Category Archives: Cartridge Reloading

Points of interest in Cartridge Reloading

Design Your Own Ammo!

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I have seen folks look for their special load e.g., cartridge and bullet at major retailers only to get frustrated and leave, later to come back and hope that their pet cartridge shows up. In my most recent desire to shoot a round nose bullet for my 6.5 Creedmoor, you will never see them as a cartridge off-the-shelf with round nose bullets. It is not being marketed and sold. You must design and create it yourself.

If you are like me, then you want to be free to choose and design your own DYO ammo, to chose the brass, the powder and primer , the bullet weight and style, crimp or not, and most importantly the seating depth and overall length (COL) for their pistol or rifle.

Its fun and over a year, for an active shooter, it will pay for itself in no time.

For a minimal investment of say around $400 dollars or so (less than the cost of a new rifle)  in reloading equipment the hunter/shooter, now a reloader, has the power and freedom to customize the cartridge for the game and distance you wish to hunt.

Reloading equipment brand kits like Hornady, RCBS and Redding are a few to look into. My RCBS set up below. It is over 30 years old.

You just need the dies for your cartridge, powder, primer, and bullet. There are many beginner video’s out there to see how its done but reading and comprehending a loading manual is necessary to be safe. It is not hard to do at all but because you are dealing with powders and primers, safety is a priority.

For me reloading and designing my own ammo gives be tremendous satisfaction that I created my own custom ammo and experiment at the range to maximize accuracy and energy delivered to the game I hunt. On my Africa hunt, years back, I designed my ammo for plains game in my .338 Winchester Magnum and my .270 Winchester. Both cartridge designs were tested and were highly successful in the picture below.

In fact almost all of the game I hunted across the US, Canada and South Africa used my designer custom ammo that I created.

You Can Do it Too!

Good Hunting!

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Great Deer Cartridges for New Hampshire Deer

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Here in New Hampshire we have a variety of fields and forests. There are southern zones that do not allow rifle hunting however with that said, calibers such as the 243 Winchester to 300 Winchester Magnum and everything in between are great choices. Young and women hunters are often seen with the 243 Winchester and 6mm as they has very low recoil and great deer killing energy with a well placed shot. These are not ideal for heavy brush. Next is the 7mm-08 (based on the .308 Winchester case and necked down) and all the new and old 6.5mm cartridges but still not great for heavy brush. These are also easy on the recoil and bullets weigh more and have better penetration with a bit more recoil.

The 7mm cartridge’s are geared for longer range and higher energies, such as the well known 7mm Remington magnum.  Perhaps one of the most often used cartridges is the .308 Winchester, hard hitting and medium recoil. Northern hunters opt for the .270 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield, and 300 Winchester Magnum because of their fire power. But these aforementioned cartridge’s come with lots more recoil. Recoil sensitive shooters should stay away from these cartridges unless hand loaded down in power, something I am very good at.

As far as bullets go, I prefer bonded bullets, where the copper jacket is bonded to the lead, which makes for a bullet that mushrooms correctly and stays together. If you hand load your cartridge then the world is your oyster for bullet choices. My favorites are the Nosler Partition and the Nosler AccuBond. The latter is my go-to big game bullet. Veteran hunters who prowl in heavy timber use larger calibers in the 40 or 50 caliber class. My brother’s thick timber rifle was the venerable 444 Marlin and others shoot the 45-70. Both great cartridges. Often flat points or the newer rubber tipped 240/260 grain heads. Again, if you shoot regularly, consider loading your own ammo as I do. It is great fun and you get to customize the load and bullet for the rifle, the game, and the hunter too.

Good Hunting!

© Copyright 2020

The .375 Ruger Makes Me Smile; Talking with Larry Weishuhn…

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In 2018, my readers knew I was hunting Texas at Wildlife Systems, Rocky Creek with Larry Weishuhn (Mr. Whitetail). Larry invariably had a friendly smile and soft Texas drawl. Photo below Larry’s buck antlers for rattling made my NH antlers look small!

