Chris Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Also, I think Chargemaster's really like (at least mine does) throwing 45.3 grains of Varget. It was spittin' those out SUPER fast.Rich What the heck are you loading at 45.3? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sierpina Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 There is a 1k match which is a little down below Wilksboro on the western side of the state. I haven't been to it but they have a monthly match, and keep points for the season and all of that kind of stuff. People over here could call Bill Shehane (sp?) a local nightforce dealer to get details. Dan I never got to try the larger Fowlers. The 95gr shoots great in my gun. Wish I had some of the larger ones to try out. Sierra is now making a 100gr MK, which they didn't have when I did a load workup for this gun. I may have to give them a try. Sierra started making those a few years ago, they shot well at 600, but not as good as the Fowler 110's. You can try contacting Jef and see if he'll make a batch. I'm sure he didn't have a lot of orders for them, so maybe he took them off his lineup. Berger lists an 85 or 87 flat base, and a 115 boatail. Nosler 100 grain Ballistic Tips shoot real well too. I stopped using them because of spotty availability. That's when I was shooting them in an XP-100 for long range pistol at the Masters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 Also, I think Chargemaster's really like (at least mine does) throwing 45.3 grains of Varget. It was spittin' those out SUPER fast.Rich What the heck are you loading at 45.3? 308. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted March 2, 2009 Author Share Posted March 2, 2009 (edited) All the test loads ran well this weekend. Can't say the same for the shooter or the chrono (I didn't hit it...getting funky readings). So...rather than shooting the local match this weekend, I'll be at the range testing again. Rich ETA: If anyone's looking for a badass comp for a 308, the Surefire's are AWESOME! Edited March 2, 2009 by uscbigdawg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted March 4, 2009 Author Share Posted March 4, 2009 Talk to "the old man" (my Dad) about what could be the problem with the chrono and other than him reminding me that my odds of getting good readings go up when I remember to turn it on (thanks Dad) he reminded me that I'm shooting a big rifle now and that scootin' further away from the bench would be a good idea (sorry...I'm used to pistols and AR's). Thanks to kgunz11, I'm in brass prep hell. Thank goodness I tempered that to 200 pieces last night. Resized and trimmed. Tonight is inside chamfering, VLD chamfering and outside chamfering. If I get done a little early, I'll uniform primer pockets. Tomorrow is uniform and deburr pockets, clean and prime cases. Friday is loading: 1 - OCW Test Loads - Part 2 (meaning take a rifle rest, stapler and scoot the chrono further away; all to confirm numbers & groups). 2 - OCW Load Seating Depth Test - Taking a preliminary load and loading it out between 2.85" and 2.90" to see if I get some tighter groups. 3 - Steel/Silohuette practice with the local club. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Run them all through the sizing die again before you throw charges and seat bullets. Tests were conducted on cases that were sized and sat for a few days before loading, neck tension becomes inconsistent. Yeah yeah, I know you needed another something to add to the equation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted March 4, 2009 Author Share Posted March 4, 2009 (edited) You are an evil, evil man! Good thing I can remove the decapping pin on the Redding dies and re-hit the ones that are already primed. Guess I'll do another sizing after the primer pocket prep. This won't mess up my chamfering? Rich Edited March 4, 2009 by uscbigdawg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Nope. Won't effect anything. If you remember early on in our initial conversation I told you I do mine in lots. Do everything on 50 cases, then start the next 50. In other words, resize and brass prep 50, seat primers, throw powder, seat bullet on those 50. Next evening repeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted March 4, 2009 Author Share Posted March 4, 2009 Okay... Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 (edited) Also, I think Chargemaster's really like (at least mine does) throwing 45.3 grains of Varget. It was spittin' those out SUPER fast.Rich What the heck are you loading at 45.3? 308. Rich For Chris... No pressure signs either (welll....not bad ones anyways. )...not bad for a factory rifle! Rich Edited March 24, 2009 by uscbigdawg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Until you start seeing ejector marks on the head stamp you are good to go. Don't think a little primer flow in a factory gun is anything, that can happen even on a light charge load. Primer flattening especially with BR2's don't mean anything as the cup is really soft. A good friend of mine, and the best all around shooter I know, develops loads by loading until he gets a good swipe on the head stamp and then he backs off .5 a grain and loads 20. Then he goes to the 1k range and shoots those 20. If they group well at distance he loads lots of them. Must be working for him, he's the best shooter in the country to attend Camp Perry for the last 2 years. Never even tests them at 100 yards as he doesn't shoot it in competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 One thing that Chris and I found interesting at the range was the brass comes out cool. Weird. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Not weird. In a rifle, the powder burns much slower than in a pistol. In your pistol, most of the powder burn actually happens in the case. With a rifle, very little of it actually burns in the chamber. Did you know the primer creates enough pressure in a loaded round to actually expel the bullet? What's weird is that a bullet stops twice and starts 3 times in a rifle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 Actually I did learn that. Don't ask how. It was a stupid day at the range. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Also, I think Chargemaster's really like (at least mine does) throwing 45.3 grains of Varget. It was spittin' those out SUPER fast.Rich What the heck are you loading at 45.3? 