Mountain Goat
Handloader
- Dec 14, 2010
- 386
- 11
This rifle, Remington 700 BDL SS, has shot the 180gr Hornady BTSP with IMR4831 very well in the past. I replaced the factory stock with a bedded B&C black with gray web. It sure looks nice but never shot the same. I didn't mess with a different bullet until I had this stock fitting how I wanted it to fit. The barrel channel was off-center by about 1/32" or so, and that bothered the anal retentive perfectionist in me. What I did next was remove the speed bumps to see if free-floating would change anything. It wouldn't really free-float without the action being bedded higher, plus, it was still off-center. I decided the best move would be to bed my own pressure point into the stock and center the barrel at the same time. I used masking tape to make a wheel around the barrel that gave me the correct height and positioning of the barrel. Without thinking too far ahead on this one, I just used JB Weld since it was on-hand. (I didn't want to go to the store for bedding compound.) It came out looking great. Now, I wanted to find out how it shoots with the modifications made.
I only had 4 of the Hornady loads left, and those shot into a nice cluster just under an inch in size. I thought, okay, I can always use this load if this is all I can come up with. What I have been trying are the 165 and 180 Accubonds and the 168 TTSX. The Accubonds shot decent with an average of 1.25-1.5", but this rifle is capable of much better as the Hornady load has shown time and time again.
What I did with the TTSX load was go to a powder that has worked for me in the WSM lineup since day one. That powder is Magpro, so I gave it a test run with some 165 NBT seconds that I had on hand. Accuracy was the 2 and 1 syndrome, but the velocities were good and very consistent. I felt the TTSX would be a good way to go given the longish throat of this rifle. (I can only get the Hornady's .084" off the lands due to magazine length.)
I ran some charges through the chrono with the Magpro loads, and they shot well, clocked well and showed some promise for accuracy. It's too tough for me to shoot for accuracy over the chrono because I never have the target in the spot where I want to shoot over the chrono.
Once I had a load that shot consistent, I shot a few groups with that load. I confirmed it today with 3 cold barrel shots that measured .432" as best as I can measure it on the shoot n see target. Average velocity has been 3113 for the 18 shots I clocked with the fastest being 3122, and the slowest at 3107.
This is a very compressed load, as are most loads in the SAUM and Magpro loads in the short mags. It has been a favorite of mine in the short-fats for a long time, and it proved this to me once again. This rifle is ready to hunt even though I have new glass ordered for it.View attachment 168 TTSX 300 SAUM.jpg
I only had 4 of the Hornady loads left, and those shot into a nice cluster just under an inch in size. I thought, okay, I can always use this load if this is all I can come up with. What I have been trying are the 165 and 180 Accubonds and the 168 TTSX. The Accubonds shot decent with an average of 1.25-1.5", but this rifle is capable of much better as the Hornady load has shown time and time again.
What I did with the TTSX load was go to a powder that has worked for me in the WSM lineup since day one. That powder is Magpro, so I gave it a test run with some 165 NBT seconds that I had on hand. Accuracy was the 2 and 1 syndrome, but the velocities were good and very consistent. I felt the TTSX would be a good way to go given the longish throat of this rifle. (I can only get the Hornady's .084" off the lands due to magazine length.)
I ran some charges through the chrono with the Magpro loads, and they shot well, clocked well and showed some promise for accuracy. It's too tough for me to shoot for accuracy over the chrono because I never have the target in the spot where I want to shoot over the chrono.
Once I had a load that shot consistent, I shot a few groups with that load. I confirmed it today with 3 cold barrel shots that measured .432" as best as I can measure it on the shoot n see target. Average velocity has been 3113 for the 18 shots I clocked with the fastest being 3122, and the slowest at 3107.
This is a very compressed load, as are most loads in the SAUM and Magpro loads in the short mags. It has been a favorite of mine in the short-fats for a long time, and it proved this to me once again. This rifle is ready to hunt even though I have new glass ordered for it.View attachment 168 TTSX 300 SAUM.jpg