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[phutch30]

Ok so I just had a new 26" douglas XX stainless put on my rifle. Gun has been professionally bedded in a Bell and Carlson medalist stock, w/barrel floated. It looks great, but Im having a bear of a time getting it to shoot good groups. Ive been playing with imr4831, 4350 and 160 grain partions and accubonds. The trouble is I cant get remotly close to the lands. Using a hornaday AOL gauge and comparitor, the partions touch the lands at 3.918 and the accubonds are way out at 3.965. My magazine wont take anything over 3.875 and thats with the tips dragging on the front.

Does this seem like an excessively long throut for a custom barrel?

Ive run several different reload combinations through it and cant get better than 1 1/4 3 shot groups which is what the cheap federal factory loads I used for barrel breakin will do also.

Im picking up some R22 today. Ive never used this powder. Any suggestions with this powder?

 

[Guest]

I wouldn't worry too much about touching the lands or even being close to them, Phutch. My most accurate rifles aren't anywhere near the lands with their preferred loads. Start at a reliably feeding magazine length and go shorter from there.

Oh, and it would certainly help in terms of powder selection advice if we knew for what cartridge the rifle is chambered.

 

[DrMike]

I wouldn't worry too much about touching the lands or even being close to them, Phutch. My most accurate rifles aren't anywhere near the lands with their preferred loads. Start at a reliably feeding magazine length and go shorter from there.

Oh, and it would certainly help in terms of powder selection advice if we knew for what cartridge the rifle is chambered.

+1 on all points.

 

[phutch30]

sorry its a 7mm

 

[DrMike]

I assume that is a 7mm RM? If so, RL22 will work very well for you with the 160 grain AB. Load to the magazine and adjust powder charge for accuracy.

 

[phutch30]

Im not worried per say. I just cant seem to make much difference with the groups while keeping up the velocity. I could care less where the bullet seats. Im just not seeing much differnce with different charges. I havent tried going shorter. I did try other seating depths to keep it from blunting the tips but nothing extreme.

 

[OU812]

I assume that is a 7mm RM? If so, RL22 will work very well for you with the 160 grain AB. Load to the magazine and adjust powder charge for accuracy.

Good advise there, works for me every time.


Bill

 

[Guest]

For the 7mmRemMag, I'd consider RL22, IMR7828, H1000, and some of the very slow stuff (RL25/33, US869, etc.). Go through a standard load workup, starting 10% below and working up in steps. Once you find your "max charge" compare groups leading up to it (if you were shooting for groups...) and from there, pick the best group that is running at least your minimum velocity. Then start tweaking seating depth from mag length to as much as .100" shorter than mag length, and you'll find the accuracy node in there somewhere. If you can't get different velocities with different powder charges, you may be well over max on the loads and seeing a plateau in velocity. That's why you should start low and work up.

Beyond that, I'll also suggest that if you have a new barrel, you should also get a big bottle of BoreTech Eliminator. Search this forum and find my regimen and follow it. I suspect you're running a lot of copper in that new bore with 160gr bullets running something like 3k. Clean it up and follow a logical load workup and see where it goes. I suspect it will settle in shortly.

 

[JD338]

sorry its a 7mm

Which 7mm are you referring to?

JD338

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

7 Mag should have an OAL around 3.40.
STW has an oal of 3.60
3.84 is a really long mag.

Doesn't sound like a 7 Mag to me.

 

[bullet]

Could be the barrel itself.

 

[phutch30]

This is a 7mm rem mag. Not a STW. Using an hornady OAL gauge/ comparitor those are the numbers to the lands. Checked xx checked and xxx checked and then checked it again.

I did some loads up with r22 to work up velocity and check accuracy. With 63.5 and 64grs I got 1/2" groups, but at 64 grs of R22 im only getting 2880fps (5600' elevation/70 degree temp). From the looks of the primers Im getting close to max (getting some flattening, but no other pressure signs). Im going to try creaping up a little bit more.

While not a velocity freak. I have a custom BDC on my scope from my prior 7 rem mag setup that I want to use. But its calibrated for 160gr PAR @ 3020. Which I have no trouble getting with 63 grs of imr4831 outa this rifle. But so far the PARs dont want to break 1 1/2" for groups

 

[bullet]

Maybe I missed it, is the B&C stock bedded, I know it is free floated but is it bedded and free floated?

 

[phutch30]

Yes, bedded and well floated. no problems running paper thru the barrel/stock gap with a hot barrel.

Ive cleaned it with copper solvent. After break in, it doesnt seem to pick up much copper.

 

[bullet]

Yes, bedded and well floated. no problems running paper thru the barrel/stock gap with a hot barrel.

Ive cleaned it with copper solvent. After break in, it doesnt seem to pick up much copper.

I have been reading this thread from the beginning and did not want to introduce the following until now. I had a douglas not long ago on a Sako TRG receiver chambered in 30-06 Ack imp and after tons of load work in and out of the Smith shop me and the smith decided it was the barrel. So we put a Shilen on the action and in my first load work we were under 1/2". He had to do that with two other rifles he built for folks and change to a shilen and then on one a hart and both immediately shot great. Now when I say I did load work trying to get that Douglas to shoot I mean I did some serious load work and usually I can get most any rifle to shoot, but not that Douglas barrel. Now don't get me wrong, on some of my earlier customs I had Douglas and they shot great, but lately two smith friends of mine have had bad luck with them at times.

 

[phutch30]

It may be the case. The groups I got today were great. Just need to see if I can safely bump up the velocity a bit more while keeping the groups.

Im haveing a local gunsmith mill out the front of my clip. He thinks he can take out .150-.200 without trouble. If he can then maybe I can get the partions to group well with the 4831.

 

[AzDak42]

Another thought...

I've had a few guns that never got the velocity/accuracy out of them that I thought they should, after a ton of different powder/charge combos, I eventually found the sweet spot by trying a different bullet or different bullet weight. Sad to say, there are just some barrels that won't work with some bullets no matter what you do.

 

[bullet]

It may be the case. The groups I got today were great. Just need to see if I can safely bump up the velocity a bit more while keeping the groups.

Im haveing a local gunsmith mill out the front of my clip. He thinks he can take out .150-.200 without trouble. If he can then maybe I can get the partions to group well with the 4831.

Hang in there with it and remove as many variables as you can. Turn your necks, trim all of them the same, deburr primer flash hole, weigh bullet, weight charges and give your hunting bullets a good jump and don't think moving real close to the lands is the best thing, because a lot of times with hunting bullets it is not best. Not only that but when one moves closer to the lands the pressures will increase and that does not mean that when they do you will necessarily have increased velocities, sometimes when pressures jump up you can have a decrease in velocities. I know you know all of this, just trying to encourage you to stay the course until you have exhausted all possibilities. Also, that Douglas barrel we changed out would every now and then shoot a good group, but was definitely inconsistent even at that.

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

Shouldn't have to do all that just to get under an inch.
H4831 and 150gr BT usually works in the 7mag.

I'd try the 150 Bt's, or a standard cup and core flat base bullet.

 

[OU812]

It may be the case. The groups I got today were great. Just need to see if I can safely bump up the velocity a bit more while keeping the groups.

If your referring to the RL-22 load you posted you should be able, depending on the rifle go up 1-2 more grains. I'm guessing you would find 1 more accuracy node at around 65-65.5gr IF your gun will safely allow that charge.