It rained overnight (hard) and it looks like thunderstorms on and off today so no range today to test the loads.  

I thought, since I have some time today, I’d consolidate some of the reloading information into a single thread; it’s easier for me to digest (and remember) when it's in a single post.  Note that some of the referenced threads have pictures that don't show here, but you can view them by going to the bookmark.

Neck Tension:

First, I was asked about setting neck tension for the .260.  I’m still using up my stash of factory brass (Lapua, Alpha and Peterson) so I’ve not yet set tension, but my thought is it could be dependent on the bullet design and how deeply a projectile is seated.  With a COAL of 2.800 for the .260 we’ve been seating some of the VLDs “deep” in comparison to say, the 6.5CM. Here are some factory load neck measurements:

FGMM – 0.292” using the 142gr Sierra Match King

Prime – 0.289” using the 130gr Norma Golden Target

Hornady – 0.290” using the 130gr Hornady ELD-M

Gorilla – 0.295” using the 130gr Berger Hybrid

I’m using a Whidden Bushing Die and the recommendation is to have 0.001” tension for a BOLT gun, but you may want just a bit more for you GAS gun.  There’s also a bit of spring in the brass, so you may want to go 0.003” under, get a spring of 0.001” for a result of 0.002”.  Accordingly, you may need to buy several bushings in order to set the tension across several different manufacturer’s projectiles.  

As a caution, setting too much neck tension could raise peak pressure as it could be like crimping if set too tight.    

Whidden Bushing Guide

Reloading Discussions:

Jaycoux: I just switched over to imr 4451 in 6.5 creed.  In my barrel (AI) it was slightly faster with less powder.  I usually run 42.5 grains H4350 and 142 SMKs.  IMR did the same job with 41.7.  The accuracy was there too.  It was a welcome turn of events, since my supply of 4350 is toast.  I don't know how it will function in a gasser though, and I did not rum them in a progressive press.  I can say that the ES was good.

jaycoux

Disconnekt:  You might also want to check out Reloder 16. It's one of Alliant's 3 temp-stabilized powders (along with AR-Comp, which I love in the other AR calibers, and Reloder 23), and it's in the 4350 burn range. These powders also have the interesting property that at lower temperatures, they're actually inverse temp sensitive... I found that with AR-Comp in 7.62 with the 178 ELD-X, the velocity increased about .7 fps per 1 degree F decrease in temperature from 75 to 0 F, which kept my trajectory constant within 0.5" out past 600 yards across that temperature range. This review produced a similar but less dramatic result with RL16 and tested it against H4350 in 6.5. Worth a read and maybe a try. After struggling to get consistent and predictable results with Varget over temp swings in 7.62, I'm a convert, since the stabilized Alliant powders have done exactly what I expect every time and vary velocity with temperature such that trajectory stays constant for me (H4350 and Varget are siblings just as RL16 and AR-Comp are).

I've even worked up some obscenely compressed loads with RL16 in 7.62 (powder almost to the case mouth, huge pain in the ass to load) that are loud as shit, horribly inefficient, and trash the brass on unlock and extraction due to port pressure from RL16's sloooooow burn in that caliber, but are perfectly safe peak pressure wise and perform very well and consistently with great velocity (178 ELD-X @ 2540 @ 50 degrees from a 16.1" tOBR... I can go up to 2600 before primers get sporty but it falls off the node long before then).

Disconnekt

mahnstr: I burned up the last pound of IMR 4350 that I have this past weekend. 24lbs of H4350 showed up yesterday and I'm going to start working on a load with that.

I'm not a great shooter but this is one of the better 10rd groups of the day. Fairly weak load that clocked around 2600 fps. It was 41.5gr IMR4350 under the 140gr RDF.

mahnstr

FRBaseball: Loaded up some test ammo over the weekend. Didn't get a chance to shoot it due to the high winds, but I'm hoping to shoot it next weekend.

1x fired Hornady brass from my rifle
Nosler 140 Custom Competition
Reloder 16 40-42.1 in .3 increments
CCI 200

Bumped the shoulder back .003 and loaded to 2.277 to the ogive. This is short enough to fit in a PMAG. I had planned on loading out a lot longer, but was getting significant bullet setback after chambering with longer OALs. I'm using the basic Hornady dies, don't know if I want to mess with bushing dies yet.

