Joined
·
1,045 Posts
Blah, blah, blah...I'm sure I've invaded your privacy enough with my reloading and shooting stories that I know only impress myself. However, this is something that I figured was worth sounding like a wiener about:
My 6.5x47 still isn't fully ready for real testing. I started today with only 75 rounds down the tube. That was close enough to where some barrels start to speed up, so I figured why not? I had 20 rounds loaded into four groups of. 2gr increments as I was bracketing my initial load success from my first round of handloads.
For reference: Factory 123gr Lapua Scenar ammo produced a velocity average of 2,724 FPS with an ES of 29 and SD of 9. Not bad, and it was good for groups in the .6 - .7" range. I actually shot a group of five rounds at 300 yesterday with that ammo that measured almost exactly 2" (~.6 MOA).
First load today threw out an ES of 6 and an SD of 2! I was pretty stoked. I followed that up with an ES of 4 and an SD of 1 on the next group. Third group was more realistic at ES of 11, SD of 4...and then had my first velocity anomaly on the final group where one shot failed to read and another shot was 13 FPS higher than the others.
This combo has the makings of something great. The best groups have a noticeable velocity flat spot, and I've done zero seating depth testing. Actually, aside from running an expander mandrel through the mouth, these cases have had zero prep work done to them.
The wind got me on the second group as conditions were shifting a lot. I was doing a lot of watching and then cranking off a round or two when my little flag started pointing in my direction...and I got myself on the last group trying to get onto the trigger too quickly after conditions became favorable again.
Oh well. I'll file the load info away, and start playing with another bullet and powder combo.
![Handwriting Font Line Gas Wood]()
Avg Velocity
![Sky Plant Automotive mirror Motor vehicle Automotive side-view mirror]()
Extreme Spread
![Sky Cloud Automotive mirror Automotive side-view mirror Motor vehicle]()
Standard Deviation
![Sky Automotive mirror Motor vehicle Plant Automotive side-view mirror]()
My 6.5x47 still isn't fully ready for real testing. I started today with only 75 rounds down the tube. That was close enough to where some barrels start to speed up, so I figured why not? I had 20 rounds loaded into four groups of. 2gr increments as I was bracketing my initial load success from my first round of handloads.
For reference: Factory 123gr Lapua Scenar ammo produced a velocity average of 2,724 FPS with an ES of 29 and SD of 9. Not bad, and it was good for groups in the .6 - .7" range. I actually shot a group of five rounds at 300 yesterday with that ammo that measured almost exactly 2" (~.6 MOA).
First load today threw out an ES of 6 and an SD of 2! I was pretty stoked. I followed that up with an ES of 4 and an SD of 1 on the next group. Third group was more realistic at ES of 11, SD of 4...and then had my first velocity anomaly on the final group where one shot failed to read and another shot was 13 FPS higher than the others.
This combo has the makings of something great. The best groups have a noticeable velocity flat spot, and I've done zero seating depth testing. Actually, aside from running an expander mandrel through the mouth, these cases have had zero prep work done to them.
The wind got me on the second group as conditions were shifting a lot. I was doing a lot of watching and then cranking off a round or two when my little flag started pointing in my direction...and I got myself on the last group trying to get onto the trigger too quickly after conditions became favorable again.
Oh well. I'll file the load info away, and start playing with another bullet and powder combo.
Avg Velocity
Extreme Spread
Standard Deviation
). it would have been nice if I didn't chunk that second shot on the final group either, but oh well.
