New Savage 112 338 lapua Reloading Questions

[hambone1971]

Ok, I just got my new 112 Savage single shot 338 Lapua 26" Barrel. I bought some Lapua brass, Federal 215M primers, Hornady 285ELD-Ms and
RL-33 to try. Loaded up 5 at a low charge of 88g to start out and sight Leupold VX6 scope in. So far so good, no problems. I had a batch of 20 more
loaded at 2ea of the following 1 g increments. 90g 2ea 91g 2ea and so on all the way up to 99g of RL-33. My thought was to just fire 2 at a time and
break the barrel in, clean, repeat and do some velocity checks with the bullet and powder at the same time. The low 90g speed was 2435 fps mv
and the higher charges 98g was 2660 fps mv where I stopped because I felt a slight bolt tightness. Didn't fire the 99g. After doing all this I bought
the Hornady book and it suggest a high max of 95g with this powder. I know, I know, I should of bought/read the book first. Question is this powder
being used with 285g Hornadys in 338 with higher speeds? Is there a better powder to use with this bullet ? Retumbo H1000 maybe ? Is the RL 33
more appropriate for the heavier 300g bullets? Anyone with a 112 Savage shooting these bullets, any help would be appreciated, thank you. HB

 

[John Glidewell]

I like Retumbo. Have tried a lot of them. Considering trying Vihtavuori N570. But so far Retumbo has performed better than anything.

 

[Huskydriver]

How are you clocking your speeds first off they seem really really low for the amount of rl33 your charging. 89 grains of H1000 or 92 grains of retumbo is right around the max charge I see most guys safely be able to shoot and produce speeds around 2800 fps with 300 grain pills.

I personally also prefer retumbo for 300 grain bullets.

 

[Inifinty]

Have you measured the CBOL in your rifle that touches the lands and are seating your bullets a consistent measurement away from them?

 

[hambone1971]

How are you clocking your speeds first off they seem really really low for the amount of rl33 your charging. 89 grains of H1000 or 92 grains of retumbo is right around the max charge I see most guys safely be able to shoot and produce speeds around 2800 fps with 300 grain pills.

I personally also prefer retumbo for 300 grain bullets.

I'm using a Competition Pro Chrono , I also have a Pact. They both agree on my Creedmoor loads, but the Pro chrono is easier to set up. I just bought some Retumbo to try next 20 rounds. Thanks HB

 

[hambone1971]

Have you measured the CBOL in your rifle that touches the lands and are seating your bullets a consistent measurement away from them?

I don't have the Hornday ogive insert yet (it's coming) for the 338 but the base to tip measurement for 285 ELD to rifling is 3.787 and I seated my first set of bullets 40 thou back for safety, wasn't looking for groups . Next test will be same 40 thou with Retumbo in 3 shot groups though with increasing charges. Starting around 85g and slowly working up. Maybe I'll see a little faster speeds at the high end with the 285. Thanks HB

 

[hambone1971]

I like Retumbo. Have tried a lot of them. Considering trying Vihtavuori N570. But so far Retumbo has performed better than anything.

Retumbo is next, they are loaded and ready for my next trip to the range. I'm really surprised this gun dosen't kick as much as I was thinking it would.
But that is good. Thanks HB

 

[Inifinty]

I don't have the Hornday ogive insert yet (it's coming) for the 338 but the base to tip measurement for 285 ELD to rifling is 3.787 and I seated my first set of bullets 40 thou back for safety, wasn't looking for groups . Next test will be same 40 thou with Retumbo in 3 shot groups though with increasing charges. Starting around 85g and slowly working up. Maybe I'll see a little faster speeds at the high end with the 285. Thanks HB

Good that you're accounting for a jump. Factory Lapua 300 scenar ammo appears to have about a 50 thou jump in my FCP 110 and are quite consistent at 100 yards. This rifle has less than 100 rounds fired and I feel the barrel is still settling in a bit. Three sessions so far, two of those shooting groups with H1000 and the Hornady 285. So I am gathering data to look for trends but wont really make any definitive decisions on where the best nodes are until I approach 200 rds, loading with once fired brass, and sure that all the screws on scope and rifle are holding their torque.

I've noticed a little initial stick in the bolt lift a couple times with just a moderate load. Have not noticed the same even when moving up a full grain in powder and so far am writing it off to the action being new.

 

[Harveyn]

I have the same rifle and have been shooting the 285 eldm with retumbo. I started to get heavy bolt lift around 93gr at around 2870fps. These loads were 20 thou off the lands. I have since settled on 91.5gr AR2225 (Retumbo) in Lapua brass neck then body sized, fed 215M primers seated 20thou from the lands in my rifle. Refer to the picture for exact measurements. This group was shot semi-rapid with a hot barrel @ 100m

 

[reeljob]

I had a Savage LM and it loved the 285s with 91.0 H1000 in lapua brass. It took me a bit to find the load it liked best. Have since sold the rifle.
I did try retumbo but never any alliant powders.

 

[hambone1971]

I have the same rifle and have been shooting the 285 eldm with retumbo. I started to get heavy bolt lift around 93gr at around 2870fps. These loads were 20 thou off the lands. I have since settled on 91.5gr AR2225 (Retumbo) in Lapua brass neck then body sized, fed 215M primers seated 20thou from the lands in my rifle. Refer to the picture for exact measurements. This group was shot semi-rapid with a hot barrel @ 100m

I'll be testing my 3 round loads this weekend, my largest load is 92g of Retumbo. Maybe that will let me know if the gun is on track with yours in speeds and maybe see a node between 91g and 92g. Just wading into all this slowly trying to find what the gun likes while I'm breaking it in. I'm not new to reloading just the 338 Lapua. Thanks HB

 

[hambone1971]

I just got back from the range and had some good results with Retumbo powder today in my brand new Savage 112 and shooting the 285 g Hornady ELD-m I'll be posting my results in a bit. Thanks for all your help .. HB

 

[hambone1971]

The Retumbo looks like it works pretty good with my new Savage 112 338 Lapua rifle.
I had equal 3 round charges from 87 up to 92 in 1 grain increments to test.

87g = 2573 fps
88g = 2595 fps looked to be close to a node
89g = 2630 fps
90g = 2657 fps
91g = 2689 fps looked to be close to a node
92g = 2739 fps bolt swipe at 92

At 92g I could feel and see a slight bolt swipe on the back of the brass. A good place to stop in this rifle. I think the 91.5 g node I read about a lot may hold true with my rifle. I know there's a node near 91g but not sure if it's above or below 91g. I'm happy with these results especially cleaning after every 3 shots and oiling the barrel and dry wiping it each time. Once it gets some copper in the barrel it will speed up some I'm sure. One question I have is node placements. Like on my Creedmoor I can expect them every 1.3 g of powder increase. I think I have two here 3g apart, is that expected on these larger guns. I don't have that experience yet. I'll be retesting with smaller powder increments next. Thanks for any input..HB