Got multiple new loads to work on before this coming seaon
Since most everything in the country is screwed up in multiple ways for the last year and a half or longer, I like most everyone else has not been able to find bullets. I got powders, got primers, but bullets have been the hardest part of the ammo components to come up with. I have had to find new bullets, so I have to work on new loads. I don't think the whole new bullet thing is going to be a bad thing at all. I think it may be good for all of he calibers I was needing bullets for.
The 445 Super Mag. I just got the barrel last year, back then I could only find Hornady 240 XTP bullets. I worked up a load that got those moving along at 2082 fps. It was accurate at 100 yards, but I found the jackets came off of the bullets, just hitting the board the target was stapled to. So the velocity seemed a bit high for that bullet. Then I found Hornady recommends a maximum of 1700 or 1800 fps for that bullet. Knowing that most other 240 gr. bullets would likely have similar problems, I started looking for a heavier bullet, to slow it down some. I found some Swift 280 gr. and 300 gr. A Frame bullets. They are basically like a Nosler Partition, but Swift also makes them for hand gun calibers. I have heard good things about Swift A Frame for years, but never knew they made hand gun versions of those bullets, in the past, I really never had a need for such a bullet. But I think the 280 gr. version of that bullet, would probably be perfect for the 445. So I got 100 of them, probably should have gotten more. I did not want to buy a bunch, then figure out, they were not a good choice, for one reason or another. That would be my luck, buy 500 of them, the find out the best group I can get is 8" at 100. Until I know I like them, I only got 100 of them.
Finally over the weekend, when the wife let me take a break from staining the deck, I started prepping some cases. Found very quickly, I did not have anywhere near as many large rifle non magnum primers as I thought I had. It turns out I had two partial boxes of CCIs, which amounted to 31 primers total. That was the first of the problems, turns out I was also out of case lube. So we took off for San Marcos, to go to Academy. I figured they should have case lube. Who is going to buy up all the case lube? Wrong, no case lube, hardly any reloading related anything on the shelf. I don't think they had much to begin with. That store is the shoe store and they also have a lot of freshwater fishing tackle. So I need to find case lube still.
Then the 6.5 Creedmoor, that gun and caliber have been the cause of the most frustration since this whole Coved mess started. I was loading Berger 140 gr. Elite Hunters, got a load that worked very well, but shot up the first 100 bullets I bought, then have not been able to get any since. I also bought some 140 gr. VLD Hunters, but I have not been able to get the gun to group near as well with those. The gun, does not seem to like those much at all. I also bought a 50 round box of what were supposed to be Nosler 140 gr. Accubonds, but turns out I got 130 gr. Accubonds. I burnt up most of those, in my early testing with the new gun, trying to find a powder that would produce the velocities I was after. I have not been able find those bullets either, since buying that first box.
I finally found some Nosler 129 gr. Accubond Long Range. Again, I only got 100 of those, not knowing if the gun would like them. After a lot of looking and reading. I am thinking my gun is probably going to like bullets around 120 gr., because it has a 1 in 8 twist. Berger says that a 1 in 8 twist at the velocities I am able to push their 140 gr. bullets to, that they should stablilize. But looking at multiple other companies' web sites, they recommend faster twist rate for bullets that are very close in weight, design and length, to Berger's 140 gr. Elite Hunter and VLD Hunter. Those other companies say 1 in 7 twist rate or faster. So trying to make the 140 gr. bullets work in my gun, probably was not the best idea. Likely why my gun did not like the 140 gr. VLD Hunters. So the 129 gr. Accubond Long Range bullets, may work better than the Berger bullets I was using. In the process of trying to find bullets and preferably high BC bullets for this gun, I found some 140 gr. bullets with a BC number of 670. That could potentially be an amazing bullet, out of the Creedmoor. But I seriously doubt, they would work out of my rifle. For $83 a box of 50, I am not going to try either, when they claim you need a 1 and 7 twist rate to get them to stabilize.
I am starting to get more serious about the idea of having the gun rebarreled with a 26" Sendero contour, 5R rifled barrel, with a 1 in 6 or 6.5 twist. So I can shoot the higher BC, 6.5 caliber bullets, out of this gun. For now, It looks like I need to stick with bullets around 120 gr. I find the BC numbers drop off a lot for most of the 6.5mm bullets around 120 gr., compared to 140 gr and heavier bullets.
Then there is the 458 SOCOM, I was really wanting some more of the 350 gr. Hornady Interlock flat points, but those don't exist currently. I tried some 405 gr. hard cast, but they were too small for the bore diameter, so they had no accuracy at all and leaded up the barrel very badly. I am looking at getting a bullet mold made to produce some .461" or .462" diameter 405 gr. bullets for gas checks. In the mean time, I found some 300 gr. Hornady hollow points. Those may actually be some good choices for whitetails and hogs. Even if they do work well, I still plan on having a bullet mold made, so I can load some 405 gr. hard cast bullets. I like the velocity and energy numbers I got with those.
