224 Wby 7-22-26 Upaded 8-23-26

RL338

RL338

Handloader
Mar 23, 2017
4,904
8,601
Earlier today I had a chance to try out my new barrel on the 224. This is a Shilen 8 twist 4 groove ratchet Alternut barrel. My fired brass from the old barrel will not chamber due to unforeseen issue. I have 40 pcs of new Norma let to use. I had to pull the old ammo (55gr Sierra) and loaded it into the new brass.
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First up was the reloaded 55gr Sierras
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Next up was the Barnes 62gr TTSX , these are promising.
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Last one was Cutting Edge 65gr MTH , I’ll be honest a little disappointed.
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These charge weights are on the lighter side to break the barrel in and fireform the brass. I have 100 pcs of brass coming and after they’re fired the barrel should be broke in. Then I can fine tune a few loads. I still have 50gr TTSX , 62gr Fusion , 64gr BSB , and 70gr VLD to try.
Overall I’m excited that this turned out well.
 
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Sharp looking rifle that looks to be a shooter. The Barnes TTSX load looks pretty good.

JD338
 
That 30.5gr load of Sta-Ball Match does look good.
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When I shot these groups I alternated between bullets to see how the barrel would react to them. I did not clean the barrel either between groups and in fact there is very little copper in the barrel afterwards.
 
Good shooting, Barnes load looks promising. Seating depth adjustment should tighten those groups. You will get it running great in no time.
Is that a tunnel? Not sure what it is when I saw it. ;)
 
Today I took the opportunity to try out 4 bullets in 224.
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Left to right 64gr BSB , 70gr AB , 62gr Fusion , and 55gr Sierra. All were loaded in new Norma brass with Sta-Ball Match.
64gr BSB
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70gr AB
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62gr Fusion
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55gr Sierra
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The 55gr Sierras were tested before with BL-C2 , this time the Sta-Ball Match has better results.
In both test all bullets in the 60gr weight class are all loaded to 30.5grs of Sta-Ball Match.
I haven’t cleaned the barrel yet and it speaks volume of Shilens ratchet barrel.
 
RL338 said:
Today I took the opportunity to try out 4 bullets in 224.
View attachment 30078
Left to right 64gr BSB , 70gr AB , 62gr Fusion , and 55gr Sierra. All were loaded in new Norma brass with Sta-Ball Match.
64gr BSB
View attachment 30079
70gr AB
View attachment 30080
62gr Fusion
View attachment 30081
55gr Sierra
View attachment 30082
The 55gr Sierras were tested before with BL-C2 , this time the Sta-Ball Match has better results.
In both test all bullets in the 60gr weight class are all loaded to 30.5grs of Sta-Ball Match.
I haven’t cleaned the barrel yet and it speaks volume of Shilens ratchet barrel.
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Also shows how the decoppering agents are working well in these newer powders.
Just read an article in the new Rifle magazine regarding the Top 10 Reloaded Rifle Cartridges that noted similar results in testing factory ammo, and then handloads with a StaBall powder and another newer powder that has these agents, in a new rifle, where he only cleaned before shooting the new rifle, and then after the factory loads, and did not clean again while testing all his handloads, and had very little copper fouling in the barrel.
Anything that improves performance, AND requires less cleaning afterwards is a good thing, in my opinion!
 
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I wonder if a small base die , would size the old brass enough to get it to chamber in the new BBL ???

nice results with the new BBL . I sure like the Shilen BBL on the Grandsons 260 . it has shot everything I've tried . it sure is fun playing with a rifle that wants to shoot . it spoils you .
 
jimbires said:
I wonder if a small base die , would size the old brass enough to get it to chamber in the new BBL ???

nice results with the new BBL . I sure like the Shilen BBL on the Grandsons 260 . it has shot everything I've tried . it sure is fun playing with a rifle that wants to shoot . it spoils you .
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The old chamber was oversized. There was a slight bulge above the belt. I did try grinding down a shell holder and ran the case up in the die until it hit the belt. That brass will chamber with a lot of force on the bolt. Just not worth galling up the bolt lugs.
A small base die would help , but no one makes a die like that for a 224 Wby.
 
RL338 said:
The old chamber was oversized. There was a slight bulge above the belt. I did try grinding down a shell holder and ran the case up in the die until it hit the belt. That brass will chamber with a lot of force on the bolt. Just not worth galling up the bolt lugs.
A small base die would help , but no one makes a die like that for a 224 Wby.
Click to expand...
does the Larry Willis collet die work on the 224 WBY brass ? not sure of the cost of this brass , if a die would be worth the cost . YES , you are correct , a regular sizing die does little to nothing right above the belt .
 
RL338 said:
The old chamber was oversized. There was a slight bulge above the belt. I did try grinding down a shell holder and ran the case up in the die until it hit the belt. That brass will chamber with a lot of force on the bolt. Just not worth galling up the bolt lugs.
A small base die would help , but no one makes a die like that for a 224 Wby.
Click to expand...
Harrell's can build custom dies or a small base die for your .224
I just called them this morning to build me a custom bushing die to match my 6 BRA chamber, since with the 6 BRA Micron bushing die possibly does not match my chamber. They told me to fire 3 cases 2 X, and send those to them and they will make one for me. My issue is a tight bolt lift after firing, but I'm running some tests first to try to eliminate some variables first by increasing headspace from .0015" to .0025, .003" and .004" to see if that works, if not then I either need a small base die or just get a custom Harrell's die.
 
jimbires said:
does the Larry Willis collet die work on the 224 WBY brass ? not sure of the cost of this brass , if a die would be worth the cost . YES , you are correct , a regular sizing die does little to nothing right above the belt .
Click to expand...
I do have a Larry Willis collet die but is for the 375 H&H derived cases. The 224 is a miniature belted case.
TackDriver284 said:
Harrell's can build custom dies or a small base die for your .224
I just called them this morning to build me a custom bushing die to match my 6 BRA chamber, since with the 6 BRA Micron bushing die possibly does not match my chamber. They told me to fire 3 cases 2 X, and send those to them and they will make one for me. My issue is a tight bolt lift after firing, but I'm running some tests first to try to eliminate some variables first by increasing headspace from .0015" to .0025, .003" and .004" to see if that works, if not then I either need a small base die or just get a custom Harrell's die.
Click to expand...
Even with cost of the brass I lost , a custom die would be way too costly. I do have a 140pcs of good brass for this rifle now.
 
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