I mentioned to Larry that I left my Ruger M77 Hawkeye Africa rifle in .375 Ruger home. Larry pipes right up, “shot a number of deer with my .375 Ruger, you should have brought it”!  Love that cartridge! Me too, “I’m thinkin” Now (November 2020)  I am taking the .375 Ruger back for a Trophy Deer Hunt to Texas — lots of land to self distance!

I recently sent an email to Larry:

Hi Larry,

You and I have championed the 375 Ruger for years certainly for me since 2012/2013. I have written dozens of articles on the .375 Ruger as part of my Ruger M77 Hawkeye African Rifle.

Here are just a few of my articles. I shot hand loaded 260g Nosler AB’s at 600 yards prone “High Power Practice” full power and my groups were 3 ½ inches at 600 yds and 3/8th inch 3 shot at 100 yards. As a handloader “the .375 Ruger makes me smile”. Sounds like the title of a new article!!

https://www.nhrifleman.com/hand-loading-the-375-ruger-for-deer-bear-moose-and-cape-buffalo/

https://www.nhrifleman.com/the-375-ruger-cartridge-a-handloaders-dream-cartridge/

https://www.nhrifleman.com/reloading-the-375-ruger-changed-me-by-ed-hale/

https://www.nhrifleman.com/best-deer-bear-moose-bison-cartridge-for-handloaders-with-375-ruger-in-a-ruger-m77-hawkeye/

https://www.nhrifleman.com/the-375-ruger-enough-cartridge-and-accurate/

https://www.nhrifleman.com/ruger-375-buffs-cant-get-enough/

 

Robert Ruark always said; USE ENOUGH GUN and the .375 Ruger does that splendidly.  I am taking my .375 Ruger to Rocky Creek in November.

AND LARRY E-MAILS BACK

Ed,
THANK YOU SIR… Great articles!
Perfect choice for Rocky Creek! In my opinion!

I’ve taken elephant, hippo, several African and Australian buffalo, African lion, and plains game on down to blue duiker; in Europe
roe deer, fallow, red stag, mouflon, ibex; in North America a near 11 foot brown bear down to whitetails.. Still my one most favorite round with which to hunt the world. Have shot it out to 700 yards.

I do like your new title!

All the BEST,
Larry

*********

 Larry notes that he uses factory Hornady Ammo for all his hunts.

I on the other hand have almost never hunted game with a factory load of  any caliber and derive great satisfaction from hand-loading my own rounds customized to each rifle. 

Each to his own, right. Larry is a good friend and a world class sportsman!

You can find Larry on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/larryweishuhnoutdoors/

Happy Birthday Larry!

Perhaps I got that reloading bug from Jim Carmichael of “Outdoor Life” Fame. I recall that Jim had a 458 slug taken from a bull elephant that he harvested and said that it was in such great shape that he could hand-load it again. Jim was a great shot and at the time reloaded for his bench rest competition, as I recall. Being of an engineering mindset hand loading is a great hobby!

Just yesterday I loaded up some more .375 Ruger rounds with SR 4759 (now out of manufacture) with an additional grain of powder with Speer’s 235 grain Hot Core Bullet made famous by Vernon Speer. Molten lead poured hot with the copper jacket is near enough to bonded in my book. I achieved around 2200 fps, my secret deer load goal and shot a 3 shot one inch group at 100 yards. Why 2200 fps? Because, I believed that out to 150 yards I would still get decent mushrooming and delivered energy with this reduced load in a semi-spitzer and still have hit that big buck with the .375 diameter “Hammer of Thor”!  Yet the recoil was just a bit less than a full power 30-06 shooting 180 grain ammo. 

