DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 36,924
- 5,115
I was able to escape the confines of the office for a day at the range. I had a rifle for which I was asked to develop a load. It is a 300 WSM with a surprisingly shallow magazine. Moreover, to make the challenge more demanding, I was given one powder and one bullet type. I was able to work out a load that gives the owner three quarter inch groups, which is sufficient for hunting purposes. I'm waiting to hear back from him so I can finalise all the work.
While at the range, however, I was shooting a couple of my rifles and hit on some nice loads. My 30-06 is shooting very well indeed. Last fall, I used the 168 grain Hornady IB to take a mule deer doe. In the interim, I've worked up some loads that show me the rifle is capable of good accuracy. For instance, I have a load with the 150 grain E-Tip that give me an honest 0.55 inch group. However, the velocity is quite low (2580 fps). It will certainly work for deer, but I am looking for a bit for velocity from the load. I have had good success with the 165 grain Hornady GMX, getting sub-MOA groups and velocities of ~2900 fps. Yesterday, I focused on the 168 grain TSX and the 168 grain E-Tip, using RL17. The E-Tip just does not co-operate with this particular load. Standard deviations were good and velocities were adequate. However, accuracy was not at all acceptable. Using the same powder with the TSX, however, gave me a good group. Again, velocity was adequate (2715) and standard deviations were good. This is a picture of the group that gave me hope with the monolithic bullet
I will certainly revisit the monolithic bullets in this rifle. I likely will not continue to focus on RL17, reserving it for the short magnums at this point.
I also took my Whelan with me. It has given me fits. There was a burr on the firing pin which caused me no end of grief. Then, I had one lot of primers that were defective. About one in six fires on the first detonation. Almost all will fire if I give them a second tap. Obviously, for bear hunting, this could create some interesting scenarios. I'll be working up some new loads. One in particular that will receive attention in the coming week is that provided by JD338. However, in diagnosing the primer problem, I worked up a couple of loads using a new lot of primers. Among the loads was one using 225 grain Sierras and A2520. This is the sort of groupings that load was giving.
This is a 0.58 inch group with a muzzle velocity of 2477. It is a good start. The Whelan may accompany me on my grizzly hunt, after all!
While at the range, however, I was shooting a couple of my rifles and hit on some nice loads. My 30-06 is shooting very well indeed. Last fall, I used the 168 grain Hornady IB to take a mule deer doe. In the interim, I've worked up some loads that show me the rifle is capable of good accuracy. For instance, I have a load with the 150 grain E-Tip that give me an honest 0.55 inch group. However, the velocity is quite low (2580 fps). It will certainly work for deer, but I am looking for a bit for velocity from the load. I have had good success with the 165 grain Hornady GMX, getting sub-MOA groups and velocities of ~2900 fps. Yesterday, I focused on the 168 grain TSX and the 168 grain E-Tip, using RL17. The E-Tip just does not co-operate with this particular load. Standard deviations were good and velocities were adequate. However, accuracy was not at all acceptable. Using the same powder with the TSX, however, gave me a good group. Again, velocity was adequate (2715) and standard deviations were good. This is a picture of the group that gave me hope with the monolithic bullet
I will certainly revisit the monolithic bullets in this rifle. I likely will not continue to focus on RL17, reserving it for the short magnums at this point.
I also took my Whelan with me. It has given me fits. There was a burr on the firing pin which caused me no end of grief. Then, I had one lot of primers that were defective. About one in six fires on the first detonation. Almost all will fire if I give them a second tap. Obviously, for bear hunting, this could create some interesting scenarios. I'll be working up some new loads. One in particular that will receive attention in the coming week is that provided by JD338. However, in diagnosing the primer problem, I worked up a couple of loads using a new lot of primers. Among the loads was one using 225 grain Sierras and A2520. This is the sort of groupings that load was giving.
This is a 0.58 inch group with a muzzle velocity of 2477. It is a good start. The Whelan may accompany me on my grizzly hunt, after all!
