Borrowed a chrono at went to the range

[orchemo]

I borrowed a chrono today and headed to the range. Took 5 rifles:
338 Marlin Express, 350 RM, 35 Whelen, 280 Rem & 7mm-08.

I must admit this is only the second time I have used a chorno.

Was an interesting experiment

Rifle 1: 338 ME - 200 gr flex tips @ 2400 FPS - just what the book said is would be

Rifle 2: 350 Rem Mag - 250 gr Hornady SP with w748 @ 2470 fps

Rifle 3: 35 Whelen - 225 gr Sierra with 57 gr RL-15 @ 2370 fps

Rifle 4: Rem 280 - 150 gr E-tips with 4831 @ 2860 fps, also shot 160 gr AB with 4831 @ 2780 fps.

Rifle 5: Sako 7mm-08 - 140 gr BT with Varget @ 2750 fps

My learning's -

The 338 Marlin Express - just as the book said it would do. Max load, still slightly slower than the factory ammo, but a good round for a lever gun.

The 350 Rem Mag with 250 gr Hornady shoots great in my Remington 673. Going at almost 2500 fps and shooting nice groups....nothing to complain about here.

The 35 Whelen - needs more gas. Surprised how slow it was. That explains why it is such a soft shooter. Groups well though. I have a bunch of 225 gr AB and PT to develop Elk loads with. Will see what this rifle likes AB or PT.

The 280 Rem - the 150 gr E-tips shoot great, the 160 gr AB shoot well, not quite with the E-tips, but maybe tweek the OAL. Thinking of staying with the E-tips and not worry about the extra 10 gr on the AB.

The 7mm-08 - Ordered a bunch of 140 AB, so I need to find a great 140 BT/AB load. Happy with velocity want to shrink the groups. Will adjust seating depth as I started with the max length per my Stoney Point and the magazine.

Overall - good experiment. Too warm to shoot too long. Bring back the colder days.

Next need to chrono my 30-06, 270 WSM, 375 Winchester and 45-70 next.

And then the Tikka T3 6.5 Swede I am picking up next week!!!!!

Cheers

Eric

 

[dlove]

varget shoots OK in my 7-08. H380 and W748 are both faster and shoot smaller groups in my rifle.

shooting over a chronograph made me do a LOT more testing.

 

[DrMike]

You certainly have a good selection of cartridges. They are interesting.

 

[OU812]

Try those 225 partitions in the 350 with TAC, 2700 easy.


Bill

 

[bullet]

Not everyone has a chronograph, but everyone has a wish list in their head. Yep, a Chronoy can reveal a lot.

 

[SJB358]

Man, the first time I used my own chrono and was able to measure my speeds, I was a little surprised at some and felt pretty good about others. They are a great tool though.

 

[RiverRider]

Your .280 results are pretty close to mine. I shoot the Whelen too, and you should be able to step that one up quite a bit, but I do use Accubonds so your results could differ some. I am getting about 2675 on average.

 

[Guy Miner]

One caution - no need to ruin a perfectly good load by dumping more powder into the case, just because the chronograph reading is lower than anticipated.

If it shoots well and takes game... Why mess with it?

It is very easy to get caught up in the pursuit of higher velocity on the chronograph, and leave behind an excellent load.

Just a thought.

Regards, Guy

 

[bullet]

So true Guy, even Carmichael in his book on rifles said, don't chronograph your favorite hunting load, you will more than likely be disappointed. Boy is that ever the truth. If it is working well for you and you have no idea the velocity don't check and see what it is or you will more than likely play with it and mess it all up. Now to save myself the temptation I chronograph from the start so I am not tempted to look at a great load and then be so disappointed in it's velocity that I mess with it.

Accuracy is great only if it is not so slow that it keeps you from using the standard potential of your cartridge. Velocity without accuracy is just as useless, but there is a lot to be said for the marriage of accuracy and velocity if you can get both. I am glad I had a chrony to test my 7mm-08 TGR because I had to very accurate loads. One was two slow for me to really use the potential of my 7mm-08 and the other was about 80fps slower than I was able to move the bullet in my TGR but it fell in the middle of standard expected results with a 7mm-08 and I stayed with it even though it was only .3" smaller than the fastest load.

 

[RiverRider]

I fully agree that sometimes the pursuit of higher velocity is fruitless in terms of accuracy, but it can't really do any harm as long as you have your old load data recorded.

 

[bullet]

I fully agree that sometimes the pursuit of higher velocity is fruitless in terms of accuracy, but it can't really do any harm as long as you have your old load data recorded.

