Range Report Rem 700 AICS .223 rem OCW Range Report NEED OPINION

[bender338]

Hello to all shooters,

Just came back from a 100yd range and tried the OCW method of load development. Please tell me what you guys think of the groups and what should be next step.

First load:
Rifle Rem 700 .223, 1:8.5 twist, AICS stock, 77gr Sierra Matchking HPBT with BLC-2 powder 23.2-25 with .2 gr increments, seated to reloading manual COAL (did not have modified case to check COAL).

Second load:
Same rifle, 77gr Lapua Scenars, Varget 21.9-23.7 with .2 gr increments, seated .020 off the lands (BIG thanks to jonesturf for selling the modified case and lots of good info!)

Its seems like the .020 off the lands gives better accuracy and I'm really impressed with target #9 w/Varget 23.5 powder.

What do you guys think?

 

[colby1979]

If it was me (other opinions may differ) I would load up 20 rds of the Varger #9 load and shoot another group or two at 100 and then take it out to 300 and see how it preforms. If your happy with those results I would then take the remaining rnds and run them through the chrono and check your velocities.

 

[bender338]

So if Varget #9 performs well at 100, there is a chance that it might not do well at 300?

 

[rduckwor]

Varget: 6-7-8 look to have the same vertical relationship to the POA (center of the target). #9 is a nice group, but the vertical is climbing a bit. I see the OCW in the 6-7-8 range.

BLC-2: 1-2 and 6-7-8-9 look pretty good to me. It appears there are some flyers, but group centers are pretty much the same with respect to vertical placement and POA. What did the velocities look like? I might tend towards the upper range with the BLC-2 and see what I could find.

Good luck.

 

[jonesturf]

Sorry it took so long to chime in. Looks pretty good. Next time I would do at 200 or 300 if you have access to the distance. rduckwor is spot on

Varget: 6-8 has same POI but 8 and 9 almost look similar too but yet different enough at 100 yards to show a valid change in POI. I would work from load #6 up and proceed up to maybe 24.2 gr and see what happens there. Watch for pressure signs as you go up, especially with these hot days. The nice thing though by working up a load now, being summer, is that you won't have to worry if it will be too hot in other seasons.

Don't get fixated on squeezing that extra 10 fps out of your rifle either. Loads 6-8 look real similar and maybe that where its ideal but give it's worth a shot working up to 24.2 gr. Chrono will help too and give you some velocities to go with your groups if you have one.

BLC-2: The whole bottom row looks pretty similar. I would work through them again and see what happens.

Overall looking pretty good! Keep up posted.