The Nosler 140 is one of the shorter 140-class bullets out there, shorter than the Norma 130s that I had planned to load. Hopefully these shoot, if not, I'll have to order up some 130 Bergers and ELD-Ms. Rounds are pictured in a PMAG and KAC mag.

I used to go crazy and load up 10 or even 15 rounds at each powder increment, but I've realized that is a waste of time. 3 round groups will show me where the node is, and I can play with seating depth after that. I look for accuracy first, then chrono afterwards. I'm looking for something that shoots .75MOA with a SD of 10 or less. That will be more than acceptable for the type of shooting I do, and the less time I spend chasing load development, the more time I can practice and compete.

FRB

FRBaseball II:  Took my small load test out today. 5 of the 8 groups fired were under .75 MOA.

I initially fired 100 rounds of Hornady 130 ELD-M factory ammo during my first two range sessions with the rifle. From those 100 pieces of 1x fired brass, only 26 were under max SAAMI length after I resized them. I loaded 24 rounds and shot eight 3-round groups. I'm waiting on my .260 case holder and cutting head for my Giraud trimmer to arrive before I can trim the rest of the brass and continue with the load tests.

41.8 of Reloder 16 under a Nosler 140 CC showed a lot of promise. Seems 41.8-42.2 of just about any powder is the sweet spot for these 140-class bullets. All of the 6.5 Creedmoor and 260 Remington rifles I've played with were in that range.

FRB

Rugerdog:  Hopefully RD doesn't mind a cross post:

"Larue 22" TOBR

Lapua brass
Fed match primer
130 gr TMK
47.0 gr 4831sc
2909 fps average, single digit spread over 20 shots using lab radar.
Very good performance at all tested ranges. 100-1400 yards.
Loaded to 2.80"

Absolutely floored with the performance of this load."

Rugerdog

FRBaseball: I'll be heading out tomorrow to chrono my load.

Nosler 140 CC
41.8 Reloder 16
Hornady 1x brass
CCI 200

Hoping to see 2700fps out of it.

FRB

FRBaseball II:  Just got back from the range. Unfortunately, I am an idiot and forgot to bring the factory 260 ammo, so I only had 10 rounds of factory ammo already loaded in a mag, and 5 rounds of my reloads to chrono.

The 5 rounds of 41.8 Reloder 16 under a 140 Nosler CC were right at 2754 with an SD of 7. Measured with a magnetospeed V3. First round went straight through the dot, then the next four went high and right. I blame the chrono. That cluster of 4 measured .434" CTC.

Then fired 3 rounds of factory Hornady 130s, came left a few clicks and fired the last 7 rounds at a 2MOA plate at 645. Video will be up later of the plate. Here is the 3 rounds at 100. That measured .304" CTC.

My main goal for the day was to get an SR25 zeroed and chrono'd for a class that I'm taking later this year. Laid down a couple 3/4MOA groups and then smacked the shit out of steel all the way to 1008 yards, so mission accomplished.

FRB

FRBaseball: I was hoping to be able to hit the range this morning, but because UPS decided to deliver my 130 Berger AR Hybrids at 22:00 last night, I did not have a chance to load up some test ammo for this morning. Tomorrow will be my first PRS match with the LaRue .260, and I'm hoping that afterwards, if I'm not too tired, I will be able to shoot up the Bergers.

Loaded up 35 rounds, powder charges from 41.7-42.9 in .2 increments of Reloder 16. They measure 2.184 to the ogive in 1x fired Hornady brass. Brass shoulder was bumped back to 1.621 and trimmed to 2.026. CCI 200 primers. I'll put up some photos of the test target as soon as I'm able to shoot it. It's over 110 here in Las Vegas, so I'll be looking for pressure signs due to temp even though those loads should be under max for that caliber/bullet/powder combo.

Also need to test fire the ammo I loaded in Lake City LR 308 brass necked down to 260. Lots of stuff to do this weekend.

Currently at 169 rounds down the first 22" barrel, I'm thinking after this weekend it will be close to 350 total, so I'll probably break the rifle down and clean out the barrel Sunday evening.