Then the other caliber I don't have bullets for, that also have been very hard to find bullets for, is my 30-30. I had developed a load years ago, with Nosler 125 gr. Ballistic Tips, but as of last year, those are also on the list of not available anywhere. I have looked for alternative bullets, but found nothing, that I would consider using. Then I got me a new 30-30. I had been using a 18" barrel Contender carbine. With only 38 gr. of powder, was producing 2740 fps, from that barrel. I found I could load upwards of 40 gr. of powder without any pressure issues, and got up in the lower 2900 fps range. I never tried anymore than 40 gr. of powder. I have been planning on finding a 23" Contender carbine barrel. Figured that should produce enough velocity, I could likely shoot 150 gr. bullets, at a respectable velocity, enough so, that they should work very well. Well I got me another 30-30, with a 24" barrel, so I would bet I could make some 150 gr. Ballistic Tips or Accubonds work very well, with the new gun.
But neither of those bullets are available either. So it was looking like the 30-30s, would likely be collecting dust for a while. But then I found some 130 gr. and some 135 gr. bullets that may work. I am going to load some of both bullets, see what I can get from those two. Then I need to find a way of testing the bullets, to see well they open up, if they will open up at all. I am skeptical of them at this point. They are solid copper bullets, the only brand of solid copper bullets I have tried, have been Barnes, none of the different styles of Barnes bullets I tried, ever worked worked very well on game animals.
I tried Barnes solids back in the 80s, they produced extremely high pressures and would not expand at all. Then I tried two or three of Barnes's newer designs, that are supposed to expand reliably even at low velocities, I got zero expansion, from any of them. So I am very skeptical of these bullets I did find. From what I have read, this company and another company or two, came up with a new style of bullet, because it is well known that bullets like Barnes, do not open up reliably, more like at all. I have found two or three companies selling what they call fragmentable bullets. I really don't see how they can work, unless, they have had petals cut and then the nose of the bullet is squeezed closed, then the outside of the bullet is machined. Even if they did something like that, not sure, if they could reliably open up like they are supposed to. If the groups look good, I will try to find something to shoot them at, hogs sound like the best ways to test these bullets. If they do work like they claim, they could be a very good choice for my 30-30s.
Hopefully this week, we won't have anymore problems with the weather and we can finish up staining the deck. So next weekend I can start working on load development. Got a lot of new stuff to try. I think the Swift bullets for the 445, should work very well. I really think I should have ordered a lot more of those bullets. I think the Accubond Long Range bullets for the Creedmoor, should do very well, with the barrel that is on the gun. The Hornady bullets for the 458, I am not overly excited about getting those loaded. They are just giving me ammo for my 458. I really need to stop and order some custom molds for the 458, so I will finally have the bullets I want for that gun. I am interested in seeing what the new bullets for the 30-30s will do. I really need to work on finding some targets, preferably live, to test those new bullets on.
The 445 Super Mag. I just got the barrel last year, back then I could only find Hornady 240 XTP bullets. I worked up a load that got those moving along at 2082 fps. It was accurate at 100 yards, but I found the jackets came off of the bullets, just hitting the board the target was stapled to. So the velocity seemed a bit high for that bullet. Then I found Hornady recommends a maximum of 1700 or 1800 fps for that bullet. Knowing that most other 240 gr. bullets would likely have similar problems, I started looking for a heavier bullet, to slow it down some. I found some Swift 280 gr. and 300 gr. A Frame bullets. They are basically like a Nosler Partition, but Swift also makes them for hand gun calibers. I have heard good things about Swift A Frame for years, but never knew they made hand gun versions of those bullets, in the past, I really never had a need for such a bullet. But I think the 280 gr. version of that bullet, would probably be perfect for the 445. So I got 100 of them, probably should have gotten more. I did not want to buy a bunch, then figure out, they were not a good choice, for one reason or another. That would be my luck, buy 500 of them, the find out the best group I can get is 8" at 100. Until I know I like them, I only got 100 of them.
Finally over the weekend, when the wife let me take a break from staining the deck, I started prepping some cases. Found very quickly, I did not have anywhere near as many large rifle non magnum primers as I thought I had. It turns out I had two partial boxes of CCIs, which amounted to 31 primers total. That was the first of the problems, turns out I was also out of case lube. So we took off for San Marcos, to go to Academy. I figured they should have case lube. Who is going to buy up all the case lube? Wrong, no case lube, hardly any reloading related anything on the shelf. I don't think they had much to begin with. That store is the shoe store and they also have a lot of freshwater fishing tackle. So I need to find case lube still.
Then the 6.5 Creedmoor, that gun and caliber have been the cause of the most frustration since this whole Coved mess started. I was loading Berger 140 gr. Elite Hunters, got a load that worked very well, but shot up the first 100 bullets I bought, then have not been able to get any since. I also bought some 140 gr. VLD Hunters, but I have not been able to get the gun to group near as well with those. The gun, does not seem to like those much at all. I also bought a 50 round box of what were supposed to be Nosler 140 gr. Accubonds, but turns out I got 130 gr. Accubonds. I burnt up most of those, in my early testing with the new gun, trying to find a powder that would produce the velocities I was after. I have not been able find those bullets either, since buying that first box.
