I loaded up on 180gr Hybrids and H1000 for my 7 PRC because I thought it was going to be a safe bet. I’ve gone through almost 200 bullets and am not any closer to finding a decent load. I found a pound of Retumbo to try and still wasn’t happy with the results. I know the gun will shoot the factory Hornady Match 180 ELDMs, I bought a couple boxes to break in the barrel with and was getting .5”-.75” 5rd groups at 100yds. Is it likely that my rifle just doesn’t like the Hybrids or are they extremely finicky?
- Thread starter sprink21
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The Hybrids shouldn't be extremely picky. At least, none of my experiences with them have been in any of my big 7's.
H1000 has been hit or miss for me over the years. And none of my rifles liked Retumbo. If you can get your hands on some IMR 7828 SSC or Winchester StaBall HD, you should see some better results. It hasn't been made in a couple years, but if you can find someone who has a couple pounds of IMR 7977, you'll be in heaven...Best magnum powder I've used to date. Really pissed that Hodgdon suspended production due to the WEF's money laundering campaign in Ukraine.
How far off the lands are you seating the Hybrids? Also, what primers are you using? I've had great luck with CCI 250's and Fed 215/215M.
H1000 has been hit or miss for me over the years. And none of my rifles liked Retumbo. If you can get your hands on some IMR 7828 SSC or Winchester StaBall HD, you should see some better results. It hasn't been made in a couple years, but if you can find someone who has a couple pounds of IMR 7977, you'll be in heaven...Best magnum powder I've used to date. Really pissed that Hodgdon suspended production due to the WEF's money laundering campaign in Ukraine.
How far off the lands are you seating the Hybrids? Also, what primers are you using? I've had great luck with CCI 250's and Fed 215/215M.
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I’m .05” off the lands. I’m limited to the 3.4” Tikka mag and using 215 primers
Try seating them further off... You're probably getting pressure spikes. Seat them about 0.020-0.025" off.
I’ll try it. Right now at .05” The rounds barely fit in the mag. Since this is supposed to be my elk rifle fitting in the mag is important.
Not a 7PRC, but using the 155gr Hybrids in .308, I had to use 0.120" jump for good precision. I went up in 0.020" increments to settle on 0.120". YMMV
Don't be afraid to jump them far.
Don't be afraid to jump them far.
Not really and right now I’d take 1/2 MOA but I haven’t even found a 1 MOA hand load yet lol. But after sinking almost 3k into this build I’d expect 1/2 MOA at least
Further off?? He's already 50 thou off and you are recommending he go closer to the lands with 20-25 thou off? Perhaps you misread his number?
I think you perhaps meant for him to increase the jump as hybrids have a reputation of being very jump tolerant...or something like that! ;-) haha
I thought he mistyped and meant he was 0.005" off. But yeah, if he's truly at 0.050" off, then he might need to pick a new bullet like the Berger 175 Elite Hunters. I run my 175 Elites in a 7mm-08 and have to seat them 0.135" off the lands so they'll fit and feed in 700-style action (it really needs to have the feed-ramps milled out, which will happen when I rebarrel it), and they shoot 1/3 MOA. Some bullets like jump.
Sounds like factory Hornady match is the easy button…
Have you cleaned the rifle?
175 EH and 190 LRHTs shooting well in my 7 PRC and you’d think the 180s would too. Put them at .050” off. If anything I’d try seating further out to see if that helps. I’m shooting H1000 and R26.
What barrel do you have?
175 EH and 190 LRHTs shooting well in my 7 PRC and you’d think the 180s would too. Put them at .050” off. If anything I’d try seating further out to see if that helps. I’m shooting H1000 and R26.
What barrel do you have?
The barrel is a 22” 8t Proof prefit. I’ve tried doing test with both clean and dirty bores and it didn’t seem to make a difference.
I might buy a few more boxes to have on hand but I got 1200 Hybrids and 10lbs of H1000 I’d like to use. It’s getting frustrating trying to dial this rifle in but I guess it gives me an excuse to get to the range lol.
