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When do you give up on a barrel?

I didn't catch what you were using it for - and why you are using those "light" bullets. If you are varminting, I'd try the 75 V-Max with around 31.2 grns. of Varget. I can get into the 2's and 3's with that in mine. Otherwise if target shooting, I'd go to a 105 Lapua Scenar L bullet with around 26.1 8208XBR kissing lands or 28.2 grns Varget., a 105 Berger with around 26.3 grns 8208XBR. You absolutely shoud nolt give up on that tube yet. I have a tube that will even shoot 62-grain Varmint Grenades in the 3's using 28.5 H322. Keep trying!!!
 
Yes, this is a varmint rifle and I only like to shoot varmint bullets as I am looking for quick clean kills. I have shot target bullets at pdogs and am not a fan and the hit and run down the hole thing. I am shooting the 70 blitzkings. Tried Varget, N135, and now on 8208 which is showing some promise at 31.8gr. I have tried the 87 vmax in a couple different rifles and never could get those to shoot well. Perhaps they will shoot in this rifle. Will do some more work with the 80 Nos BT and the 75 vmax is next on my list.
 
toasty said:
Yes, this is a varmint rifle and I only like to shoot varmint bullets as I am looking for quick clean kills. I have shot target bullets at pdogs and am not a fan and the hit and run down the hole thing. I am shooting the 70 blitzkings. Tried Varget, N135, and now on 8208 which is showing some promise at 31.8gr. I have tried the 87 vmax in a couple different rifles and never could get those to shoot well. Perhaps they will shoot in this rifle. Will do some more work with the 80 Nos BT and the 75 vmax is next on my list.
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I don't see how you're jumping around so much from bullet to bullet and powder to powder and actually doing a true load workout. You haven't fired enough rounds to do a seating depth test with the nozzler first find your seating depth and work on your powder charge.
 
toasty said:
Yes, this is a varmint rifle and I only like to shoot varmint bullets as I am looking for quick clean kills. I have shot target bullets at pdogs and am not a fan and the hit and run down the hole thing. I am shooting the 70 blitzkings. Tried Varget, N135, and now on 8208 which is showing some promise at 31.8gr. I have tried the 87 vmax in a couple different rifles and never could get those to shoot well. Perhaps they will shoot in this rifle. Will do some more work with the 80 Nos BT and the 75 vmax is next on my list.
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Start them all at touch and back up .005 at a time. If one of the 3 doesn’t shoot, the barrel may very well not be as good as you’d hoped, but it’s hard to judge it so severely without putting a premium bullet in it, so I’d still try that and worse case repurpose it for coyotes. N135 should work but of course the 8208 is as good, maybe better. Clean thoroughly before changing powders.
 
Just thought I would update my thread with some new results. Never could get the 70 SBK to shoot much better than .4" groups at 100 yards with the 8208 even with a full blown seating test. I picked up some 75 and 87 vmax to try. Started with the 75 vmax which I was able to seat right at the lands and with 30gr of N135. Bang, I am getting sub .25" 5 shot groups with several 3 shot groups in the .150" range. I don't know if it just loves seating depth at the lands or the barrel just likes the 75 vmax as I haven't tested the bullet with much of a jump yet. I don't know why it shoots with 75 Vmax and not the Nosler 80 BT with the same powder seating at the lands, but barrels like what they like. I am glad I didn't give up on the barrel. Some work still to do and still may be able to improve groups even more, but both barrels I have bought from Urbanrifleman have been very accurate.
 
toasty said:
Just thought I would update my thread with some new results. Never could get the 70 SBK to shoot much better than .4" groups at 100 yards with the 8208 even with a full blown seating test. I picked up some 75 and 87 vmax to try. Started with the 75 vmax which I was able to seat right at the lands and with 30gr of N135. Bang, I am getting sub .25" 5 shot groups with several 3 shot groups in the .150" range. I don't know if it just loves seating depth at the lands or the barrel just likes the 75 vmax as I haven't tested the bullet with much of a jump yet. I don't know why it shoots with 75 Vmax and not the Nosler 80 BT with the same powder seating at the lands, but barrels like what they like. I am glad I didn't give up on the barrel. Some work still to do and still may be able to improve groups even more, but both barrels I have bought from Urbanrifleman have been very accurate.
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I don't know what happened to Nosler, but I never have customers give me reports of tiny little groups from Nosler bullets. Quite the contrary.

Please let me know your findings with the 87 VMAX I never could get them to shoot.
 