It is interesting to note for the technical folks out there that in 2005 Chuck Hawkes, the owner/managing editor of Guns & Shooting Online  first published his formula called Killing Power Score or KPS where the frontal bullet area (.1104 for the .375 vs .0745 for a .308) was instrumental in the calculation along with BC and bullet speed. The .375 has more frontal area and thus if you can control speed and BC you can customize your so called “Hammer”. 

Below is a big bull moose with a smaller rack that I whacked with a 300 grain Nosler AB with a load of RL-15, the bull dropped in 2 steps at the shot. The wind was blowing up to 30 mph and the thermometer was in the teens. With Wind Chill being well below zero I was happy to have this bull in my Leupold VX-6 crosshairs.

800 pound Newfoundland Moose October 2019

First reduced load harvest was fat Red Deer with Hornady’s now defunct 220 grain FP traveling around 1500 fps. At 30 yards I got full penetration and the deer fell dead with a heart shot.

Below is my New Hampshire bull taken with the .375 Ruger and 260 grain heads. My partner followed up with his .308 Winchester. 

Below is an 800 pound Bison, a one shot kill with the .375 Ruger and 260 g Nosler AB. The bull was moving fast at 100 yards but felt confident at the shot. He fell dead as a door-nail entering a rear rib and up thru the heart and lungs, broke the far shoulder and kept going. We were lucky as all get-out to have a skidder nearby to load in the truck.

The .375 Ruger, Larry and I agree is one cartridge for the World!

Good Hunting!

© 2020

 

.375 Ruger – Reloading Reduced Loads – Update

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The .375 Ruger is perhaps one of the most versatile cartridges to reload for hunting game from wild boar, deer, elk, moose, buffalo, and most African game including Elephant with a single rifle and with a myriad of bullets and weights from 200 grains to 300 grains. And can reach out as far or close as you like as well!

My experience with a reduced load I first developed was with Hornady’s 220 grain flat nose, originally designed for the .375 Winchester reintroduced in 1978.   That flat nose bullet is no longer in production. I shot it in my Ruger African M77.  Muzzle velocity was perhaps 1600 fps. and the recoil was much less than my 50 cal muzzleloader. I harvested a big plump red doe below with it at 50 yards and got full penetration. One shot through the heart and she dropped in less than 20 yards with little meat damage. The bullet was not recovered but based on the speed and energy, the bullet likely stayed 100% intact.

Today I load Speer’s 235 grain Hot Core for deer with 38 grains of SR 4759 powder that I worked up based on the 375 H&H cartridge load data. Deer and Black Bear beware… and low recoil with this slower moving bulldozer!

 

Muzzle velocity was measured at around 2135 fps and around an inch at 100 yards, energy at the muzzle is near to 2400 ft-lbs (100 yd energy 1850 ft-lbs) . Expect minimal radial blood shot meat damage with this slow heavy bullet. Because the shape of this bullet is similar to a round nose it is capable of expanding on deer size game at slower velocities. Reloading this powder does not require the use of any fillers to hold the powder to the primer. Ignition appears consistent no matter the angle. The reloader should work up a load starting low and working up to observe that there are no over-pressure signs. Every rifle is different. The point to drive home here is that bullets in reduced loads need to mushroom or be in a quasi-mushroom shape already at speeds less than say 1800 fps on impact or exceed 2000 fps on impact with a pointed bullet such as a spitzer.

In some recent research I have found two websites that have information that is useful to .375 Ruger owners. First is a Chuck Hawks article.

https://www.chuckhawks.com/reduced_big_bore_loads.htm

The second is Hawk, Inc. a maker of custom bullets that include flat and round nose bullets for the .375.  A great find in my book for versatility.

https://hawkbullets.com/

7mm .284 diameter rifle bullets

All that said, there are bullets from many manufacturers from 250 grain to 300 grain in spitzer or round nose to use as full power loads on game larger than deer.   I recently shot a 850 pound moose with Nosler’s 300 grain AccuBond™ because its sectional density was one of the best for penetration on tough animals. On the right is the 300 grain AB below.

