Time To Begin Reloading

I have been reloading for pistol and rifle cartridges for hunting and target for over 40 years. It is time perhaps to enrich your inner self and reload. It’s fun and saves money too…in the long run.

RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master Single Stage Press Kit

RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master Single Stage Press Kit

My African safari hunt utilized all my custom handloads.

 

Not only have I saved thousands of dollars over the years but customized loads to accurize my guns. I started with this RCBS kit above. At just over $500 dollars, you also need cartridge dies, powders, primers bullets and brass. 

Midway USA sells all you need.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1023389781?pid=345426

Check it out!

 

New 7mm PRC and 7mm Rem Mag: Both Are Great!

Now is the time to buy a 7mm PRC Rifle if you desire one. Getting excited about a new cartridge and rifle is certainly fun. There are now several manufacturers making the 7mm PRC rifle.

In addition, for reloaders, there are dies, brass and powders ready to reload. Missing still, are large rifle magnum primers, but, if you load for other magnums, then you have some magnum primers in your gun safe.

The upsides of the PRC are long range 1000yd Plus accuracy, reloadability, bullet stability at 1:8 twist and target bullets in 190 to 195g such as the Hornady A-Tip Match.

The PRC with rifles of 1:8 twist are capable of delivering off-the-shelf 175g ammo for big game hunting at muzzle velocities of 3000 fps.

The 7mm Rem Magnum 175g off-the-shelf loads in rifles with 1:10 twist are just a bit slower with muzzle velocities of 2850 fps and where cartridge cases are belted for head spacing.

Both cartridges are very accurate for hunting purposes at ranges out to 600 plus yards. But the PRC begins to dominate thereafter with 190g target bullets. 

If you hand load for either target or hunting you can customize loads for your rifle with both the 7mm PRC and 7mm Rem Mag.

Some believe the 7mm bench mark for big game hunting such as moose and elk is 3000fps at the muzzle with the 175g bullet.

With some experimentation, my hand loaded 7mm Rem Mag does the 175g 3000 fps trick in my 1:10 twist Browning Speed and is super accurate with the right powder.  

Trust me, your big game animal won’t know the difference.

The largest advantage of the PRC is for long range target with 190g bullets where the headspace is off the shoulder of the cartridge and tolerances are much tighter. 

So be happy, both the 7mm PRC and 7mm Rem Mag are great cartridges and can coexist for hunting decades to come.

Shooting a wide variety of bullet weights though, the 7mm Rem Mag is said to be more versatile for accuracy due to the slower twist rate. An example, would be shooting 120g to 175g bullets for a variety of game, will on average shoot more accurately. 

Happy 7mm Hunting!

 

 

 

Hornady 7mm 175g ELD-X and Nosler 175g ABLR – 3000fps in Browning Speed 7mm Rem Mag/w Timney Trigger and Leupold Scope

 

Browning X-Bolt Speed SR Bolt Action Centerfire Rifle

Using Alliant RL 22 powder, I have experimented to find my max load and best accuracy for long range moose hunting this fall. At 500 yds I still have 2000 ft-lbs of energy. 

Reloder 22

I found that each bullet type responded well to incremental loadings of Alliant Reloader 22 powder. This powder has been known by some hand loaders, including me, finding lot to lot variation thus load data I worked up is for my rifle and this powder lot only.

My first objective was to be safe and inspect each round before proceeding in incremental increases until either I achieved my velocity/energy goal or ran into case/primer concerns. I was able to achieve just over 3000 fps with nary an issue, even with a 9.5 barrel twist. 

My COAL objective was to set it at 20 thousandths less than the rifle lands and chronograph each bullet, then shoot for 3 shot groups at 100 yards. .On  the first pass, I achieved a 7/8 inch group at 100 yards with outside temp around 70 degrees and a cold barrel.

My Timney trigger was set a 3 pounds and worked crisply. Thanks Timney!

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Leupold VX-6 3-18 was set at 10x. Love my Leupold!

Leupold VX-6 CDS Rifle Scope - 307376, Rifle Scopes and Accessories at ...

I believe 3 shot bench groups are all that is necessary for hunting accuracy.  It is very rare to fire more than 3 rounds at one big game animal. My confidence is very high with this Browning in hand. Next is to shoot off hand and with a tripod type rest and shoot a fast follow up shot with the short 60 degree bolt throw.

Good Shooting!

 

Browning X-Bolt Speed and Cartridge Overall Length Surprise

Hand-loaders love to experiment with bullet seating depth to increase accuracy.  In a new rifle, I sometimes discover that the magazine length or clip is the limiting factor for OAL and not the bullet distance to the rifling. This can be disappointing as it limits bullet OAL and can affect best accuracy. 

