That sounds like a good powder, it's on the short list of powders I will test next whenever I get around to tweaking this load further. If this next range trip proves consistent velocity and sub-MOA 5-shot groups I'll be sticking with it for this year's deer season.
If it's shooting great, you're where you need to be. I wouldn't get too hung up on trying to make it faster if its accurate now.
It's the first thing I measure when starting a load with new bullets. These 140 gr Accubonds are on-the-lands at 3.150" in my rifle. At 3.100" I'm .050" off the lands and getting the results I want, which correlates nicely with the expert advice I have received from other more-seasoned handloaders on this forum.
I always say a prayer on the way to the gun club and ask God to bless me with a happy and safe trip! Bad range days SUCK! I remember one day I went out to the desert to test some ammo I had spent a lot of time loading and it ended up being so windy that day. Man I was PISSED! I've learned since then to roll with the punches better and accept the lows with the highs, but there is many a slip twixt a cup and a lip and so many things can potentially go wrong on any given trip to the range. The one that makes me most upset these days is when some idiot with a howitzer style muzzle brake on a .223 sits next to me and every time he shoots it blows my papers off the bench. I can't stand those things, but I try to remain calm and respect other shooters. Hopefully he at least is a fellow NRA member.
What's the intent of this comment?
Ahh, got ya.
I'm still not a big fan of their stuff, but I think it's a mindset more than their actual stuff.. either way, no one can knock their customer service. It's top notch for sure.
It sounds like you're getting close with that 45 gr load. Somewhere in that neighborhood with Staball 6.5 should produce a nice accurate load that will kill like the plague and not accelerate throat erosion after thousands of rounds ensuring a good, long barrel life!