It was a one shot kill at 100 yards using RL 15 powder and a MV of 2500 fps. The moose fell within 20 yards of the shot. The bullet was recovered under the skin on the far side and maintained 80% of its original weight.

 

Below is a 750 pound Bison that I took several years back with  Noslers 260 grain AccuBond. One shot kill. Later a nice NH moose.

I met a Texan reading some of my early writings that wanted to hunt really big hogs. He hunts with a Ruger Rifle in .375 Ruger Cartridge.

Barnes still makes a 255 grain copper jacket lead flat point that you can experiment with for reduced loads as well. I found it at MidwayUSA, 50 for $48. On the expensive side! https://www.midwayusa.com/product/101041204

Alternate Image 1

Good Hunting!

© 2019 All Rights Reserved.

 

 

Winter – A Great Time To Handload Your Ammo

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If you aren’t snowshoeing, skidooing, skiing or out in the snow, it is a great time to handload. For me it is quiet time with a good reloading manual, your favorite powders, a reloading press and endless bullet sizes, weights, and construction for target or hunting.

I have a simple RCBS Rockchucker Reloading Press that I purchased 30 years ago and loaded many thousands of rounds for my rifles and pistols. Most all the game I have hunted with rifle were taken with my own handloads, even my African Plains Game Rifle, a 338 Winchester Magnum was handloaded with 250 grain Nosler Partitions. The level of satisfaction for me was monumental to create my very own custom ammo. Accuracy was so much better too.

If you are thinking about getting into reloading your own ammunition and you like to tinker with tools as I do, it was a lifelong love affair to be the creator of my own custom ammo. There are many video’s on the market today to teach you the basics.

I promise that with some patience you can do that too! How great would it be to harvest your game with a cartridge you created yourself!

I came by the handloading because I am a natural do-it-yourselfer.  As a bowhunter, I built my own arrows from scratch our of aluminum or Port Orford Cedar, and cut my own turkey feathers. Below at my bow bench. Above the bench are a few archery trophies I have earned over the years.

Good Hunting!

© 2019

New Competition Season, New Rifle, New Loads: Sneak Peak

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Sneak Peak:

It’s my favorite time of the year again!!  I’ll be doing some powder/ bullet load development for the new rifle to get a good starting load for competition starting this Sunday, report to follow….

Projectiles to be tested are:

Sierra 175 TMK, Berger 185 Juggernaut, Nosler 175 RDF, Hornady 178 A-Max (discontinued)

Powders to be tested are:

IMR4064, Hodgdon  Varget, IMR4895, VVn550

Looking forward to burning some powder and seeing what she likes!!

Sako TRG-22 in .308 Winchester 1:11” twist, 26” bbl Mounted is a Leupold Gold Ring 7-42x56mm competition scope w/ 34mm tube in vortex precision matched rings.

See you at the range!!

2018 © All Rights Reserved.

The .375 Ruger; just plain fun with Speer 235 grain Hot-Cor and reduced loads!

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Just when I get in a Rifle rut, I pull out my Ruger M77 in .375 Ruger with medium to low power loads that I load myself. This female red deer was taken with a low power load and just crumpled. The .375 Ruger is geared for the largest game on the planet but you can tame it too.

Not any more powerful than my 50 cal muzzleloader shooting 300 grain bullets and 100 grains of Pyrodex and recoil is similar and tolerable too. What is so cool is that with a 235 grain Speer Hot-Cor and reduced power loads you can still shoot accurately and pack a deer and black bear killing wallop with 2200 fps.

Speer Hot-Cor Rifle Bullets .375 cal .375" 235 gr SEMSSP 50/ct

The bullets group well at 150 yards. See below. 1st shot set for 100 yards and low. I raised the crosshairs and the next 3 shots were around a 1.5 inch group.