75 Vmax with N135 is just getting better and I think I am ready to load up a couple hundred rounds and see how they do in the varmint fields tomorrow. Taking into consideration throat erosion over the next 200-300 rounds, would you go with higher powder charge seated away from the lands or lower charge seated in the lands? I have a very good node at 30.0-30.3. 30.6 starts to open up. Also have a good seating depth node from 2.191 to 2.187. I do not have the data point of 30.3 seated at 2.191", but I am out of time and can not get to the range today before I need to load up my rounds. I realize there is more work to do to really optimize. I really do appreciate any time or effort expended in looking at this data.

Listed is powder charge, OAL, Relation to Lands, and group size.

1 - 30.0gr, OAL of 2.191" which is about .002" jam into the lands - .190"
2- 30.0gr, OAL 2.187" - whcih is about .002" off the lands - .280"
3- 30.0gr, OAL 2.183" - .400"
4- 30.3gr, OAL of 2.187" - .150"
5- 30.6gr, OAL of 2.187" - .480"
 
toasty said:
75 Vmax with N135 is just getting better and I think I am ready to load up a couple hundred rounds and see how they do in the varmint fields tomorrow. Taking into consideration throat erosion over the next 200-300 rounds, would you go with higher powder charge seated away from the lands or lower charge seated in the lands? I have a very good node at 30.0-30.3. 30.6 starts to open up. Also have a good seating depth node from 2.191 to 2.187. I do not have the data point of 30.3 seated at 2.191", but I am out of time and can not get to the range today before I need to load up my rounds. I realize there is more work to do to really optimize. I really do appreciate any time or effort expended in looking at this data.

Listed is powder charge, OAL, Relation to Lands, and group size.

1 - 30.0gr, OAL of 2.191" which is about .002" jam into the lands - .190"
2- 30.0gr, OAL 2.187" - whcih is about .002" off the lands - .280"
3- 30.0gr, OAL 2.183" - .400"
4- 30.3gr, OAL of 2.187" - .150"
5- 30.6gr, OAL of 2.187" - .480"
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Do a seating depth test at 30.0. take that depth and tune powder.
 
toasty said:
Just thought I would update my thread with some new results. Never could get the 70 SBK to shoot much better than .4" groups at 100 yards with the 8208 even with a full blown seating test. I picked up some 75 and 87 vmax to try. Started with the 75 vmax which I was able to seat right at the lands and with 30gr of N135. Bang, I am getting sub .25" 5 shot groups with several 3 shot groups in the .150" range. I don't know if it just loves seating depth at the lands or the barrel just likes the 75 vmax as I haven't tested the bullet with much of a jump yet. I don't know why it shoots with 75 Vmax and not the Nosler 80 BT with the same powder seating at the lands, but barrels like what they like. I am glad I didn't give up on the barrel. Some work still to do and still may be able to improve groups even more, but both barrels I have bought from Urbanrifleman have been very accurate.
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My rifles won’t shoot the 87 V-max well at all- but loves those 75’s!
 
SBS said:
Perhaps the OP meant that he needs to be shooting .2 @100 for his 600 yd. shots to be good enough.
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It seems to me he's pretty close. I think there's a good lesson to be learned here. This game is really all about bullets. I really like it when my customers use a known quality bullet first in their new barrels.
 
These are 3-5 shot groups at 100 yards not 600 yards. My goal is to be shooting sub .2" at 100 yards which increases my chances of hitting a varmint that is 2.5" wide at 600-1000 yards.
 
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urbanrifleman said:
I don't know what happened to Nosler, but I never have customers give me reports of tiny little groups from Nosler bullets. Quite the contrary.

Please let me know your findings with the 87 VMAX I never could get them to shoot.
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For varmints- Nosler’s Ballistic Tip line has accurate bullets- even the lead free versions. They shoot 1/4 moa in my AR’s. Some might not think this as accurate, but in my experience, getting anything to shoot much better than that out of an AR is quite exceptional. I haven’t shot their Varmageddon line- but a few buddies do and they like them. They are accuracy nuts so I know they do shoot, at least in some rifles. The Custom Competition line of bullets provides very economical availability of some decent target bullets. Kind of a “90% as accurate at half the price” scenario the way I view them. With Hornady- the only VMAX I have ever shot that wouldn’t do what I wanted was that 87 grain. Seeing your post and those of others, I wonder if that 87 is the most temperamental of the V-Max line? I shoot V-Maxes in .17, 223, .243 and .20 cal.
 
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