If you enjoy the frustration, go for it. But, how many elk are you going to shoot? A case of ammo is more that a lifetime supply for a dedicated elk hunting rifle. I realize that this is the reloading forum, but 0.5 MOA ammo will put animals on the ground, meat in the freezer, and antlers on the wall. Repurpose or sell the components. Or, continue the self-flagellation.
I tried to just kiss the lands using the Hornady tool. Using ADG brass and worked all the way up to 70gr of H1000 which yielded about 2950fps. But thought I found a node around 68.5gr which was 2850ish fps. These groups were shot at 300yds
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I’m assuming that’s about a 2” target? You have 2 instances of bullets touching and then vertical. I’m curious if you’re not keeping your rear bag firm and fully supporting rear of rifle with your hand? You could be letting it dip shot to shot. A light magnum is going to expose things.
Have you shot any load development at 100 yds?
Have you shot any load development at 100 yds?
Hard to say without having the rifle in hand and seeing you shoot in person. But targets are showing classic signs of recoil management issues.
Very rare to have issues with Berger.
Very rare to have issues with Berger.
Best way to know would be to grab a box of another kind of bullet and try it. Although I think your experience with factory Hornady shows it will shoot a diffrent bullet just fine.
Next time I’m out I’ll try to get someone to video me taking a few shots. Do you think it’s a flinch or just recoil management. I will say that every time I shoot the recoil takes me left of the target, idk if that’s a sign of anything
Could be not perfectly behind the rifle as well as face pressure if you’re RH. I don’t overload my bipod by any means but with light weight magnums it helps to hold onto them and if you can put your bipod into something like the rib on your shooting mat, or grass you can control the rifle better. If you’re directly on concrete with the bipod you have to be perfect.
This. Whenever I've tried Hybrids closer to the lands, they don't work so well.
My guess is that you're not perfectly behind the rifle, if you consistently end up to the left of the target.
I agree.
In all the cartridges I reload for, I can more or less set my seating depth at any random depth and they'll shoot with hybrids.
My first inclination whenever I read threads like this is fundamentals issues.
The bigger cartridges really exploit your fundamentals, more than most think. I ways err on the side of shooter issues first before going to equipment.
To the OP, I would really work on getting straight behind the rifle, and proper rear bag management. I bet those two things will help a lot with your issues.
I’ll do some dry firing and try getting more in line. I use to think I was a decent shooter because I can hammer with my 6.5 Creedmoor (consistent 1/2 MOA groups which is good for me) but I guess the extra recoil is probably exploiting a lot of my flaws like has already been pointed out.
If you want to figure out if you're subconsciously flinching or doing anything subtle or that you don't recognize... You already have a smartphone with a camera, so get a small tabletop tripod, a phone holder, and record yourself dry-firing. Watch the video, see if you're doing something off, and then consciously correct it. The best way to figure it out, is to record yourself at the range. Put the camera at an angle to your right or left (depending on your shooting hand), up around mid-barrel length of your rifle, and point the camera at you, where you can see your head, your eyes, your face, your hands, and your trigger finger. Watch later for subtle movements or nerves or flinching or target panic, trigger-slap, etc... It's a cheap and easy way to help correct your basic shooting fundamentals.
I have several of these tripods and they are VERY sturdy... You can use them for a number of things, like a Garmin XERO chronograph, testing optics, mounting your spotting scope, etc... So, it's not just a 1-trick pony purchase.
Neewer Tabletop Tripod w/ ARCA Clamp
And get a good metal adjustable phone holder like this. Worth every penny... I use one of these for recording my videos for years, and it's a solid unit. Will last a lifetime if you take care of it.
Phone Holder for ARCA Mount
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We've all gone through this.
I got sloppy recently, after shooting mostly 6 and 6.5mm's. Had a hell of a time with my .308 until I realized what was the issue (the shooter), and corrected said issues.