On a bench rest I had to use a thin neoprene pad to tame the recoil. I wrote this below article about powder a while back in 2014.

http://www.nhrifleman.com/2014/09/05/375-ruger-reduced-loads-and-powder-are-here/

Natchez is offering the 235 grain at a very low price so stock up my 375 shooting friends.

https://www.natchezss.com/speer-hot-cor-rifle-bullets-375-cal-375-235-gr-semssp-50-ct.html

You might like this article below too.

http://www.nhrifleman.com/2014/06/27/the-375-ruger-cartridge-a-handloaders-dream-cartridge/

 

©2018 All Rights Reserved.

 

Weatherby Vanguard Weatherguard 6.5 Creedmoor with Nosler 142g Long Range AccuBond

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On December 8, 2017, it was a cold 40 degrees, cloudy, however, the air was amazingly still. It was “bugging me” that the last test (a few days ago and an earlier article) for 100 yard groups for this Weatherby® Vanguard® Weatherguard® rifle was windy and the 1.75 inch lateral spread may or may not have been caused by wind. The 50 yard group was very tight, around 3/8th of an inch. Accordingly, I had to know if it was the wind or rifle at 100 yards but I had no more Hornady bullets left. The next best thing was my Nosler’s.

I had powder and a some 142 grain Nosler Long Range AccuBonds, so I gave them a close look and loaded some in Nosler Custom Brass for the 6.5 Creedmoor with CCI Benchrest Primers (BR2). This is like the best of the best of the best, some might say.

Research began with a hot long range hunting load using Reloader 15 powder. I loaded 36.5 grains at a COL of 2.801 inches and 81% load density volume. The Nosler Manual tested a muzzle velocity (MV) of 2635 fps with a 24 inch barrel. Not super fast for sure, ,low recoil, but with a ballistic coefficient (BC) of over 0.7 (G1)  it didn’t have to be so fast because most spitzer bullets have much lower BC’s and lose velocity rapidly due to increased air friction.

Most technical folks like to talk about killing energy for deer at around 1000 ft-lbs energy. This round can kill a deer at 725 yards (1000 ft-lbs at 1785 fps per JBM Calculations) if you know the distance, wind, altitude etc. and the shooter can stay within a  3 to 4 inch kill radius and the bullet can shoot an MOA or better at 100 yards.

Target #1 below at 100 yards with 1.25 inch group. Yes, the first shot was from a cold shooter, me and a cold barrel.

Target #2 was shot 5 minutes later than Target #1 resulting in a 9/16 inch group.

Ok, so the average of the 2 groups are 0.9 inches. The bottom line is that this Weatherby Vanguard Weatherguard rifle shoots sub-MOA with this load, bullet, COL and powder.

Accordingly,  this would be a great cartridge and load on an elk out to where energy crosses 1500 ft-lbs (2200 fps) more or less, which is about 350 yards. Most experienced hunters stay within their capability with is often around 300 yards or less unless you practice at those longer ranges in field conditions and use a rangefinder.

The Weatherby Vanguard Weatherguard has a high Monte Carlo stock to align my eye with the scope and does not punish me as it has a very forgiving recoil pad with the 6.5 Creedmoor.

A match made in a hunters heaven. All I can say is, go buy this rifle for Christmas and give Nosler LRAB’s a try!!

Good Hunting! Practice, Practice Practice.

© 2017 All Rights Reserved

 

Reloading Tech: Wiring up a 6.5 Grendel

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I’ve had the PressureTrace™ II system for a few years now and I’ve found it handy in examining the pressure characteristics of my reloads.  It’s been particularly handy in determining the pressure differences between two projectiles of the same weight using the same powder charge.  I’ve only used the system on my bolt guns up to now. I finally wired up my new 6.5 Grendel AR pattern rifle build, the details of which I can share in another post.

In terms of published data there still isn’t that much out there compared to other cartridges, but new data is coming out all the time.  In my estimation Alexander Arms® produces the best factory ammunition for the 6.5 Grendel since it was Bill Alexander who spear headed the design of the round.

