Anyone else reload Campro 44cal bullets? very bad results *update post #28*

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wcat

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Hi,
I have a Winchester 94 Trapper AE in 44mag since a year or two
I shot mainly factory ammo but began reloading for it also. I've been reloading since at least 30 years but only now in that caliber.
I bought Campro 44cal 240 TC jacketed bullets. I reloaded 4 just to see it they would print about the same place on target as my other ammo. 2 with 14gr of Blue Dot and 2 with 15gr.

I set a target at 40yards, I shot 3 Blazer 240gr jhp, 2 AE 240gr jsp. They all formed a cluster around the bullseye.
Good.
Then I shot the 2 Campro loaded with 14gr of powder, felt a little less kick than
factory ammo, no pressure signs, good.
I walked to the target, couldn't find two more holes. Wtf?
I shot one of the Campro with the 15gr load, check target, only the 5 holes of the factory ammo.
The last bullet I had, I shot with both eyes open to try to see a sign, and I saw dust about one foot to the right of the target!

So it seems that these bullets would shoot about 16inches to the right of all other bullets in my rifle, at 40yards! !
I don't even know if I can zero them that much! I'll reload some more and shoot on a big cardboard to see if they even group a bit.
Any ideas?
Anyone else shot them and experienced this?
Thanks.
 
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Not a rifle, but I use them (also with 14gn BlueDot) for my 7.5" Redhawk, they work as good as factory for me in this setup - local range has a 25M pistol stand with suspended 6" steel plates, no issues hitting those when I take my time.
 
wcat said:
Hi,
I have a Winchester 94 Trapper AE in 44mag since a year or two
I shot mainly factory ammo but began reloading for it also. I've been reloading since at least 30 years but only now in that caliber.
I bought Campro 44cal 240 TC jacketed bullets. I reloaded 4 just to see it they would print about the same place on target as my other ammo. 2 with 14gr of Blue Dot and 2 with 15gr.

I set a target at 40yards, I shot 3 Blazer 240gr jhp, 2 AE 240gr jsp. They all formed a cluster around the bullseye.
Good.
Then I shot the 2 Campro loaded with 14gr of powder, felt a little less kick than
factory ammo, no pressure signs, good.
I walked to the target, couldn't find two more holes. Wtf?
I shot one of the Campro with the 15gr load, check target, only the 5 holes of the factory ammo.
The last bullet I had, I shot with both eyes open to try to see a sign, and I saw dust about one foot to the right of the target!

So it seems that these bullets would shoot about 16inches to the right of all other bullets in my rifle, at 40yards! !
I don't even know if I can zero them that much! I'll reload some more and shoot on a big cardboard to see if they even group a bit.
Any ideas?
Anyone else shot them and experienced this?
Thanks.
Click to expand...

From an old post of mine on my 12" barrel Henry Big Boy

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Recovered from a tree stump:

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Experimenting with IMR 4227 powder starting with 22gr to 23.5gr under a CamPro 240gr TMJ TC. A perfect day with no wind and -4*C. Looks like the best load is with 22.5gr of IMR 4227 at 50 yards... 1/2" group. Powder was individually weighted with a RCBS scale. Bullets not weighted.

30740593294_75c18d6001_b.jpg
31435271072_2b49b0f31a_b.jpg
31581838615_d332d7ea6f_b.jpg
31209658310_1ca35284db_b.jpg


No pictures to prove but with open sights and out to 80 yards I'm getting 2" - 3" 5 shot groups.

I'm getting about 1350 FPS with 22.5gr of 4227.

Factory or reloads my groups stay on paper.

Load up a few more rounds and have someone else shoot those reloads and factory rounds and see the results. Could be the shooter and not the equipment????
 
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No probs with Campros in 44Mag for me. Then again, I've only shot in indoors at 25yrds with iron sights and they were in a 2" group... and I got old eyes too.

Edit: I should add, that's out of my Marlin 1894 using H110.
 
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Forgot to say:
After shooting the 4th and last Campro (off target), I thought maybe something went wrong with the rifle/sight. So I shot a Blazer and it went in center with the others.
 
Very strange. I've used thousands of them without any issues. Hand held in a 6.5" 629, no problem hitting a 6" gong at 50yds.

However I'm using much bulkier IMR4227 and H110 powders. With higher density powders, I did not like the results at all, they seemed very inconsistent.

I'd be tempted to try one of those powders before condemning the bullets.
 
I've shot a boatload of them from my 44 desert eagle. Anywhere from 23 to 24 grains of H110/Win296 works wonder (best accuracy was at 23.6gr), CCI 350 primer. No problem here, I'm not good enough to tell the difference between my reload and commercial stuff.

Now that I look at my notes, I see I didn't try blue dot, but I tried Titegroup, and my notes says "complete crap, 2/5 keyholes". Which if I remember corrctly what I meant when I wrote this, was that the bullet probably spinned on its horizontal axis and made a hole the shape of a keyhole instead of a perfect circle. Anyway it was crap.

I have notes that I used H110 and IMR4227, and both were fine. I tried CCI300 (Large pistol) and CCI350 (Large pistol magnum) primers, and my notes definitely says that a magnum primer is required. Reloading manuals and hodgdon's website say to use a large pistol primer, but my finding is that magnum primers are 100% required, at least with these 2 powders.

I would try a new powder before blaming the bullets. Or if you want I can take them off your hands :)
 
Well, thanks for those replies.
interesting comments about the powder.
I have a pound of W296. I'll load some with that, as well as some with BD again and do some more tests, also with factory ammo to compare, on a bigger target.
 
I've been using them for some light 44 special loads in magnum brass out of my SBH with win231 and have been really good. I haven't loaded a magnum load with them yet and are not as accurate as Hornady XTP's but lots cheaper.
 
I'm using compro for 9mm major load for "IPSC OPEN GUN" they are really very very bad , X Large group size for 20m, a lot of tumbling and spinning,
so I think they are not good for major load in any cal.
 
Find the cam pro can be hit or miss. .224 55gr shoot great in 223 for me in an ar and axis, 45 plated shoot great in my 1911 but the 147 gr 30 cal are poor in all my 30 cals
 
I notice a possible explanation here, the Trapper has a 16inch pipe, the Yellowboy 12inch.
And, not many handgunners noted issues here with the exact same bullet.

Maybe these copper jacketed bullets, might have a velocity threshold you must not cross??

perhaps....
 
wcat said:
Well, thanks for those replies.
interesting comments about the powder.
I have a pound of W296. I'll load some with that, as well as some with BD again and do some more tests, also with factory ammo to compare, on a bigger target.
Click to expand...

A true magnum powder, you might get better accuracy with something like Red Dot & hand loaded at 44 Special velocity.
 
I load them for my 44 Mags 1 pistol 4rifles 22 grains H110 seems to shoot about the best, never tried really light loads
 
20" rossi '92, 240gr xtp over 24gr h110 group about 2" at 100 yards.

240gr campro over pretty much anything like a rifle load group 2' at 100 yards.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ they seem to do fine at short range through a revolver with light loads though.
 
My experience with campro.

At first, in my .40SW 2011, one shot out of 7-8 would shotgun pattern on paper.
As i was shooting major PF.

I then heard that campro are very crimp sensitive, and the slightest overcrimping rips off jackets.
I reajusted die for lighter crimp, using their crimp measurments, did not have one go bad on me since.

I used to have a bookmark with an article concerning plated bullets and crimp, can't find it anymore...
 
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