 6.5-284 case) to removbe the doughnuts...

 

[Ringostar]

Ok, I just got some to try. Meplats are great, all seem very consistent. I weight sorted all 500, just to test. All were within 1/2 gn. Without enough freebore, you will be into neck/shoulder junction. I felt extra pressure when I tried more bullet jump, so just stayed at .020. Using an existing load that I had without pressure signs, I took some to the range and adjusted my EC tuner until I got one hole groups. I'm impressed, and going to use them in Phoenix.