Thread: Another Trip to the Range

Greetings All,
It was range day today for a little 110 metre rifle range I frequent. I had been fiddling with my Remington VSSF in .223 and had used it recently in a 300 yard shoot. Regrettably the barrel has a 12 inch twist which limits the projectiles to 60 grains or thereabout. The standard load is with the 60 grain Hornady VMax which shoot easily better than I. Fossicking around in the shed turned up several hundred of the Hornady 55 grain soft point projectiles perhaps I could use these on calmer days at 300 yards to eke out the VMax projectiles but where would they shoot? A cunning plan was hatched. As it was range day and I had nothing better to do three shots of each of the 55 and 60 grain projectiles were fired at separate targets using the same kit as used at 300 yards. Both groups were sub MoA with the 60 grains 110mm above point of aim and the 55 grains 130mm. This was with the sights still set for 275 metres (300 yards). Back home the trajectory charts for each round with a zero at 275 metres were consulted. Both rounds worked out to 115mm above point of aim so two or three clicks down for the 55 grains should do it.
About this time many of you may be wondering what is the old fudd on about. Why doesn't he just buy a bunch of the 60 grain or better get the rifle rebarrelled for something better? All I can say is that we are all products of the generation into which we are born. In my case born in the immediate post war period and raised by parents who were children in the depression has left its mark. It's just the way we are.
Regards Grandpamac.

Dang, I'm a bit younger than that (although my Dad was bought up in the depression and went to work at 12) so what can I use as an excuse for like behaviors haha

My Remington 12-twist was extremely fond of Nosler 40-grainers. Rabbits and Roos tended to disapprove, often in quite an explosive manner.

The hard years of the 80s left thier mark on me... And besides GPM...55s are just good to use for just about everything anyway lol

Originally Posted by StrikerNZ

My Remington 12-twist was extremely fond of Nosler 40-grainers. Rabbits and Roos tended to disapprove, often in quite an explosive manner.

The 1:12 I had was like that too...it would shoot the 35gr Vmax and the 40gr and 50gr into nearly the same hole at 100m It really liked the American eagle hollow point 50gr too...but anything over 55gr and a lot of the 55gr proketiles and it opened up the grous. 69gr were about 4moa. Not really an issue as the 35gr Vmax were devestating on rabbits out past 300m (further than that I was having trouble hitting them and that would be me and not the rifle.........)

Ohh how true GM

Must have been the day for it.

I have been scrabbling around trying to get use out of old stock and went to the range to see how things played out.

Had an old tubs of 2206h that i wanted to try against a newer one, one open for about 10 years and the other half that (i misplaced one in the shed and thought i had finished it before finding it again...).

I also wanted to see how things fared if I changed the brass from Hornady 223 to Mil 556 Ball K100's which had the projectiles pulled when they got on the naughty list.

23.0 gns of powder in each.



Layout is:

Old Powder 223 New Powder 223
Old Powder 556 New Powder 556

Chrono showed the following ave over the five shots

2895 v 2850
2760 v 2778

Happy with the results and will now need to do some more work ups but after reading extensively about using 556 brass, with comments that walls are genarally thicker and can raise pressure, the reduction on the velocities was not what i expected.

Bugger - guess i will have to do more tinkering...

Originally Posted by Baz036

Must have been the day for it.

I have been scrabbling around trying to get use out of old stock and went to the range to see how things played out.

Had an old tubs of 2206h that i wanted to try against a newer one, one open for about 10 years and the other half that (i misplaced one in the shed and thought i had finished it before finding it again...).

I also wanted to see how things fared if I changed the brass from Hornady 223 to Mil 556 Ball K100's which had the projectiles pulled when they got on the naughty list.

23.0 gns of powder in each.

Attachment 261445

Layout is:

Old Powder 223 New Powder 223
Old Powder 556 New Powder 556

Chrono showed the following ave over the five shots

2895 v 2850
2760 v 2778

Happy with the results and will now need to do some more work ups but after reading extensively about using 556 brass, with comments that walls are genarally thicker and can raise pressure, the reduction on the velocities was not what i expected.

Bugger - guess i will have to do more tinkering...

Greetings,
The 55 grain loads were in LC-81 brass I picked up on the range 40 years back and are some of the lightest cases I use. US military brass is no heavier than most US commercial in my experience.
GPM.

Originally Posted by Baz036

Must have been the day for it.

I have been scrabbling around trying to get use out of old stock and went to the range to see how things played out.

Had an old tubs of 2206h that i wanted to try against a newer one, one open for about 10 years and the other half that (i misplaced one in the shed and thought i had finished it before finding it again...).

I also wanted to see how things fared if I changed the brass from Hornady 223 to Mil 556 Ball K100's which had the projectiles pulled when they got on the naughty list.

23.0 gns of powder in each.

Attachment 261445

Layout is:

Old Powder 223 New Powder 223
Old Powder 556 New Powder 556

Chrono showed the following ave over the five shots

2895 v 2850
2760 v 2778

Happy with the results and will now need to do some more work ups but after reading extensively about using 556 brass, with comments that walls are genarally thicker and can raise pressure, the reduction on the velocities was not what i expected.

Bugger - guess i will have to do more tinkering...

two clicks to left

Thanks GPM - lots of contradictory stuff out there so the advice to plot your own course still stands

BtH - yep that will be done. Not yet, but at the next range visit with a couple of the same loads as sighters

I was really only joking love a good range session

Greetings,
Due to being programmed to pick up any shiny case I spot the shelves contain a decent collection of once fired brass. A certain level of sloth prevents me from bothering to check water capacity of cases preferring to use case weight. Most of the US cases I have weighed fall into two groups of 94 grains and 97 grains average with primer. The small lots of ADI and PMC I have average 97 grains with primer. Continental cases, Lapua, Sako and S&B average around 105 grains. Brass has a relative density of around 8.8 so the continental cases will push up both velocity and pressure a little. I have always meant to run a chronograph test to see how much velocity changes but have not got round to it yet.
As far as velocity changes with old powder it is likely that the older powder will have dried out a little so the same weight of old powder will often produce a little more velocity. I test each batch of powder for velocity and have often noted a slight drop in velocity with the new batch. I started chronographing new batches after I was almost caught out by a significant change in speed of one powder and another is on the watch list at the moment.
Handloading is a pastime that just keeps giving.
Finally I calculated the difference in projectile impact for the 55 grain mentioned in the OP. The point of impact at 275 metres (300 yards) should be about 50mm above point of aim. QED.
Regards Grandpamac.

you are enjoying yourself

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

you are enjoying yourself

There are family jokes about OCD. 50 years of working in detail driven building draughting and planning likely have not helped either.
GPM.

So why don't other folks chuck the dregs of older powder in with newer batch,tip back n forth between the two,three containers till well blended,fill one container right up and use up what's left in other container first??? It's how I've done it forever.