Pleasantly, I have been surprised to find the clip length for my Browning 7mm Rem Mag is 3.57 inches.

X-Bolt Rotary Magazine – Burnt Bronze Cerakote

 

SAAMI lists the max overall cartridge length OAL at 3.29 inches for off the shelf ammo. The chamber and magazine in my Browning allows me to hand-load longer than published OAL, thus leaving room for accuracy experimentation we hand-loader often do.

The caveat here is that the bullet must contact the case neck at least to bullet diameter. In my case that length is .284 inches. 

OAL can vary from spitzer to round nose.  I measure max OAL for each cartridge and bullet and subtract 20 thousandths (give or take) for spitzers and 50 thou or more for round nose.

Experimentation will tell where your best accuracy is.

I find that in my 7 MM Rem Mag, I’m not be limited by SAAMI OAL of 3.29 inches. I can use OAL’s out to 3.4 inches with my Nosler 175 g ABLR. Very nice indeed!!

Good Shooting!

©Copyright 2023

 

 

Reloading: 6.5mm Lapua Mega 155 bullet now in stock at Midway

May 2, 2023 In stock

One of my favorite New England deer/bear hunting 6.5 mm bullets for my Creedmoor. It hammers them and puts brown to the ground in brushy terrain. 

Lapua Mega Bullets 264 Caliber, 6.5mm (264 Diameter) 155 Grain Soft Point Box of 100

Quote from Midway-

“Mega soft point bullets are constructed to be an ideal hunting bullet. The bullet’s flattened nose causes a powerful shock immediately after impact. The jacket extends all the way to the tip of the bullet, protecting the nose both in the rifle and flight, if it hits a branch or twig. The crown-headed jacket tip is thinned toward the point and deliberately folded to ensure even opening and mushrooming on impact up to 2.5 times the original diameter.

The jacket is substantially thickened at its middle section which arrests the mushrooming at precisely the right stage. The “step” farther inside the jacket holds the lead core within the jacket. This construction combines maximum weight retention (averaging 90%) and ideal penetration with superb accuracy.”

See my article below using Superformance powder.

6.5 Creedmoor Superformance Load Data with Lapua Mega 155 grain Soft Point Flat Nose

Another article on round nose bullets below.

Round nose bullets drop them faster! Hornady makes round nose for 6.5mm too.

Round Nose Bullets, Too Often Overlooked

Good Hunting!

Reloading: Cartridge and Bullet Concentricity Tests for Hunting

 If you hunt and shoot beyond 200 yards, bullet and brass concentricity (wabble) can matter. Experienced long range shooters call it “runout.” I have shot at 600 yards at targets on occasion but rarely checked for concentricity/runout till prepping for this falls moose hunt. 

Accordingly, I just purchased a Sinclair Concentricity gage to check for runout and to see groups improve. The idea is to eliminate fliers! But that required me to do more brass case prep too. That must have helped as well. Some swear by it, some don’t.

l_749007305_1.jpg

First tests were for the case neck on those I had already full length resized a week earlier.

 

After checking 30 cases, half were at .003″ or greater runout (wobble), half were less.  Some long range hand loaders suggest that 0.003″ is the max runout.

What to do?

I ran these .003 cases back through my full length sizing die a few times, rotating 90 degrees and retested. Runout (wobble) improved to .0015″ or less.

Next is to load some bullets and retest for bullet runout.

All bullet retests for runout were 0.003″ or less. Nice!

Doing this test suggests that the bullet is better aligned to enter the rifling nearer to parallel. So lets see some targets…

Below this Nosler 168g ABLR group shrunk from 2 inches to 1 1/8 inch group at 150 yards  is an example of what the Sinclair Concentricity Gage did for me.  Sub-MOA groups below!

 

The next picture below is of the same 168g ABLR bullet at 150 yd distance but the OAL was longer (0.020 off the lands).

The 1/4 inch difference in grouping photos was probably me. But you can see these are both sub-moa groups.

Lesson learned! To establish a best in class reloading process with or without the gage.

Good Shooting!

 

© Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nosler AccuBond Long Range for 7mm Rem Mag

I have been a Nosler fan since my African Safari some years back and have taken two bull moose and whitetails with AccuBonds from 140 grain up to 300 grains with great success on big game.

Accordingly, I have written extensively about Nosler bullets in my New Hampshire Rifleman Magazine using AccuBonds, Partitions as well as E-Tips. All world class hunting bullets that hit hard, stay together and penetrate deep. Handloading my own bullets are key to my satisfaction and success.

