7-10-2016 Trip

wisconsinteacher · Jul 11, 2016

I was able to hit the range yesterday with the new Tikka 7mmRM and my 30-06 and 25-06.

I think the 7mmRM is going to do the trick. I also think I am close with the 25-06 and need a little more time with the 30-06.

30-06 with 180 AccuBond and 58.0gr of H4350 with different ogive lenghts.

2.640 ogive-1.299" 2695/2689/2697 fps
2.630 ogive-2.293" 2700/2684/2690 fps
2.620 ogive-2.737" 2703/2703/2692 fps

I'm okay with the speed and was hoping for tighter groups.

7mmRM (first time out with it after getting it zeroed)

IMR4350 150 Partitions

62.5gr-1.261" 2932/2919/2951 fps
63.0gr-1.624" 2918/2949/2953 fps
63.5gr-1.315" 2957/2976/2945 fps

I am happy with the accuracy and feel of the rifle. I would like to try getting speeds up around the 3100-3150 fps range though.

25-06 with IMR4350 and 110 AccuBonds

52.0gr-1.162" 3137/3127/3128 fps
52.5gr-1.204" 3137/3168/3174 fps
53.0gr-0.899" 3169/3176/3202 fps

I am thinking about taking the 53.0gr load and seating the bullets deeper .01" to see if I can pull them all together. I believe it is very close and I like the speed that they are moving at.

Any thoughts or advice? I

bbearhntr · Jul 11, 2016

Looks like a great day at the range! The weather today sure sucks for shooting

SJB358 · Jul 11, 2016

Wow. Very nice. You have to be pleased with that new 7!

Darkhorse · Jul 11, 2016

Did you get the Tikka stainless lite? If so, how's the recoil in the 7 mag?
One thing I've noticed with mine in .308 is that the lightweight and shape of the forend sometimes makes it a little tough to always get those good tight groups. Compared to a couple of my rifles the Tikka seems a little slick, it wants to move on the bags and when you get the shot off. Not a lot of movement but noticeable. And enough to open up the groups.
When I'm trying to get my rifle and bags setup properly one thing I do is snap on an empty rifle. If the crosshairs stay locked on target I'm good to go. If not, I got more work to do. With my Tikka it's a little tougher to accomplish this than with my other rifles.
Try loading a few with 60.5 or 61. grains of that IMR 4350 just to see what kind of grouping you get. My 7mag shots it's best groups in that range. But I hunt with 63. grains because it still shoots pretty good at that loading.

wisconsinteacher · Jul 11, 2016

It is a blued lite rifle. As far as recoil, I did put a Limbs pad on it the day I got it but recoil is not that bad. I have a Redfield 4-12 on it. It is not a pretty gun but I think it will get the job done. Recoil is more than my 30-06 but not much more.

SJB358 · Jul 11, 2016

Hard to complain about much the way it's shooting right now. Won't take much to make it perfect I'd bet

bdbrown66 · Jul 11, 2016

OP, why just a single powder charge in the .30-06? Had you already done a ladder and found 58.0 to be the optimum load? If not, I'd advise you to skip the seating depth adjustments until you have worked out the powder charge for that bullet and rifle, then tweak the seating depth if necessary. The AccuBond bullet has a tangent ogive, which makes it less susceptible to bullet jump issues than a secant ogive bullet. Thus, you may not get much effect by varying the seating depth.

wisconsinteacher · Jul 11, 2016

Out of the past trips to the range, 58 grains shot the best so I thought I would try a few different seating depths with that charge.

bdbrown66 · Jul 12, 2016

wisconsinteacher":lbu27bed said:
Out of the past trips to the range, 58 grains shot the best so I thought I would try a few different seating depths with that charge.

Gotcha. Carry on, then.

Don't know if you've tried it, but IMR 4064 gives me very good results in my '06, as well as several other calibers. And the new IMR 4166 is supposed to be very similar.