Decided I needed to try the new Berger 6.5mm 140 gr Hybrid in my 6.5x47 heavy Surgeon. I've shot this rifle for 4-1/2 years and know it well; while using the 130 VLD and H4350 running 2820 fps. Have about 1300 rds through it and didn't want to burn up several hundred rounds of barrel life to see if the Hybrid would work. Perused the net and decided on an Audette ladder for 40 to 41.5 gr. Audettes are not new to me. I totally believe in them. Decided to try several new things to my typical load development.
1. Home made Shoot N See targets.
2. Seating bullets at the range.
3. Not using a chronograph during the process.
My closest range that gives me any decent distance is 90 miles away. I have a favorite spot which is 33 miles and can give me 2000 yds if I want it. One issue is it can get windy. I use a rebar A-frame set up to hang my LV Steel 1/2 silhouette so decided to use it hang a 4'x4'x7/16" sheet of pressboard/plywood. I then take a 4'x4' square of black plastic which I buy at the local Lowes hardware store in 10' x 30' rolls. I staple the plastic to the plywood, spray paint it white with $.97 cent cans of flat white spray paint. Takes nearly 1 full can to do so. I then spray 9 flo orange aiming spots and hang the whole thing from the A-frame. Pics to follow. When the bullet hits the target, it flakes off enough paint around the bullet hole to easily see it from either my NF scope @ 22x or my Zeiss spotter @ 45x.
One bane of load development is running back and forth to the range from the house with not enough of the correct reloaded ammo to test or having too much and pulling bullets when we get home. Once I decided on my range of powder to test, I took 100 totally prepped cases and charged them with powder; .2 gr increments each 10 cases. Thus, 10 powder charges is possible. I placed all the charged cases in an MTM 100 rd ammo box. I then placed flat packing pads over the cases and closed the box lid so no powder could spill out of a case and ruin the test. At the range I use a super light weight Lee Jr press with my Redding BR seater screwed in place. The micrometer top is preset to seat the bullets where I wanted; which is just touching the lands. I hand hold the press. Bullets OAL runs +/- .001" with this set up. No need to mount it to the bench. I have several charged cases (40 gr H4350) with seated bullets already to go to use as spotter rounds (1/2 size steel silhouette is target) so my first ladder shot is pretty much where I want it to land on the plastic target.
If you've ever read Varmint Al's pages it can be quite taxing (tons of engineering stuff) but also quite enlightening. The specific I'm referring to Barrel Tuner Analysis -- FEA Dynamic Analysis of Esten's Rifle with/without a Tuner. was given to me from a well heeled LR sniper shooter from Albuquerque. Specifically the Typical Muzzle Projection Curve near the top of the page and a bit further down. Read that, think about it, and try to understand it. Once the light bulb turned on in my head, it was one of those "A-haaa" moments. Thus, no chronograph at this point of the load development. I wanted a solid platform to shoot from; the ground. I also didn't want to worry about velocity, ES and SD's. Just groups at distance. Isn't that what counts?
Forget 100, 200 and even 300 yds groups. I wanted 600 to start with so I ended up at 607 yds at my favorite LR shooting spot. Close enough to see with my spotter and no range commands to slow me up with other shooters in attendance.
My set up yesterday am. Click on photos for video.
The target immediately after my ladder. You can see the spotter impact on the 1/2 steel silhouette over on the right.
So I only shoot the load I'm about to shoot, I seat the first 40 gr load and shoot it at the center of the target. I then seat a new bullet in the 40.2 gr charge, shoot and so on and so on until I shoot the entire ladder. Nothing new to many of us. The interesting part is seeing the black spots appear on the white painted background. I mark each impact on my note pad so I can then mark the powder charge on the target when I drive down range.
The ladder. I should not have shot the 40.2 gr charge 2x. My bad.
The node is right around 40.4 to 41.2 as can be seen by the 4 impacts which sort of circled the wagon. Thus far I've shot 7 (official shot) shots in the ladder. I then seat bullets in the 40.4, 40.6, 40.8 and 41.2 charged cases, 3-shots each. Shoot groups and decide on the best. In this case, 40.6 and 40.8.
Next, I play with seating depth of these two charges. I seated 3-shot groups with 10 thou out and 10 thou in.
The winner; though out to 10 thou off the lands works good too. So, if and as, my throat grows any more (it seems to have quit growing around 800-900 rounds) I'll still be in the bullets sweet spot for a while.
Is it always going to be this easy? Don't know. In a week or two I'm going to help a friend develop a 130 VLD/H4350 load for his new 6.5x47. I'll let you know how many rounds it takes.
Alan
1. Home made Shoot N See targets.
2. Seating bullets at the range.
3. Not using a chronograph during the process.
My closest range that gives me any decent distance is 90 miles away. I have a favorite spot which is 33 miles and can give me 2000 yds if I want it. One issue is it can get windy. I use a rebar A-frame set up to hang my LV Steel 1/2 silhouette so decided to use it hang a 4'x4'x7/16" sheet of pressboard/plywood. I then take a 4'x4' square of black plastic which I buy at the local Lowes hardware store in 10' x 30' rolls. I staple the plastic to the plywood, spray paint it white with $.97 cent cans of flat white spray paint. Takes nearly 1 full can to do so. I then spray 9 flo orange aiming spots and hang the whole thing from the A-frame. Pics to follow. When the bullet hits the target, it flakes off enough paint around the bullet hole to easily see it from either my NF scope @ 22x or my Zeiss spotter @ 45x.
One bane of load development is running back and forth to the range from the house with not enough of the correct reloaded ammo to test or having too much and pulling bullets when we get home. Once I decided on my range of powder to test, I took 100 totally prepped cases and charged them with powder; .2 gr increments each 10 cases. Thus, 10 powder charges is possible. I placed all the charged cases in an MTM 100 rd ammo box. I then placed flat packing pads over the cases and closed the box lid so no powder could spill out of a case and ruin the test. At the range I use a super light weight Lee Jr press with my Redding BR seater screwed in place. The micrometer top is preset to seat the bullets where I wanted; which is just touching the lands. I hand hold the press. Bullets OAL runs +/- .001" with this set up. No need to mount it to the bench. I have several charged cases (40 gr H4350) with seated bullets already to go to use as spotter rounds (1/2 size steel silhouette is target) so my first ladder shot is pretty much where I want it to land on the plastic target.
If you've ever read Varmint Al's pages it can be quite taxing (tons of engineering stuff) but also quite enlightening. The specific I'm referring to Barrel Tuner Analysis -- FEA Dynamic Analysis of Esten's Rifle with/without a Tuner. was given to me from a well heeled LR sniper shooter from Albuquerque. Specifically the Typical Muzzle Projection Curve near the top of the page and a bit further down. Read that, think about it, and try to understand it. Once the light bulb turned on in my head, it was one of those "A-haaa" moments. Thus, no chronograph at this point of the load development. I wanted a solid platform to shoot from; the ground. I also didn't want to worry about velocity, ES and SD's. Just groups at distance. Isn't that what counts?
Forget 100, 200 and even 300 yds groups. I wanted 600 to start with so I ended up at 607 yds at my favorite LR shooting spot. Close enough to see with my spotter and no range commands to slow me up with other shooters in attendance.
My set up yesterday am. Click on photos for video.
The target immediately after my ladder. You can see the spotter impact on the 1/2 steel silhouette over on the right.
So I only shoot the load I'm about to shoot, I seat the first 40 gr load and shoot it at the center of the target. I then seat a new bullet in the 40.2 gr charge, shoot and so on and so on until I shoot the entire ladder. Nothing new to many of us. The interesting part is seeing the black spots appear on the white painted background. I mark each impact on my note pad so I can then mark the powder charge on the target when I drive down range.
The ladder. I should not have shot the 40.2 gr charge 2x. My bad.
The node is right around 40.4 to 41.2 as can be seen by the 4 impacts which sort of circled the wagon. Thus far I've shot 7 (official shot) shots in the ladder. I then seat bullets in the 40.4, 40.6, 40.8 and 41.2 charged cases, 3-shots each. Shoot groups and decide on the best. In this case, 40.6 and 40.8.
Next, I play with seating depth of these two charges. I seated 3-shot groups with 10 thou out and 10 thou in.
The winner; though out to 10 thou off the lands works good too. So, if and as, my throat grows any more (it seems to have quit growing around 800-900 rounds) I'll still be in the bullets sweet spot for a while.
Is it always going to be this easy? Don't know. In a week or two I'm going to help a friend develop a 130 VLD/H4350 load for his new 6.5x47. I'll let you know how many rounds it takes.
Alan
