carolina sorillo
Beginner
- Jul 31, 2019
- 16
- 0
When I got my "new 2 me" Weatherby Vanguard in .300 win mag a month or so ago, I bought some Sierra 220 rn and some Nosler 220 rn bt bt. After ordering the Noslers I realized they were intended for the Blackout and were designed to expand at 1000fps. I found a good load for the Sierra's in the '06 velocity range and with the Witt Machine clap-on brake, recoil is almost non-existant. I also found a decent load for the Nosler the same velocity as the Sierra. But I was thinking, if it's designed to expand at the much lower Blackout velocity then it should make a great varmint bullet and full house WinMag velocity.
So, I did some research on loads and decided on 7828SSC. Hodgdon's website lists the max for the Sierra 220rn at 75gr. I've never liked loading max so I decided to max my testing with the Nosler at 74gr, 1gr below max.
First mistake: Just before I started loading I realized the Nosler, being a boat tail, was about a 1/8" longer than the Sierra. Seating the same depth, puts more bullet in the case raising pressure. Caught that one before I started loading and decided to drop my max back another grain and made note to watch for pressure signs as I'm shooting.
Second mistake: Loading 3rds of each charge, increasing in 1/2gr increments. I dropped 3 70gr loads and adjusted the 505 up another .5gr, or so I thought. The next 3 bullets seated .004" long and just didn't "feel" right. I went back to set the 505 to drop the 71gr charges and realized then that I had moved the 1gr slide instead of the .1gr slide on the 505!! The previous 3rds were NOT 70.5gr, they were 75gr!! Which is the listed max for the Sierra 220rn but as I mentioned these Nosler's are about 1/8" longer. Needless to say I pulled those three.
Just a little reminder to pay attention while loading ammo. Most of my loading experience has been light hangun loads for SASS where I had a good margin of error. So this full house rifle loading is a little new to me. I have loaded rifle ammo before, but I have always tended to stay toward the starting load.
C.S.
So, I did some research on loads and decided on 7828SSC. Hodgdon's website lists the max for the Sierra 220rn at 75gr. I've never liked loading max so I decided to max my testing with the Nosler at 74gr, 1gr below max.
First mistake: Just before I started loading I realized the Nosler, being a boat tail, was about a 1/8" longer than the Sierra. Seating the same depth, puts more bullet in the case raising pressure. Caught that one before I started loading and decided to drop my max back another grain and made note to watch for pressure signs as I'm shooting.
Second mistake: Loading 3rds of each charge, increasing in 1/2gr increments. I dropped 3 70gr loads and adjusted the 505 up another .5gr, or so I thought. The next 3 bullets seated .004" long and just didn't "feel" right. I went back to set the 505 to drop the 71gr charges and realized then that I had moved the 1gr slide instead of the .1gr slide on the 505!! The previous 3rds were NOT 70.5gr, they were 75gr!! Which is the listed max for the Sierra 220rn but as I mentioned these Nosler's are about 1/8" longer. Needless to say I pulled those three.
Just a little reminder to pay attention while loading ammo. Most of my loading experience has been light hangun loads for SASS where I had a good margin of error. So this full house rifle loading is a little new to me. I have loaded rifle ammo before, but I have always tended to stay toward the starting load.
C.S.