FRB

FRBaseball II:  I'll give my weekend update too, as I had lots of issues and frustrations. I went out Friday afternoon to test my Berger 130 AR Hybrid loads in 1x Hornady brass and my 140 Nosler CC loads that I made using necked-down .308 brass. My results were less than spectacular. The Berger loads were all over 1MOA, some getting close to 2MOA. Frustrated, I ran a few rounds of Hornady 130 ELD-M factory ammo through the gun, and it shot like garbage too. I was puzzled, because the Hornady ammo had consistently been 1/2" at 100 yards prior to that session. I pulled out a KAC SR-25 I had with me a put 3 rounds into .286" just to make sure that I didn't suddenly forget how to pull a trigger. Frustrated, I packed my stuff up and went home.

At that point I had 209 rounds down the tube, so I took the gun apart and cleaned the barrel pretty thoroughly. While cleaning it I remembered that I had installed a H3 buffer in it since the last range session, so I am unsure if that had any impact in my huge loss of accuracy. With the gun shooting well over 1MOA at that point I was a little stressed out since I had a precision rifle match on Saturday morning at 07:30. I cleaned the gun, reinstalled the factory H2 buffer, and packed all my gear for the following day. I also packed a SR-25 in .308 just in case....

I arrived at the range at 06:00 in order to put a few rounds through the tube to see if cleaning it out and/or going back to the H2 buffer brought the rifle back in line with how it should be shooting. Sure enough, the rifle went back to putting the factory ELD-M into nice little 1/2MOA groups. I also shot another series of Berger loads, and they looked a lot better than they did the day before, but they still aren't where I want them. 42.9gr of Reloder 16 put me right at 2820fps with an SD of 10 and they hovered around 3/4". I'm hoping I can tighten that up just a tad once I play with seating depth.

I shot the match with the LaRue, and I ended up taking 5th. I made a few mental mistakes and had one gear issue that kept me out of the top 3, which is what I was hoping for. The rifle shot well though, and I'm very excited to run it again next weekend at our yearly night PRS match. There are multiple advantages to running a gasser in PRS-type matches, and the LaRue .260 sure kicks the shit out of my .308 gas guns that I'm used to running. I'll be engaging targets out to 1700+ yards, so I'm really hoping I can nail down a load with the Berger 130 AR Hybrids, as they outperform every other 130-class bullet significantly out at distance. I did decide after shooting the match Saturday morning that I'll be ordering a TriggerTech "Adaptable" 2-stage trigger with the flat trigger shoe. I really like their triggers, and have them in both of my match bolt guns. Nothing against the LaRue trigger, but it's hard to run a 4.5lb trigger when you're used to shooting triggers in the 1.5-2lb range.

No pictures from the weekend, my normal shooting/photography buddy didn't make it out to the range with me, but he should be out snapping photos and taking video next weekend. I'll update again later this week on how the Bergers are doing. I also loaded a set of ammo using IMR 4451, which I've had great success in using for my 6.5Creedmoor bolt gun.

FRB

FRBaseball III: Settled on a Berger 130 AR Hybrid load finally.

Berger 130 AR Hybrid
42.9g Reloder 16
CCI 200 Primer
Hornady .260Rem Brass
2.184 to the Ogive

I'm getting 2841fps with an SD of 9 for ten shots over the Magnetospeed. That puts me at 7.4 mils to 1,000 yards, beating the factory Hornady 130 Match ammo by .5 mils, and the advantage continues to grow as you go out further. Group size hovers around .6, which is more than good enough for the type of shooting that I'm doing.

I've got about 1500 of the Nosler 123 Custom Competitions on hand now, and I will be messing with them in the coming weeks. I think I will shoot the Bergers at bigger matches, or ones requiring shots past 1K, and I'll come up with a load for the 123s that I can run as a practice round or at shorter range matches.

Tonight is the yearly Sin City Precision midnight match, really looking forward to stretching the legs on the this LaRue out to 1,700 yards. First shots are at 10pm. I'll try to throw up a range report tomorrow morning.

FRB

Defender3:  I'm back from the range and testing some loads with the Hornady 130gr ELD-Ms and the Nosler 123gr Custom Competition HPBT. I tested both H4350 and Varget. I was specifically looking for loads that showed the least vertical dispersion, hopefully equating to better long-range performance. I'm still analyzing the velocities, but here are the results from today's range trip. The highlighted loads had the least vertical dispersion of the lot, of course, not counting the factory stuff.

Defender3

sparrel...check.  ammo...check.  what's that last thing i'm missing..oh right, time.  sigh.

Nice!  Those ELDs should perform well, but it looks like you need a rifle also.  It's too bad there isn't "blaster" ammo you could get cheap to start the barrel break in process and save a couple of bucks.  As to time, we all need more!

I'm heading to the range this morning to try and get more load testing done.  I took the promising nodes from the ladder test and loaded three of each to see what kind of MVs I get, and to see if they truly are a good node.  I had some extra pieces of Alpha brass so I also loaded some of the 140gr Hornady HPBTs just to see if this barrel likes that heavier round.  And lastly, I loaded up some ELD-Ms and Nosler 123s at the nodes to see how they do.

We had some very hard rains yesterday and received like 2" of rain last night, so the range should be a bit sporty.  I'll report back if I don't get sucked into the mud and stuck downrange.  

Ain't that the truth. I picked up a case online yesterday for $1.14 a round plus $13 shipping.

That and about 20 less degrees of heat. It was 109 here by 10 am today

I’m back from another range day!  I think this may be one of my last mega posts as I’ve pretty much tested just about everything I need to test, but who knows.

I hit the local 100y range this morning, even after heavy rains yesterday and last night.  The range was remarkably dry as it’s been known to swallow people whole never to be seen again!  77* and 83% humidity, cloudy to partly cloudy and cross winds from 5-10mph.  Certainly not Phoenix weather, but I’ve BTDT and am glad I got back to the east coast!

I set up for prone and had a bunch of loads to test, a trigger test and for the heck of it, I loaded some once fired brass with no neck sizing in order to show just how important tension is to velocity and accuracy.  I know we all know that, but I did it anyways.  

I cleaned the rifle and removed and resinstalled the barrel.  It was still on in elevation but I needed to dial in 2 clicks left windage, not too bad!  

I shot sighters with the factory H130s,

Shot ELD-Ms loaded with H4350 and Varget,

Shot 140gr Hornady HPBTs loaded with H4350 and Varget,

Shot 123gr Nosler CC loaded with H4350,

Shot factory H130s that I reseated a bit deeper,

Shot ELD-Ms loaded with H4350 and with loose neck tension,

Tested a trigger theory that had interesting results, and

Tracked all the MVs using the LabRadar (got to say that was a great investment – easy to setup – easy to use).

A couple of thoughts.  I need to be very mindful of every aspect of my routine in order to keep my groups tight with this rifle, sight picture, grip, eye box, trigger squeeze, follow through, etc..  I have to say it’s easier with the bolt gun, but it is what it is.  Now, with that said, this rifle is a laser and easy to get and stay on target at range.  That’s what this rifle likes and what I can do easily with this 260!  I’ll be on the line at Quantico tomorrow and I think we’ll be shooting 600, 800 and 1,000.  I intend to only shoot the L260 and focus on banging some steel, including with the TQ!

Okay, standard range pictures.









They're still working the new berm between the rifle side and the pistol side.



Here’s the overall target frame – each one of these tells a story.



First is the top left which were factory H130 sighters.  Shot one was a cold, clean bore you can see was 2 clicks high, and then two remaining foulers that were a click low and 2 clicks to the right.  I don’t think that was too bad considering I removed the barrel.  I dialed in 2 clicks left windage and then shot the top right with factory ELD-Ms.  

The top right target is frustrating as I do think my fundamentals are sound but here’s a group just over a MOA.  

The third group was the bottom left and factory H130s that I reseated a tad deeper (2.7750), but not as deep as last time when I reseated to 2.750.  Now this group is where I want to be!  A little horizontal dispersion but a group that will stay true out to 1,000.  I just need to check the MVs to see if it was consistent enough for long-range.  Measured out at 0.80MOA.

The bottom right was factory H130s reseated to 2.7785 (I love that Whidden micrometer die). Another good group with a fourth round flyer that went a MOA to the right.  I’ll check the MVs, but this too would perform at range.  So, I’m seeing a pattern here.  Top right factory at 2.793 is a bit off, but reseating a tad is giving me better groups.





Next is the bottom left target.  These were test loads with the 140gr Hornady HPBT (not the ELD-M) and H4350.  I loaded at 41.2. 41.5 and 41.8 thinking they would be good starts, but you can see mixed results.  The 41.8 has promise and maybe I should have gone to 42 and 42.2.  The bottom right was a group fired from the bench testing the break of the trigger.  I had noticed a slight “shelf” on the break of the trigger that allowed me to hold at the break and then just apply a bit of pressure to get it to break.  I did just that with the three rounds that landed to the right.  Interesting was that I did not use the “shelf” and just broke the shot which were the two round stacked on top of each other.



The next target is the center top where I was testing the 140gr Hornady HPBTs with Varget.  The top left is 35.8grs and shows some vertical dispersion, but promise.  The MVs were a bit lower than I’d prefer though.  The top right was next and shows a good group with a bit of horizontal dispersion, again a load that could be worked a bit.  Lastly was 36.4grs of Varget and you can see we’re not getting any potential with this charge.  Note that all were loaded to 2.800 COAL.



The next target was the center bottom.  The top left was an ELD-M with 40.8grs of H4350 set to 2.7990.  I like this group and think I can work with this charge and seating depth for some great results.  Next was the top right where it was the same ELD-M with a charge of 41.1grs of H4350.  Not a bad core group, but with a flyer. I’ll have to check MVs on both groups to see their speed.  Last was what I thought would be a promising charge for the 123gr Nosler custom competition.  You can see the rifle did not like 41.9grs of H4350 with that bullet.



The next was the right top target that tested a couple of Varget loads.  The top left was the ELD-M with 36.4grs of Varget.  This was the first group where I tested the “shelf” on the trigger by holding at the shelf and then breaking the trigger.  The shelf rounds are low, the two where I just broke the trigger are in the bullseye.  I thought that was interesting and as stated above, did the same a second time.  I can’t explain it folks, I just know it happened.  The top right was 36.7grs of Varget and I don’t think that group needs any discussion.



Last is the right bottom target where I loaded some once fired Prime brass and did not set any neck tension.  I was primarily looking to see the effect on MV, but you can also see a lot of horizontal stringing.  The center dot were the final shots of more factory stuff just to see if I suck at groups with this rifle.  Of course I fired the first round at the wrong target (top right) doh!  



Here are the MVs for the day, I need to cross-associate them with the groups above, but that will have to wait, I need to clean the 260 and get ready for Quantico tomorrow.

Oh well, no Quantico today.  A Reserve Unit is shooting on R3 and you can't put steel or clays up on R4 until they have a 30 minute or so halt to training, then you can't check it until they halt and then you can't take it down until they halt.  Since it's a reserve unit that will be there until about 1600hrs, and we can't interrupt military training (as it should be), it could be a long day.  I decided a different weekend would be better so it was back home to chores.  

It's hot here. We are at the lake. I have loaded a pile of .260 for when it cools down.

We'll check back with you at the end of October.  

P.S. Enjoy the lake!

Here's some drop data that I finally processed:

LaRue .260 with a 22" barrel; 85*, sunny.

Factory Hornady 130gr ELD-M:
800 yards - 20.5MOA
800 yards with Tranquillo - 22MOA
1000 yards - 30.25MOA
1000 yards with Tranquillo - 31.25MOA

Factory FGMM 142gr SMK:
800 yards - 21.25MOA
1000 yards - 31MOA

Do you think it's the suppressor the "suppressed setting" that is eating up that muzzle velocity causing the suppressed shots to need an extra 1 MOA?

No, not at all.  Rather, I think it's the POI shift any suppressor could cause. My TQ on my 7.62 tOBR was less of a shift, .25 to .5 MOA.  The same TQ on my 260 is a 1 MOA POI shift downwards, which I think you see reflected in the drop data.

That makes sense.

Additional drop data:

LaRue .260, 22" barrel, 96*, sunny.

Factory Prime, 130gr Golden Target OTM:
600 yards - 12.25MOA
1000 yards - 32MOA

LaRue .260, 22" barrel, 74*, sunny.

Factory Prime, 130gr Golden Target OTM:
800 yards - 22MOA

Factory FGMM 142gr SMK:
800 yards - 21.5MOA

D3....

Did your 260 come with the 308 tranquilo brake? Just confirming LT didn't make a 6.5 brake and did not share it with the world.