The AccuBond Long Range ABLR bullet is in a class all by itself, providing very low drag, a bonded bullet that can mushroom as low as 1350 fps and stays together up to 3000 fps. No other bullet can make that claim.

https://www.nosler.com/products/bullets/product-line/accubondr-long-range.html

 

The ABLR is offered in 150g, 168g, and 175g bullets for those who may encounter long range shots. In my case, I will be hunting Newfoundland Moose among the myriad of bogs that can span many hundreds of yards.

Below is the Trajectory Chart and Delivered Energy. See the 500 Yd data in bold for 2100 ft-lbs delivered energy.

 

Trajectory
Input Data
Manufacturer: Nosler Description: Accubond Long Range Spitzer (G7)
Caliber: 0.284 in Weight: 175.0 gr
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.364 G7 (ASM)
Muzzle Velocity: 2974.0 ft/s Distance to Chronograph: 0.0 ft
Sight Height: 1.50 in Sight Offset: 0.00 in
Zero Height: 0.00 in Zero Offset: 0.00 in
Windage: 0.000 MOA Elevation: 0.000 MOA
Line Of Sight Angle: 0.0 deg Cant Angle: 0.0 deg
Wind Speed: 10.0 mph Wind Angle: 90.0 deg
Target Speed: 0.0 mph Target Angle: 90.0 deg
Target Height: 50.0 in
Temperature: 48.0 °F Pressure: 29.92 in Hg
Humidity: 40 % Altitude: 0.0 ft
Vital Zone Radius: 5.0 in
Std. Atmosphere at Altitude: No Pressure is Corrected: Yes
Zero at Max. Point Blank Range: No Target Relative Drops: Yes
Mark Sound Barrier Crossing: No Include Extra Rows: No
Column 1 Units: 1.00 in Column 2 Units: 1.00 MOA
Round Output to Whole Numbers: No
Output Data
Elevation: 3.368 MOA Windage: 0.000 MOA
Atmospheric Density: 0.07799 lb/ft³ Speed of Sound: 1104.6 ft/s
Maximum PBR: 373 yd Maximum PBR Zero: 315 yd
Range of Maximum Height: 172 yd Energy at Maximum PBR: 2393.8 ft•lbs
Sectional Density: 0.310 lb/in²
Calculated Table
Range Drop Drop Windage Windage Velocity Mach Energy Time Lead Lead
(yd) (in) (MOA) (in) (MOA) (ft/s) (none) (ft•lbs) (s) (in) (MOA)
0 -1.5 *** 0.0 *** 2974.0 2.692 3436.3 0.000 0.0 ***
25 -0.7 -2.8 0.0 0.1 2939.7 2.661 3357.5 0.025 0.0 0.0
50 -0.2 -0.4 0.1 0.2 2905.6 2.631 3280.0 0.051 0.0 0.0
75 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.3 2871.6 2.600 3203.8 0.077 0.0 0.0
100 -0.0 -0.0 0.4 0.4 2837.9 2.569 3128.9 0.103 0.0 0.0
125 -0.3 -0.2 0.7 0.5 2804.3 2.539 3055.3 0.130 0.0 0.0
150 -0.8 -0.5 1.0 0.6 2770.9 2.509 2983.0 0.157 0.0 0.0
175 -1.7 -0.9 1.3 0.7 2737.7 2.479 2911.9 0.184 0.0 0.0
200 -2.8 -1.3 1.7 0.8 2704.7 2.449 2842.2 0.212 0.0 0.0
225 -4.2 -1.8 2.2 0.9 2671.9 2.419 2773.7 0.239 0.0 0.0
250 -6.0 -2.3 2.7 1.0 2639.4 2.390 2706.5 0.268 0.0 0.0
275 -8.0 -2.8 3.3 1.2 2607.0 2.360 2640.5 0.296 0.0 0.0
300 -10.4 -3.3 4.0 1.3 2574.9 2.331 2575.8 0.325 0.0 0.0
325 -13.1 -3.8 4.7 1.4 2542.9 2.302 2512.3 0.355 0.0 0.0
350 -16.1 -4.4 5.5 1.5 2511.2 2.274 2450.0 0.384 0.0 0.0
375 -19.5 -5.0 6.3 1.6 2479.7 2.245 2389.0 0.414 0.0 0.0
400 -23.2 -5.5 7.3 1.7 2448.4 2.217 2329.1 0.445 0.0 0.0
425 -27.3 -6.1 8.2 1.9 2417.4 2.189 2270.3 0.476 0.0 0.0
450 -31.8 -6.7 9.3 2.0 2386.5 2.161 2212.8 0.507 0.0 0.0
475 -36.6 -7.4 10.4 2.1 2355.9 2.133 2156.4 0.538 0.0 0.0
500 -41.8 -8.0 11.6 2.2 2325.5 2.105 2101.1 0.570 0.0 0.0
525 -47.5 -8.6 12.9 2.3 2295.4 2.078 2047.0 0.603 0.0 0.0
550 -53.5 -9.3 14.3 2.5 2265.4 2.051 1993.9 0.636 0.0 0.0
575 -60.0 -10.0 15.7 2.6 2235.8 2.024 1942.0 0.669 0.0 0.0
600 -66.9 -10.6 17.2 2.7 2206.3 1.997 1891.2 0.703 0.0 0.0

