OT rifle/reloading questions

[txfireguy2003]

Well, shucks. I guess I'm just going to have to buy a few different types of bullets and try them all....dangit! HEHEHE, that just means more range time for me! I was pretty much sold when so many people were talking Nosler Accubond....but now several are talking about Sierra Gamekings....and the price of the Sierra's seems quite a bit better, at 19 bucks for 100. I'll have to look again, but I think the Noslers were about 23 bucks for 50!!!

What kind of powder do you guys use? I've read a lot about H-4831, any other suggestions....must be clean burning, and hopefully would well in a 24" barrel, other than that, as long as it shoots good, I'm happy. I just don't want to go out and buy a pound of 5 different kinds of powder just to find the ONE that I like.

[dustoffer]

I've been in the accuracy work-up business for about 10 years as a hobby. You bring me your rifle and I work up a good load, you pay me. You get the "recipe" and 5 rounds to test for yourself. I've only had one rifle I couldn't get to shoot well, but most, if not all of my customers bring nice, quality rifles. Biggest problems rounds? The SSMs. Easiest-the .30-06 and .308. Couple of things to share from my experience: 1. Only change one thing at a time, whether powder charge, seating depth, primer type, etc. 2. Use flat based bullets--gotten better accuracy from them. 3. After a quality bullet, seating depth (distance from the ogive to the rifling lands) is the most important variable. 4. Scopes from WM in a plastic blister pak are usually bad news.

[tgridley]

Well, shucks. I guess I'm just going to have to buy a few different types of bullets and try them all....dangit! HEHEHE, that just means more range time for me! I was pretty much sold when so many people were talking Nosler Accubond....but now several are talking about Sierra Gamekings....and the price of the Sierra's seems quite a bit better, at 19 bucks for 100. I'll have to look again, but I think the Noslers were about 23 bucks for 50!!!

What kind of powder do you guys use? I've read a lot about H-4831, any other suggestions....must be clean burning, and hopefully would well in a 24" barrel, other than that, as long as it shoots good, I'm happy. I just don't want to go out and buy a pound of 5 different kinds of powder just to find the ONE that I like.

H 4831 is good, I also like RL 15,19,and 22. IMR 4831 is also a good choice.

[txfireguy2003]

Any other mods, how is the trigger? My -06 is a tack driver with cheap Remington 165gr PSP bullets that I moly coated. Never had a hog or deer run after being shot. I always go for a head shot, I hate wasting shoulder meat.

The bipod and "freefloating" stuff I did are the only mods so far. The trigger was BAD at first, but with some use, it's getting better. I don't have a trigger scale, so I don't konw exactly what it is, but I would say it is very crisp and has very little creep if any at all. I squeeze on it and the instant it starts to move, the rifle goes off. All I have done to it so far is to cock the hammer, and "dry fire" the rifle, but I keep my thumb just off the hammer to catch it before it hits the transfer bar. I've done this probably 200 times or so and it seems to have smoothed out a lot. I wish I could figure out how to get down to the sear surfaces so that I could polish them. Supposedly CVA will do a free trigger job on it, but so far, I'm okay with the trigger. How do you moly coat the bullets? I plan on taking head shots on does and hogs and such, but for anything with bone on his head, I'll have to put it in the pumper.

[Mike D]

Agreed Mike, and you may be right that I won't shoot that much, but you may also be wrong...I just don't know yet, depends on how the gun shoots. I enjoy going to the range, or to some land and just punching paper from time to time in order to keep my sanity and my skills sharp. I did get to shoot her Sunday, with the cheapest ammo I could get at Academy, Winchester Powerpoints. I was attempting to get it roughly sighted in so that when I took it to the rifle range to fine tune it, I wouldn't be wasting too much time. Well, that turned out to be an effort in futility due to the wind, cool temps (close to dark) and lack of any reasonable support structure. I did manage to get two bullets to touch, but I'm certain that was pure luck. So, yesterday, while cleaning the rifle, I made a couple of small modifications. First, I did the dollar test, not really sure if it means anything on a break action rifle with synthetic stock, but I like it to freefloat anyway, so I knocked the edges of the forearm down with a little 320 grit sandpaper until the dollar bill slid all the way back to the screw that holds the forearm in place on the barrel (which is about half way up the forearm). Then, I flipped the forearm over, got out my trusty cordless drill and bored a little hole in the center of it about 2 inches from the tip. Insert swivel stud and placed a nut on the backside. Now I have a bipod on it and we'll see how she shoots now.

For punching holes in paper, I agree; shoot the cheapest bullets you can get. For punching holes in animals cost is the last thing I consider, I want the bullet that is going to perform the best, period.

[tgridley]

Here is a 3 shot group at 200yds with my M77 300 WSM. It has a 16in barrel with a MB. The load is 70.6 grains of RL 19, 135 grain sierra match king HPBT.

[Tommyh]

Just remember that 10 year old case lube in a lube pad doesn't work so good anymore! Anybody have a stuck case remover?

tap the bottom of the casing, put a short socket over the rim of the casing, run a bolt with a fender washer pushing onto the socket to pull the casing out. save yourself some money on a stuck case remover.

[HOYTPRO2001]

I don't buy the target bullet for target and hunting bullets for hunting stories. I have used the 52gr Sierra BTHP Matchkings for 25yrs on animals and had NO problems. You explain how bone and tissue can tell the difference with a fist size hole made by either one and I'll change. ACCURACY is the most important thing to me, Hands down. The bullet will kill and speed don't make alot of difference, a couple hundred fps. I know Bergers are target bullets and Sierra matchkings are also. Thousands of people hunt with them all the time with GREAT results. FMJ are not made to expand but will, Fact. Hollow points will explode, Fact. Ballistic tips are supposed to be in the middle. They all work but I want a bullet that drops all its energy in the animal and no exit hole. Thats just me but the results are flawless. If they do exit they leave body parts all over the place and tracking jobs Ray Charles could preform. Why waste energy on the dirt past the animal.
Just my opinion and thoughts for the masses.

[stryker93]

I have been following this thread closely. Hopefully not hijacking too much. My 270 loves the 130 grain ballistic tip but dislikes the 140 gr accubond. I am going to make a change as I don't care for the bad stories on the BT. A question I have is do you think that it is the weight change or the different bullet that makes more difference.

[tbeak]

I have been following this thread closely. Hopefully not hijacking too much. My 270 loves the 130 grain ballistic tip but dislikes the 140 gr accubond. I am going to make a change as I don't care for the bad stories on the BT. A question I have is do you think that it is the weight change or the different bullet that makes more difference.

It depends, i take it they are store bought? Do you mean dislikes like its just not as good?

[tbeak]

I have been following this thread closely. Hopefully not hijacking too much. My 270 loves the 130 grain ballistic tip but dislikes the 140 gr accubond. I am going to make a change as I don't care for the bad stories on the BT. A question I have is do you think that it is the weight change or the different bullet that makes more difference.

It depends, i take it they are store bought? Do you mean dislikes like its just not as good?

Fireguy, it looks like you are of the impression that its more bang for buck type thing? I like the 130 Barnes TSX (not Tipped) , but it seems that a lot of people on this forum dont. Not sure why, but that is an awesome bullet. I use them in my 300WSM.

[Mike D]

David I have to disagree with you on a couple of points.

1) Berger makes a hunting round. It is a match grade bullet, but it is a hunting bullet.
2) No exit hole is the exact reason I quit using ballistic tips. The bullet was coming apart inside the animal and leaving NO blood trail. I want an in & out with massive damage on the inside. So far, Barnes and Berger bullets have given me just that.

[txfireguy2003]

Stryker, I don't know the answer to your question, but I am guessing someone here will. From what I have looked at on Nosler's website, the two (ballistic tip and accubond) appear to the the same bullet asside from maybe the bonding process that holds the core and jacket together. SO...with that said, I'm guessing it's probaby a weight thing in your rifle.

tbeak, it is a more bang for the buck thing, but I also want performance/accuracy. I want to reload for this rifle to get the best possible accuracy out of it, but also because, from the math I have done, I can load 20 rounds of accubonds, for a little more than half the price of the cheapest winchester ammo Academy carries in .270Win. It appears that I can load 20 rounds for about 10 bucks, maybe a little more or less, depending on specific bullet/powder/primer choice, but the cheapest .270 rounds I could find the other day were $18.50 a box. So, the more I look at it, the Accubond is still saving me a lot of money, so I don't guess it's such a big deal.

[Mike D]

Stryker, I don't know the answer to your question, but I am guessing someone here will. From what I have looked at on Nosler's website, the two (ballistic tip and accubond) appear to the the same bullet asside from maybe the bonding process that holds the core and jacket together. SO...with that said, I'm guessing it's probaby a weight thing in your rifle.

tbeak, it is a more bang for the buck thing, but I also want performance/accuracy. I want to reload for this rifle to get the best possible accuracy out of it, but also because, from the math I have done, I can load 20 rounds of accubonds, for a little more than half the price of the cheapest winchester ammo Academy carries in .270Win. It appears that I can load 20 rounds for about 10 bucks, maybe a little more or less, depending on specific bullet/powder/primer choice, but the cheapest .270 rounds I could find the other day were $18.50 a box. So, the more I look at it, the Accubond is still saving me a lot of money, so I don't guess it's such a big deal.

Now you're thinkin right.

[tbeak]

Fireguy
If i remember my figures right it costs me about 20 bucks to load up 20 rounds for my 300wsm using new brass, a real rough estimate. I couldnt find enough used at the time and hadn't built up my supply at the time. That price goes down a little over the 3 or 4 more reloads. But for me to go buy bullets in this caliber and specific bullet i was looking at 60 bucks.
I like the barnes bullets because they are solid copper and they dont mushroom. Think of them more like a broad head. I loaded up about 40 last season and still have some left. but i am going to try and perfect my recipe a little just so im not worried about that. People say they leave copper in the barrels more than other copper plated bullets, I just dont believe it.