DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,504
- 6,509
I invested more time pulling triggers on several rifles today. Here is the stable I took along today.
From right to left are: 35 Whelen, Hawkeye with 3-9 Kahles; 280 Remington Ltd. with Z6 Swarovski; 308 Norma with Huskemaw Blue Diamond 5-20; 6.5 Creedmoor Hawkeye with Leupold VX6; 22-250 AI with Huskemaw 5-20; and 7mm RUM with Huskemaw 5-20 Blue Diamond.
I'm often asked to share pictures of the rifles I shoot, and I seldom do so. However, I remembered to take a couple of pictures today. This is a 22-250 AI built on a Remington action. It has a 14 twist PacNor barrel. Someone neglected to tell me on the first trip out that this rifle had a slow twist barrel, and they had handed me 60 grain BTs to load. Six to eight inch groups was the norm. Today was another story, however. Fifty grain BTs will give me little tiny groups. I'll give a further report at a later day when I complete load development.
This is a right hand profile of the same rifle.
I also have a 7mm RUM (Remington) that has been a bit of a problem. The first lot of brass was not very ductile, and the loads smoked the cases back to the bolt fact. They shot reasonably well and the velocities were what I anticipated, but the brass was not at all malleable. There was no other 7mm RUM brass to be had in this area, so I found some used 300 RUM brass and necked it down to take with me today. The morning temperatures were -12, and each time I pulled the trigger, the rifle went "click" (looooooong pause) "BOOM!" I was reasonably certain it was a dirty firing mechanism, which was rectified in the afternoon. This rifle is scheduled to go with me again. At least, the brass is ductile and the smoking problem is resolved.
The .308 Norma is built on a Browning action. It was a joy to shoot.
This was one load development that went very quickly. All the groups were between 0.5 and 1.25 inches. The owner tells me that he is pleased and I can stop. This is one of the targets. He planes to use 210 grain Berger VLDs, and I worked up the load with VN570. I could get more velocity out of Retumbo, but the groups across the spectrum were all between 0.96 and 1.25 inches. I can live with it.
My Creedmoor still needs some work, but it is coming along. I was shooting 140 grain A-Frames today, and the groups were okay, but not spectacular. However, the 280 continues to shoot very well. I also shot 140 grain A-Frames in that rifle today. This is a sample of what it is doing.
The 35 Whelen is just a joy to shoot. I loaded up some tests samples centred around the load I was using when this rifle was a 16 twist iteration. Not bad! Not bad, at all.
In add, a pretty gratifying day at the range. I have to complete work on the 7mm RUM (168 grain VLD) and work up new loads for the 22-250 AI (50 grain BT). I also have a 7mm Wby that will receive attention next (168 grain VLD), as well as a 240 Wby, a 257 Wby and a 7mm STW. So, I have enough to keep me busy for a few days.
From right to left are: 35 Whelen, Hawkeye with 3-9 Kahles; 280 Remington Ltd. with Z6 Swarovski; 308 Norma with Huskemaw Blue Diamond 5-20; 6.5 Creedmoor Hawkeye with Leupold VX6; 22-250 AI with Huskemaw 5-20; and 7mm RUM with Huskemaw 5-20 Blue Diamond.
I'm often asked to share pictures of the rifles I shoot, and I seldom do so. However, I remembered to take a couple of pictures today. This is a 22-250 AI built on a Remington action. It has a 14 twist PacNor barrel. Someone neglected to tell me on the first trip out that this rifle had a slow twist barrel, and they had handed me 60 grain BTs to load. Six to eight inch groups was the norm. Today was another story, however. Fifty grain BTs will give me little tiny groups. I'll give a further report at a later day when I complete load development.
This is a right hand profile of the same rifle.
I also have a 7mm RUM (Remington) that has been a bit of a problem. The first lot of brass was not very ductile, and the loads smoked the cases back to the bolt fact. They shot reasonably well and the velocities were what I anticipated, but the brass was not at all malleable. There was no other 7mm RUM brass to be had in this area, so I found some used 300 RUM brass and necked it down to take with me today. The morning temperatures were -12, and each time I pulled the trigger, the rifle went "click" (looooooong pause) "BOOM!" I was reasonably certain it was a dirty firing mechanism, which was rectified in the afternoon. This rifle is scheduled to go with me again. At least, the brass is ductile and the smoking problem is resolved.
The .308 Norma is built on a Browning action. It was a joy to shoot.
This was one load development that went very quickly. All the groups were between 0.5 and 1.25 inches. The owner tells me that he is pleased and I can stop. This is one of the targets. He planes to use 210 grain Berger VLDs, and I worked up the load with VN570. I could get more velocity out of Retumbo, but the groups across the spectrum were all between 0.96 and 1.25 inches. I can live with it.
My Creedmoor still needs some work, but it is coming along. I was shooting 140 grain A-Frames today, and the groups were okay, but not spectacular. However, the 280 continues to shoot very well. I also shot 140 grain A-Frames in that rifle today. This is a sample of what it is doing.
The 35 Whelen is just a joy to shoot. I loaded up some tests samples centred around the load I was using when this rifle was a 16 twist iteration. Not bad! Not bad, at all.
In add, a pretty gratifying day at the range. I have to complete work on the 7mm RUM (168 grain VLD) and work up new loads for the 22-250 AI (50 grain BT). I also have a 7mm Wby that will receive attention next (168 grain VLD), as well as a 240 Wby, a 257 Wby and a 7mm STW. So, I have enough to keep me busy for a few days.
Looks like a good day at the range. A nail driving 35 W. Thats gotta be fun! You are tougher than I. At -12 I'm froze stiff as a board. Couldnt even hold a rifle up much less shoot groups like that. CL