Factory 123 gr Lapua Scenar Load

I wanted to use the Alexander Arms factory loads to compare against my loadings for my Grendel.

Since I had some time off yesterday and it was raining, I decided that I would get some load testing done under cover with the range all to myself.

Conditions:
Temp: 42ºF
Baro. Pressure: 29.83
RH%: 97%
Equipment:
Pressure Trace II System
Magnetospeed Chronograph

***CAUTION The data presented below is by no means meant to represent data published via SAAMI approved testing or test methods, and may not reflect the true pressure; this pressure testing is only meant as a comparative tool***

If you are curious as to what a Pressure Trace system is, check out the vendor website at Shooting Software

The barrel I am currently running is a Shilen Stainless Match HBAR 20″ 1:9″ twist featuring a rifle length gas system.  Its worth noting that most bullets in the 123 gr weight aren’t optimal in a 1:9″ twist barrel due to marginal theoretical stability, with the exception of the Hornady 123 gr Match ELD projectiles.

On to the data:

SAAMI MAP (Max Average Pressure): 52,000 psi

Pressure readings I’ve collected from Factory Alexander Arms 123 gr Scenar rounds following an estimated offset of 13000 psi added to original pressure value measure by the pressure trace system.

I’ve chronographed these rounds in 75-80ºF outside temps and they are cruising at about 2510 fps ±10fps out of the 20″ bbl, which is a fair amount faster than at 42ºF as we see here, so I think my estimation on the offset was correct. My aim is to establish the summer time pressure readings of the factory loads as my working maximum pressures.

Pressure readings from IMR 8208 XBR with a 26.5 starting load (not shown here) in 0.5 gr charge increments out to 28.5 gr (also not shown because of pressure signs of previous loadings.

Its clear that I’ve reached high pressure characteristics and any increase in charge weight would unnecessarily strain the Grendel and could eventually approach an unsafe condition.  I now believe I’ve established a safe maximum of 26.0 gr of IMR 8208 XBR, at least in these low temps. Surprisingly the charge to pressure correlation peaked at a lower charge weight than I would have expected based on published data out there for a similar weight projectile.  Published IMR loads with the 123gr Sierra Match King peak at a maximum charge of 28.5 grains (compressed).  I may have to re-adjust the charge downward during the summertime temps to stay consistent with pressures if I decide to stay with this load.  This is another reason why it’s always smart to back off by 10% (I started 7% from max). That being said, this is an accurate powder with 3/4″ groups.  I’ll likely study other powders as well for comparisons sake, such as Hodgdon CFE223 and Accurate 2520, both known for velocity production.  There is little data on CFE223 use, this is where the PressureTrace™ II system will shine, now that I have a baseline.

26.5 gr 8208 XBR 123 gr Hornady ELD Match vs Factory Alexander Arms 123 gr Lapua Scenar

Based on the images above, the Alexander Arms rounds are close in appearance to when I’ve fired them in the summer time, so these marks may be more associated with chambering.  One thing I’ve noticed is that sometimes just chambering a round produces some ejector swipe marks.  I think the marks on the reload to the left suggests that I should back off to 26.0gr and call it a day.

If your range has a covered firing position and it’s raining out, get outside and work your craft and understand your gun/ammunition combination, you just might have the range all to yourself

Look out for a companion piece to this article, as I purchased a 24″ barrel made by Satern Barrels and sold by Brownells, testing will commence with this shortly using the pressure trace system.

Until next time….

See you at the range!

Copyright © 2017 All Rights Reserved.

Savage 12 Palma in Mid Range Prone F T/R Match by Jason Hale

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Since I’ve started long range competition, I’ve been exploring ways that our readers may enter the sport at a reasonable cost, of course you can select your hunting rifle in your safe, but if you become serious, the modifications will start.  Enter the Savage Precision Target Rifle Line.  We reached out to Savage and requested the 12 Palma due to it’s unique stock configuration and caliber choice.  Most of the Precision Target Actions (PTA) have a screw spacing of 4.41″, however the 12 Palma has a screw spacing of 3.44″, the reason for which I am not sure.