308. Rich For Chris... No pressure signs either (welll....not bad ones anyways. )...not bad for a factory rifle! Rich Is this with 175mk's? What kind of velocity? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted March 25, 2009 Author Share Posted March 25, 2009 Yep. 2550-2750. Settled on 2600 as per the OCW test it was perfect-to! Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKSNIPER Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Big dawg..please be careful. RIfles are rifles and pistols are pistols. When rifles fail due to excessive charge they usually do it in a BIG way. Max loading for Varget using 175 SIE BTHP is 45gr. Also examine those primers closely. It may be the lighting for the pictures you posted but theres some that look like they're raised up a little around the edges. Its a small sign but in rifle sometimes thats all you get before a bad thing happens. A friend nearly lost his eye probably due to excessive charge in a loaded round. Rifle blew brass out the vent hole back into his face. (Why Rem didn't angle the hole toward the front/muzzle end is beyond me.) Be careful. I'd back it off a little bit. and ALWAYS wear your eye protection when shooting/observing. JK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted March 25, 2009 Author Share Posted March 25, 2009 I'm at 44.7 grains of Varget, so I'm under that 45 number. However even at 45.3, there were no hard extractions, no extractor marks or any other signs of pressure. Thanks for the heads up though. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I've loaded 46.5 grains of Varget behind the 175's, it really all boils down to how tight your bore is and how your chamber is cut. Primer flow around the firing pin means jack as factory firing pins are sloppy, both in cut and their fit in the bolt. The reason ejector swipe is a good indicator is because in order for him to get it, there must be enough pressure in the chamber to cause the brass to back up, meaning the pipe is stopped if you will. Pressure isn't going fwd because there is too much going on for the small hole in the bore and the dimension of the chamber and since it can't go fwd it goes back, thus pushing the brass back on the bolt hard enough that the ejector leaves a mark on it. The load he is shooting is a proven load in many MANY factory rifles as well as some custom rifles. It's also the pet load for a MAJOR ammunition manufacturer. It works in 100* temps and when temps drop down into the 20's it is still in the OCW accuracy node. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKSNIPER Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Brothers , My buddy who lives in New England was shooting in the rain. Other than that it was a normal day on the range. He had NO indications of anything wrong coming. He removed his eye pro because they kept fogging up on him with the rain and cold weather. The very next shot his rifle blew up. The rifles bolt handle broke off when attempting to open it. It had to be shipped to Remington the way it was. They were unable to pinpoint an exact cause and as a result there are only theories as to why it happened. One is the chamber got a little rain water in it and that coupled with an overcharged round may have caused the pressures to spike which caused the catastrophic failure. (You can pressurize a liquid but not compress it) The rest of the ammo was examined and found to be "within spec". (It was factory ammo not reloads. The ammo was from a nationally recognised manufacturer who shall remain nameless since there is NO proof that the ammo was the cause of the incident) It almost cost my friend, Jamie, his eye. Not to mention it scarred up his already ugly mug. They removed multiple minute brass pieces from his eye the first day. The docs removed more on another visit to them and I believe a third visit was necessary to remove all of it. He is night blind in that eye now due to the starring effect he gets from on coming headlights because of the scarring on the cornea. Had to retire from his job because of the night blindness. Crappy pension. Which is why I am so cautions now. They publish limits on loading for a reason. Sure some of it is cover your butt lawyer type stuff but you never know just how far/close the edge is ..... until you step over..... and then its too late. Not worth my eyesight or pretty face to find out. Guys here seem to do it with their pistols a LOT and seem to get away with it but every once in a while you read here about a guy telling how he blew his gun up. The assumption is that he somehow double charged his casings and that may very well be the case but maybe he did not and the weapon just was worn out being over pressurized all those times and just finally let go. I don't know much about the pistols but I can say with certainty when a rifle lets go catastrophically it is NOT a fun thing to experience. People get hurt...sometimes very badly hurt not to mention a fine rifle gets ruined. PLEASE be careful. Stay within the limits. JK PS "primer flow" can be attributed to more than one cause but when the shooter is loading over spec and testing new loads I'd suspect that hes right at at the beginning of possible over charging his loads. Especially since he has not experienced any other symptoms it means to me hes POSSIBLY just stepping over that threshold. I'd back off bro. Be safe. You don't want to destroy your new pop-gun or your eyesight do you? JK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted March 25, 2009 Author Share Posted March 25, 2009 We had similar conditions at our 1k match last month and EVERYONE was having abnormal pressure problems. Source was derived to be the moisture and wet rifles & rounds getting in to the chamber and since fluids do not compress, equated to severe pressure spikes. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Water or snow in the chamber can cause excessive pressure problems. Look at it this way, adding water to the chamber decreases the size of the chamber, and believe it or not, by a great deal. It's all about volume guys. Shooting in the rain or snow is not the best idea, but if you know how to handle your gun and ammo you can make it thru unscathed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 Here's a good example of bad conditions: Firing In Wet Conditions Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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