Yes, and sometimes it is worth looking at because there are times you can have both Accuracy and velocity and that is to me the holy grail for the given cartridge and rifle in hand and that means the best of both worlds. :mrgreen:

 

[RiverRider]

For me, the whole world of handloading is about experimentation to find what I think of as the perfect handload in a particular type of rifle---in my case that would be Sporter weight blue-and-walnut non-magnum rifles. Everyone has their own take on the endeavor so there can be no definitive answer. I doubt any two handloaders would ever agree on everything.

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

You mentioned it was a hot day. Your loads will chrony faster on a hot day then a cold day. Yep, the Whelen looks a little slow, I'm sure you can find a load that delivers both the velocity and groups you desire.

 

[DrMike]

One caution - no need to ruin a perfectly good load by dumping more powder into the case, just because the chronograph reading is lower than anticipated.

If it shoots well and takes game... Why mess with it?

A chronograph has ruined more good loads than anything else.

 

[bullet]

One caution - no need to ruin a perfectly good load by dumping more powder into the case, just because the chronograph reading is lower than anticipated.

If it shoots well and takes game... Why mess with it?

A chronograph has ruined more good loads than anything else.

Your point is well taken, well stated and it is so true, causing guys to think they can find a better load at the top end of velocity being near or right on max loads when most of the time this does not prove to be the case. None of my magnums top Accurate loads with great velocity is actually a max load. Most are near max but accuracy 95% of the time is found below max. On the other side of the coin is the fact that the chronograph has saved guys from stepping to far over the line with powder charges since 99% of handloaders do not use pressure gauges.

If the rifle and cartridge you are using gets very good accuracy with the expected velocities of the cartridge and barrel length you are using, then we should be happy, getting what we generally expected out of the cartridge and rifle. If a person is not satisfied, then he can always go to the next cartridge in that same caliber or whatever the next step up in velocity is to get the velocities he wants. Now I do understand this need to have both accuracy and velocity with any cartridge I am using so as to use its potential without having to move up to the next cartridge in the caliber I am shooting.

Those who can't are don't want to do this should not put down the ones who can and do. Face it, accuracy is great and is the most important thing, and getting top velocities with that accuracy is just icing on the cake and does make a difference especially with the longer shots as well as being more terminally effective at those distances. A chronograph is a must for good load work period.

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

Bullet, I'm actually running about 50/50. About 1/2 of my most accurate loads are at or near max. YMMV.

 

[bullet]

Bullet, I'm actually running about 50/50. About 1/2 of my most accurate loads are at or near max. YMMV.

I am not sure I was that clear about mine. 95% of my magnum cartridges have been near or right at max, my standard cartridges are more like 30/70 with 70% of them near or just right at max.

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

Bullet, I'm actually running about 50/50. About 1/2 of my most accurate loads are at or near max. YMMV.

I am not sure I was that clear about mine. 95% of my magnum cartridges have been near or right at max, my standard cartridges are more like 30/70 with 70% of them near or just right at max.

Ok, that sounds about right.

 

[orchemo]

I agree that finding a load that shoots well is for most importance. Knowing how fast it is actually going, just helps with the drop calculation etc. We all like to tinker with things.

I am working up some 35 Whelen tonight with 225 AB and PT. Will work upwards on the RL-15 to just across the 60 gr threshold, going slowly.

Cheers

 

[SJB358]

I agree that finding a load that shoots well is for most importance. Knowing how fast it is actually going, just helps with the drop calculation etc. We all like to tinker with things.

I am working up some 35 Whelen tonight with 225 AB and PT. Will work upwards on the RL-15 to just across the 60 gr threshold, going slowly.

Cheers

I think you will do fine. Unless your Whelen has a smaller than average chamber, I am not sure you can cram too much RL15 into an RP case to get it REALLY dangerous. Not saying it couldn't happen, but most all of my loads are top end for RL15 and they shoot excellent with good speeds. Haven't ever lost a case in the Whelen to a loose primer pocket or had anykind of tight extraction. Working up towards the 60 grain mark should net you what you are looking for. The Whelen really turns into a whole nother animal when loaded with 225's around 2700. It is just about my favorite rifle for everything bigger than deer. I read a few years ago, that RL15 was THE powder for the Whelen and I have found no good reason to doubt whoever said that. It has shot the 225 TSX, 225 SGK, 250 PT and Speer and 225 AB's into less than MOA groups and carried excellent speed in the process.