Yes, the 260 came with the 7.62 brake.  There's no 6.5 brake that I'm aware of or planned.

Are you looking for a decent 6.5 brake Hutch

Slap a TranQuilo on the 260 and drive on.

Already done. I was mounting my scope yesterday and generally looking over the rifle and got to thinking.....is my 308 tranquilo brake right? Did Mark make a .260 caliber one?!

^^^^^^^^^^
What he said.  I hope to have the L260 and TQ out to Quantico this Saturday for 600, 800 and 1,000.

@Larue_Tactical

Hey Mark, know you're neck deep in shootin' them new Grendels, but you owe me an e-mail.  Please check you're junk folder just in case.

Yal remember this from a few weeks ago?

Attached File


Just got done talking with Tom, over at Armageddon Gear, in regards to the suppressor cover starting to melt on 2 mags of expedient firing.  

He went above and beyond in taking care of me. A new one is inbound and I spent some cashola; bought some more AG due to Tom's excellent customer service.

Did you buy a Beer Bivy?

I might buy one just because of that hilarious YouTube!

"So the SEALs can keep their Zimas cold while they write their next book"!

Received my Peterson brass order from Euro Optics (good price, free shipping and a $25 next order cert).  I like this brass, very consistent on length, annealed and the case mouth is chamfered from the factory (Pennsylvania).  I think they're a great value considering the Lapua is $25 more per 100.  YMMV.  

Curious what you think about it, there's some mixed reviews out there.

Tom is 50 Shades of Awesome

Love to tOBR next to the Ranger IPA in the video.

Mark speaks the truth!

And yes...I bought two of them!

That looks awesome!  Lotta scope on there.

Alright then, now that FR8Dog has started an official LaRue Grendel thread, we could easily become OBE!  I’m working towards better load data and that will be my focus, as well as getting a better grip and trigger consistency as I continue to pull low right.  So, let’s keep this going!

I’ve only done one loading so far, but with no issues.  Primer pockets were tight, there was a consistency in length right at 2.025, and I had no issues with neck diameter or tension.  I’ve looked over the fired brass, but not done any measurements yet.  Anything specific you want me to track?

I have read about them, especially noting their prices have dropped since last year when they were priced akin to Lapua (for 260) to where they are now at about $74 per 100.  No dented necks either as they ship in an ammo box.  I think Lapua is still the standard, but I do like buying from an American company.

ETA - I only loaded the Peterson in the 260 bolt gun but it was consistently faster than the same load in Lapua brass:  

42.2g of H4350, 130 ELD-M, F210M in Lapua - 2872fps.  Same at 41.8gr = 2894fps.

42.2gr H4350, 130 ELD-M, F210M in Peterson - 2923fps.  Same at 41.7gr = 2910fps.

ES with the Peterson was lower than with the Lapua, but that could be a number of factors and I only have a single data point.

Ah, I checked my stash as I have a bivy!  Apparently I bought it when I bought my suppressor covers.  I’ll have to dig it out for the summer.

That S&B looks really nice!  I like that color contrast.  Now we need a range report.

What he said there also  ^^^ I think my emails probably got eaten by a spam filter... 

Also TWANGnBANG posted this on the Facebook yesterday, seems to still be live ETA: Link to deal... 

D3 once you finish sorting out the .260 buy a 6.5 so you can contribute to that thread. Your level of detail is greatly appreciated. If have learned a great deal from your post and applied that knowledge to my .260 shooting.

You've taken on a pretty big responsibility by starting that official thread...  And I think LRRFP52 is killing it when it comes to the G so I don't know what I could add.

I think Mark alluded that the G sparrels may be the next offering for the BuildAR, so you know I'll be all over that since I have all the parts and pieces to build multiples.  

I dont go subsonic to almost 1500, so it should get me that far and maybe a little past that.

If you havent tried one of those and the opportunity comes up, take a few shots

I might be able to squeeze in a range trip tomorrow.

Are you going to take factory ammo out to 1500?

I think we all know it will shoot well....

unless Mark cant make a decent barrel

I have taken 150grn ball to 1000, why not try it.

The ELD is good enough, so is the prime, if the gorilla was faster it would be too.

I try everything, and get it to where I can adjust to it or it adjusts to me.

ETA: teerex shoots his ackley 223 to 1000

IIRC, yours is a new barrel so it still needs to speed up a bit?

