Would like some opinions on how these numbers look and if there are any clues as to where I can improve for better consistency? I’m not real disciplined in chronographing as I don’t have a ton of time to shoot. I had some time today and was able to put these numbers together from one of my load sets.
Since I don’t do this very much, I would appreciate some input from the more experienced folks.
Is this good, bad or average? They shot really well, but for some reason I really didn’t hold up my end of the bargain at the range today.
Powder: IMR 4895
Charge: 26.3g
Bullet: 50g Hornady Z-max
Primer: WIN SRP
Brass: Lake City '13 HeadStamp
OAL: 2.25
Rifle: HK MR556
Barrel: 16.5"
Dies: Redding National Match W/Micrometer Seater
HKG
Before you get in the weeds about numbers - what was the group size like? The numbers are good - not super, but good. The numbers that really tell the tale are the ES and SD.
Real precision guys like ES numbers (for a 10 shot string) to be as low as possible - ie 15- 20 fps. SD’s in the single didgits are really desirable.
A couple of points to ponder however.
Federal Gold Medal Match - 69gr SMK’s - routinely shows horrible ES & SD #'s - but shoots amazingly well. Point being is that the numbers don’t always tell the whole story.
Low ES / SD really come into play at longer ranges - 500yds + and are REALLY important at 1K. A 20fps variance will print a 1 moa difference at 1K (10")
Your bullet choice dictates that those type of ranges are not what you would be shooting - so again, don’t get worried abou the numbers.
My advice, if you are looking to reduce your ES - which will by function reduce your SD, try different primers. Primers generally have the a greater impact of those data points than other aspects of your hand loads - assuming you are doing everything else correctly. Weighed charges, cases trimmed to the same length (same lenghth necks) etc.
So, not only is primer choice important, but proper seating is critical. The best way to seat is by hand - no ifs, and’s or but’s about it. There are a bunch of great hand seaters - K&M, Sinclair, even the RCBS Hand Primer and the Lee Auto Prime Hand Primer work very well. It’s all in the “feel”.
Try the CCI 400’s before you spend the $ on BR4’s. The Rem 7-1/2’s are good as well. If you are keeping your pressures manageable - even the Fed 205M’s work well. They get finicky (leaky) when stressed with too much pressure.
Two aspects of your load are curious to me though - powder choice is one. Why did you settle on IMR 4895? H335 works great with lighter bullets. Also try VV N-133, has a low flame temp and produces some of the lowest SD’s around - favorite of BR guys. Others that work well behind that bullet are Benchmark and H322. If you want to stay away from ball powder - try Varget. Also worth a shot IMR3031 and 8208XBR. Bulky powders that give you high load densities help. Lots of empty space in a case falls into the less than desirable category.
The last aspect are your dies. Personally, I will never crimp a bullet that does not have a cannelure. The dies that you have include a taper crimp die - hopefully you are not using that. Those 50gr V-Max’s don’t have a crimp - so don’t. Some rifles will respond to “increased neck tension” and the best way is to use a die that has neck bushings. I know that some folks do crimp their match bullets - very slightly, but what this really does is add neck tension - it is really best to use a smaller neck bushing. I can go on a whole rant about neck tension and crimping - I’ll save you the pain and suffering.
In a nutshell - these aspects above should get you some southward movement in your ES & SD numbers. Bottom line however is the group on paper.
Did you see that test I did on my 77 gr load? Crimp vs. No crimp? I run mixed brass and don’t anneal .223 so… when I removed the light crimp, my group size more than doubled.
I remember we discussed it - I believe that the light crimp really does standardize the neck tension. Generally I run a .242 neck bushing using same year / lot LC brass. This is a bit on the tighter side.
In testing I did a few years ago, I found better accuracy with that tighter neck dia. Basically it gives me about .005 tension. (.0115 x 2 + .224 = .247 neck dia for a loaded round) The LC Brass runs between .011 and .0125 in neck wall thickness - it averages out to just about .0115. The recommended tension is usually in the .003 range.
I may go back and retest using a .243 and a .244 bushing.
Call me chickensh*t, but I just can’t bring myself to crimp a match bullet :no:
I’ll crimp the daylights out of lead .44mag loads though!
I am also working on some tests comparing the accuracy of new bullets vs pulled bullets.
It all started because Pappabear wanted bulk match. And i was like “screw this country boy”… I’m not taking my crimp die on and off… he’s getting the crimp. Lo and behold, it worked really well.
It works for our system of loading 500 77 gr OTMs at at time and loose packing them in a 7.62 ammo can.
Listen to what these guys said, they know what they’re talking about… sometimes
I’m not really a big fan of Winchester primers. No idea why all the reloading resources have a hard on for them, but whatever… try some of the Wolf primers if you want to tighten up the ES and SD. CCI450’s have been really great to me with a number of different powders also. They are easier to find than Wolf too.
A VERY light crimp bring it all together this load, you never know. If not, you’re out like $13 for a Lee FC die.
1.5moa isn’t all that bad for a CL barrel and a light bullet, you might be able get it sub moa with more load development, but I would be fine with 1.5moa from a non-match barrel. Try some 69gr or 77gr with H322 or XBR if you really want to stack em!
A light crimp gives more consistent neck tension and has tightened up groups with my rifle reloads in the past. I would try a light crimp with the same powder charge and note the difference in shot groups and chronograph results. Also check for signs of excessive pressure on the brass after you shoot lightly crimped reloads. If you see any excess pressure signs, back off your charge weight a few tenths, then shoot again.
The Hodgdon reloading manual indicates a 2.210" C.O.L. for a 50g Spire Soft Point and 2.200" for all of the 55g projectiles. Any reason you went with 2.25" C.O.L. ?
Once I settle on a powder charge, I vary C.O.L. in 0.002" increments. You might try loading rounds between 2.210" and your current C.O.L. to find the sweet spot for your reloads. If groups open up after a few thousand rounds, you can increase the C.O.L. by 0.002" -0.004" to compensate for throat erosion.
Winchester primers are OK, but there are better options for precision loads.
1.5 MOA is not bad for a carbine. If the load will shoot 1.5 MOA at 300 yards, I would call it good.
Thanks, but it is a non CL match barrel and is capable of groups like this when I’m in decent form. But the target below was shooting 69 gr SMK’s without a chronograph.
I’m not even going to post a pic from this load of 50’s. I have more rounds from this batch and will try them without trying to avoid shooting my chronograph. It might be all in my head. I can usually shoot at least MOA with this rifle pretty easily.
There’s room for improvement. Those 50 gr VMAX bullets will all go in the same hole with a good 1/7 barrel.
As far as WIN primers… I like them. I use WLR for 300 WM loads. But when it comes to lighting up stick powder in .223, you can’t beat wolf/tula for Low SDs and accuracy.