I finally found some Nosler 129 gr. Accubond Long Range. Again, I only got 100 of those, not knowing if the gun would like them. After a lot of looking and reading. I am thinking my gun is probably going to like bullets around 120 gr., because it has a 1 in 8 twist. Berger says that a 1 in 8 twist at the velocities I am able to push their 140 gr. bullets to, that they should stablilize. But looking at multiple other companies' web sites, they recommend faster twist rate for bullets that are very close in weight, design and length, to Berger's 140 gr. Elite Hunter and VLD Hunter. Those other companies say 1 in 7 twist rate or faster. So trying to make the 140 gr. bullets work in my gun, probably was not the best idea. Likely why my gun did not like the 140 gr. VLD Hunters. So the 129 gr. Accubond Long Range bullets, may work better than the Berger bullets I was using. In the process of trying to find bullets and preferably high BC bullets for this gun, I found some 140 gr. bullets with a BC number of 670. That could potentially be an amazing bullet, out of the Creedmoor. But I seriously doubt, they would work out of my rifle. For $83 a box of 50, I am not going to try either, when they claim you need a 1 and 7 twist rate to get them to stabilize.
I am starting to get more serious about the idea of having the gun rebarreled with a 26" Sendero contour, 5R rifled barrel, with a 1 in 6 or 6.5 twist. So I can shoot the higher BC, 6.5 caliber bullets, out of this gun. For now, It looks like I need to stick with bullets around 120 gr. I find the BC numbers drop off a lot for most of the 6.5mm bullets around 120 gr., compared to 140 gr and heavier bullets.
Then there is the 458 SOCOM, I was really wanting some more of the 350 gr. Hornady Interlock flat points, but those don't exist currently. I tried some 405 gr. hard cast, but they were too small for the bore diameter, so they had no accuracy at all and leaded up the barrel very badly. I am looking at getting a bullet mold made to produce some .461" or .462" diameter 405 gr. bullets for gas checks. In the mean time, I found some 300 gr. Hornady hollow points. Those may actually be some good choices for whitetails and hogs. Even if they do work well, I still plan on having a bullet mold made, so I can load some 405 gr. hard cast bullets. I like the velocity and energy numbers I got with those.
Then the other caliber I don't have bullets for, that also have been very hard to find bullets for, is my 30-30. I had developed a load years ago, with Nosler 125 gr. Ballistic Tips, but as of last year, those are also on the list of not available anywhere. I have looked for alternative bullets, but found nothing, that I would consider using. Then I got me a new 30-30. I had been using a 18" barrel Contender carbine. With only 38 gr. of powder, was producing 2740 fps, from that barrel. I found I could load upwards of 40 gr. of powder without any pressure issues, and got up in the lower 2900 fps range. I never tried anymore than 40 gr. of powder. I have been planning on finding a 23" Contender carbine barrel. Figured that should produce enough velocity, I could likely shoot 150 gr. bullets, at a respectable velocity, enough so, that they should work very well. Well I got me another 30-30, with a 24" barrel, so I would bet I could make some 150 gr. Ballistic Tips or Accubonds work very well, with the new gun.
But neither of those bullets are available either. So it was looking like the 30-30s, would likely be collecting dust for a while. But then I found some 130 gr. and some 135 gr. bullets that may work. I am going to load some of both bullets, see what I can get from those two. Then I need to find a way of testing the bullets, to see well they open up, if they will open up at all. I am skeptical of them at this point. They are solid copper bullets, the only brand of solid copper bullets I have tried, have been Barnes, none of the different styles of Barnes bullets I tried, ever worked worked very well on game animals.
I tried Barnes solids back in the 80s, they produced extremely high pressures and would not expand at all. Then I tried two or three of Barnes's newer designs, that are supposed to expand reliably even at low velocities, I got zero expansion, from any of them. So I am very skeptical of these bullets I did find. From what I have read, this company and another company or two, came up with a new style of bullet, because it is well known that bullets like Barnes, do not open up reliably, more like at all. I have found two or three companies selling what they call fragmentable bullets. I really don't see how they can work, unless, they have had petals cut and then the nose of the bullet is squeezed closed, then the outside of the bullet is machined. Even if they did something like that, not sure, if they could reliably open up like they are supposed to. If the groups look good, I will try to find something to shoot them at, hogs sound like the best ways to test these bullets. If they do work like they claim, they could be a very good choice for my 30-30s.
Hopefully this week, we won't have anymore problems with the weather and we can finish up staining the deck. So next weekend I can start working on load development. Got a lot of new stuff to try. I think the Swift bullets for the 445, should work very well. I really think I should have ordered a lot more of those bullets. I think the Accubond Long Range bullets for the Creedmoor, should do very well, with the barrel that is on the gun. The Hornady bullets for the 458, I am not overly excited about getting those loaded. They are just giving me ammo for my 458. I really need to stop and order some custom molds for the 458, so I will finally have the bullets I want for that gun. I am interested in seeing what the new bullets for the 30-30s will do. I really need to work on finding some targets, preferably live, to test those new bullets on.
Comment