To learn about Palma Rifle competition Click Here!

All PTA’s accept large shank barrels from your favorite Savage pre-fit barrel supplier.  What I really liked about this configuration was the adjustable stock and 3-way adjustable butt-plate.  See below for some stats on the rifle.

Savage 12 Palma Match Rifle

One thing you’ll notice right away is the odd twist rate of 1:13″.  This twist rate is indicative of the intended bullet that was intended to be used, 155-156gr bullets.  As soon as I received the rifle, I quickly picked up a rail for it and mounted the 7-42X55mm Gold Ring Leupold Competition Scope & Shade we are testing (Outstanding Scope) and ordered some 155.5gr Fullbore bullets from Berger. I recognize that this was not the set up that the rifle was designed for, but the purpose of testing was to determine accuracy potential of the rifle. You can tell that this was really meant for iron sights as you can see the front sight cut near the muzzle of the rifle so that you can clamp-on front sight tubes.  In the pictures below, you’ll also see the 3-way adjustable butt-plate which is fantastic for customizing the fit of the rifle to a specific shooter.  It can be adjusted for length of pull, cant, and height.  I made some minor adjustments to the cant and height, and left it there.  I could have spent more time on tuning the stock, but didn’t.

Once the bullets came in, I took inventory of the powders that I had on hand and selected IMR 4166 which is supposed to be temperature insensitive much like Hodgdon Varget and got to putting some test loads together.

Following a break in process, the rifle immediately demonstrated it’s accuracy potential.  Being limited for time, I settled on a load of 45 gr of IMR-4166 with a COAL of 2.800″ which was limited by the Palma Chamber, which has a very short throat.  See the group shot below.  Not bad at all for an afternoons work.

In all fairness, if this was my rifle I would have spent more time tuning to reduce Standard Deviation and Extreme Spread of velocities, but given the limited distance (600 yards), vertical dispersion would not be as bad as longer distances.  Wind would be more of a challenge.

The day of the Mid-Range Prone match, I was excited to take the rifle out and see what it could do.  I knew that with good loads, it would likely out shoot me, which is a good thing.  The prone match included 3 strings of fire at 300, 500, and 600 yards, with 15 rounds for record with unlimited sighters at each distance.  The wind picked up during the day peaking with 10 mph switching winds during my 500 yard string after settling into a more predictable rhythm for my 600 yard string.  Overall I was pleased with the day, but was a bit frustrated during the 500 yard string being behind on some wind calls that cost me more points than I wanted.  I was only one of two F T/R shooters there, the other being a good friend and great shooter Barbara Lamb, she only dropped 3 out of a possible 450 points for the day, which is fantastic.

Barbara Lamb scoring for me, while Art Lamb (in line for saint-hood, in my mind) was graciously scoring for all on our target.

My scores were 143-0X (300), 131-0X (500), and 144-2X (600), with an aggregate of 418-2X.  The rifle shot great for the little time I put into load development.  I am sure that I could have done more tuning, but in the end I needed more time on the rifle to improve.

One thing I can say, is that if the other rifles in the Savage 12 PTA series shoot similarly, you can’t deny the value, considering the cost of most custom F-Class rigs being between $3000 and $5000, or more even.  Great bang for your buck.  If you’re interested in a quick and relatively inexpensive upgrade that can be further modified easily in the future, check out Savage’s M12 Precision Target Action line.  If you want to start from the ground up and build one, you can purchase an action from Northland Shooters Supply. I’ve done plenty of business with Jim; they’re awesome!

Shoot Straight and Shoot Often!

See you at the range!

Copyright © 2017 All Rights Reserved.