Absolutely. At this point I am just using your numbers as rough guidline to get a estimated baseline.

The weather was good for about a day, some rain came in, now its just super hot again, with humidity.

I am thinking about traveling up to Prescott area/payson/ maybe a little further to happy jack so I can get into the 80s.....maybe this weekend

Head up to the Res.  

Friday night is a great time to head up through the res. Early in the month is even better.
Tuba City and K town for a little cultural exchange!
LoL

which one, there are a bunch

Looks like I can get to the 100 yard range later today, but no Quantico this weekend.  My son moved up the granddaughter's 2nd b-day to tomorrow so it doesn't conflict with baby #2 on the way and due next week.  So, 600/800/1000 will have to wait for another week.  

The good news is I loaded some of the Peterson to the nodes that had some promise in the 260 from my previous ladder test, as well as around the nodes since the Peterson tended to run faster than the Lapua.  I loaded six each at 41g, 41.6g, 41.8g, 42g and 42.2g of H4350 pushing the H130 ELD-M and will shoot them suppressed and unsuppressed.  I also loaded them to 2.2775 to further test the jump theory with my particular rifle. One test showed they may like to be just a skosh of the lands.  I also took some of the factory H130s and reseated a box to 2.2775 to see how they will perform.

I also want to play around with loads using Varget.  I think there's a good load for the ELD-M just waiting for that powder.  I've been trying to score some more Varget and Reloader 16, but no Bueno, even when trying to trade H4350.  I need to get all this done so if Mark releases 6.5G sparrels to the BuildAR list, I don't get all anal sidetracked with a new obsession.  

First case of Hornady 130gr ELD-Match ammo came in. I did a test buy since it was from a smaller outfit. It arrived in a very timely manner and came in it's original Hornady case.

I went ahead and bought another case since it's a $1.21 a round shipped.

Attached File

Take it from me, that's not enough.  

I don't know how you Texas and southwest fellas do it - it was 95* with 85% humidity today - it was killing me while I was on the range!  I was continually toweling the sweat off me trying to get the strings fired.  I know, yours is a "dry heat."  

I went to the local 100 yard range and surprise if I wasn't the only one there for the whole 3hrs it took me to fire these tests (I was letting the barrel cool between strings; maybe I should have just fired faster).

Same setup as usual at 100, but they have finished the berm between rifle and pistol.  I was testing some handloads with factory Peterson brass and around the nodes that worked well previously.  I also chrono'd the strings since the Peterson brass tends to run 10-30fps faster than the Lapua.  I'll process the MVs when I can as I got sucked into a Sig P320 raffle and need to get that straight this weekend.











TQ taking a break and cooling off a bit.



Rod Stewart - 1971 - Every Picture Tells a Story.

Here are the first shots of the session.  The top left are clean cold bore and two foulers.  Now, this is where this rifle shooter should be!  I've pretty much determined my hold and grip suck and I'm just throwing shots by affecting/muscling the rifle.  These three were shot with no thumb or grip and basically just pulling the trigger with the rifle shouldered.  Not too bad and with my Mk1 calibrated eyeballs I'm guessing that's sub 0.4MOA.  The top right was a second string with the factory Hornady H130, another group I'll take and probably in the 0.7MOA range.  I decided not to shoot the front bag test and went to suppressed with the comeups for the TQ, but with the old thumb/grip, clearly I'm onto something here.



Next up was testing of some handloads: Peterson virgin brass, F210M, H4350 and H130g ELDM set to 2.775.  The top left @41g shows promise as does 41.8, but 42.2 was right on.  Now, I have NO idea how I pulled the third shot 2MOA right and I SWEAR I did not call it there, but there she landed.  



Next up were the same loads with the TQ to check MVs and if the TQ liked the load.  Again, the 42.2g shined.



I did shoot some of the factory H130s that I reset to 2.775, but the results were not of note.  Most likely because my 60 year old ass was hot and tired after three hours in this heat.  I need to toughen up a bit...  I'll post MVs as soon as I can process the data.  Next up is to work the 42.2 a bit for COAL, but I'm liking what I see.  I'm off to a b-day party manana, but I'll get to stop by Greentop and Bass Pro in Richmond to see what sort of powder and primers they may have in stock.

Where is that from