 

04-Apr-23 13:05, JBM/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi

 

© Copyright 2023 

 

 

Cartridge Reloading Gives Me More Shooting and Hunting Satisfaction

When store shelves are bare of your favorite rifle cartridge and bullet, I just reach into my reloading cupboard and load some up and go hunt or shoot.

Yes, sometime I run out of something but more than not, I have it before the big stores have your pet load.

Beyond that, my cartridges are customized to my rifle thus increasing accuracy. 

A sense of accomplishment? You bet!

Many years ago I purchased an RCBS Reloading press and never looked back. Reloading your own cartridges are a cost effective solution too, if you shoot regularly. I load pistol cartridges too.  

There are other reloading press companies and beginner kits out there to get you started.

RCBS offers the Explorer Reloading Kit for just $339.99.

https://www.rcbs.com/rcbs-kits/explorer-reloading-kit-2/16-9288.html

Explorer Reloading Kit 2

Or

Hornady Reloading Equipment

https://www.hornady.com/reloading/getting-started#!/

Go Hornady reloading with Rosie to get going! 

Great fun this spring!

 

 

 

Long Range Shooting with Handloads – Powder can vary Lot to Lot- Take Extra Care with Max Loads

In loading for moose with my Browning X-Bolt 7mm Rem Mag, I continue experimenting with powders and bullets . My two favorite bullets are Nosler ABLR 168 and 175 grain bullets. In the process, I am aware that I am looking for max loads and accuracy too.

As a result, I discovered measurable lot to lot variation in some powders. Alliant Reloader 22 is one of those I see vary,  and on the lower side so far…a good thing.

Thus, I approach new powder lots with more caution. Instead of loading hot loads with the same grain weight as my last lot, I back off a few grains or more and work up several rounds with my chronograph and inspect the brass and primer for overpressure signs.

At max loads you should also be aware that some magnum primers can be hotter and will effect velocity and may create overpressure as well if your are on the cusp.

Those who really push their rifle and cartridge in winter time can find those rounds perhaps too hot in summer when temps are in the 90’s. Why is my bolt sticking, you ask?

I think to keep my winter max loads a bit lighter and be aware of loads you loaded winter to summer. Dating them can help.  

Load Safely!

Browning X-Bolt “Speed” 7mm Rem Mag – Fast Follow-up Shots with 168g Nosler ABLR at 150 yards

After sighting in my rifle, one of my moose hunting shot techniques is to shoot multiple “fast” long range shots like I am in the field, off my Bog Death Grip below as an example off my Bog with my heavy recoiling .375 Ruger.

I can hear my guide excitedly shouting; “Put another one in him!”

My Browning X-Bolt has a 60 degree bolt lift thus shortening the bolt throw time significantly and is a smooth push-feed.

 

Below, I shot a string of 2 fast shots, after my first and best shot (three total shots off my Bog Death Grip) at a paper target with no bullseye but shooting for the center of the 15 inch paper target at 150 yards.

If you look hard, you can see the target below. I used 8x to see the target face.

Veteran moose hunters suggest using just enough magnification that also allows a field of view for reacquiring the target after the first shot.

Your hunt guide can also help to see the con-trail of your bullet hit with his binoculars. 

Below is the 3 shot string target. Shot #1 is at the paper crease.  Rapid Shot #2 is below shot #1.The third rapid shot went left 4 inches. The outer cardboard is close to the overall chest height of a moose at around 30 inches or so.

 

 

Many big game animals such as moose often don’t fall at the shot.  And likely, are not really sure what just happened to them and can move quickly making a follow-up shot more difficult. 

I believe the hunter should be practiced for follow-up shots to drop the animal as fast as possible. Bench rest shooting does not qualify here. 

In Africa, close big wounded dangerous game require, for your life’s sake, to drop the animal before it drops you.

On that note, you should also chamber and cycle your ammo in the rifle you hunt with, especially if it is hand-loaded. We don’t like surprises!

It can be just as dangerous to have a 1000 lb. bull moose shot at less than 30 yards and he decides to charge and give you some smack-down with his massive antlers. Yea, a follow-up here, for sure as an 8 foot giant frontal moose image appears at 20 feet or less.  

More Soon!

© Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved.