Tagging in on this... my gun is a Howa mini action with a 26" 7-twist heavy Palma (sorta) K&P done by LRI.
Anyhow, my FF load in once-fired Fiocchi brass was 22.5 gr of 8208 under a Hornady 73 gr ELD-M seated ~.010 into the lands (1.910 base-to-ogive, 2.346 OAL) lit by CCI 450 primers. I was seeing 2850-ish FPS at 59 degree ambient temps, and it seemed to be about a 1 MOA load on average with a best group of right at 1/2 MOA. Not terribly impressed, but not too upset considering that I just pulled that load more or less out of my ass.
Anyhow, the primary goal of this gun for me is to find a load that shoots the Hornady 53 gr V-Max really well; the intent is exploding prairie dogs. First load out of the gate with the 53 gr projectiles has them ~.010 in the lands (1.873 base-to-ogive, 2.305 OAL) over CFE 223 and lit by CCI 450s. Starting charge is 28.5 gr, and I'm going up from there in .2 gr increments. At this point, I am only loading two at each charge to get average velocity and check for pressure.
I also have some H4895 and BL-C(2) to play with, as well, and may pick up some Varget if I can't find something to work with what I've got.
