truck driver
Ammo Smith
- Mar 11, 2013
- 7,376
- 1,009
Saw a box of Barnes 200gr .358 TTSX in a local shop cheaper than I could buy them off the net so naturally I bought them. Got DrMike to run me a QL with CFE223 and loaded 9 up. The charges were 65.0grs, 65.5grs and 66.0grs of CFE223. The range was crowded so I didn't set up the chronograph and just shot for accuracy. I also took the 7RM along to sight in since I stole the stock for the 35AI and put it in the laminated stock the 35AI was in and from what I saw today it likes the stock even though it was bedded for the other rifle. I didn't shoot the 7RM for groups so I didn't take any pictures of shots from it as I was walking it in to the center after initial sight in at 25yds.
Here's a couple of pictures of the groups from the 35AI at 100yds.
The first three shots went into a triangle from a cold clean barrel and I was surprised and also pleased with the results. I adjusted the windage on the scope to bring the groups over to the left and center for the next 3 shots and was pleased with the results also since the Meopta Meopro tracks very well. I may have pulled the first shot and plan on reshooting the load. The third group went way right and don't understand why it did that unless the load is too heavy for the node which I think I'm sitting on at 65.5grs. The 66.0gr load also produced the most recoil which was noticeable when I shot it but was under QL max prediction which was set at 62Kpsi.
I seated the bullets to the top of the center band on the bullet which gave me a 3.270"OAL off the bullet nose. I also like the consistency of the of the bullet length and didn't have to fiddle with the seating stem to get the same depth with each bullet like I did with the 200gr AB which was all over the place. In all fairness I will break out a box of 200gr AB first to compare since I was loading SPS seconds for the 200gr AB loads.
One other thing I noticed when cleaning the carbon out of the barrels when I got home was that the Barnes bullets didn't cooper foul as badly as the Nosler AB and there was less cooper fouling in the barrel which usually looks like a gold mine after shooting only a few Noslers.
Here's a couple of pictures of the groups from the 35AI at 100yds.
The first three shots went into a triangle from a cold clean barrel and I was surprised and also pleased with the results. I adjusted the windage on the scope to bring the groups over to the left and center for the next 3 shots and was pleased with the results also since the Meopta Meopro tracks very well. I may have pulled the first shot and plan on reshooting the load. The third group went way right and don't understand why it did that unless the load is too heavy for the node which I think I'm sitting on at 65.5grs. The 66.0gr load also produced the most recoil which was noticeable when I shot it but was under QL max prediction which was set at 62Kpsi.
I seated the bullets to the top of the center band on the bullet which gave me a 3.270"OAL off the bullet nose. I also like the consistency of the of the bullet length and didn't have to fiddle with the seating stem to get the same depth with each bullet like I did with the 200gr AB which was all over the place. In all fairness I will break out a box of 200gr AB first to compare since I was loading SPS seconds for the 200gr AB loads.
One other thing I noticed when cleaning the carbon out of the barrels when I got home was that the Barnes bullets didn't cooper foul as badly as the Nosler AB and there was less cooper fouling in the barrel which usually looks like a gold mine after shooting only a few Noslers.
