223 build ...

1st starting load 223 JK custom

Berger VLD 75 gr target
24gr varget
Lapua match brass
COL 2.3
CCI primers 400

Lapua 77gr scenar
24gr varget
Lapua match brass
COL 2.260
CCI primers 400

Barnes 70gr xbt hunting rounds
24gr varget
Mismatched used brass
COL 2.260
CCI primers 400

Finally did some reloading tonite with my friend Joeffrey who wants me to use these loads to fire form my brass & then work up from there. I hope to get out this weekend to shoot these loads to test.

Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA
 
don't forget to try the 80 grain SMKs - they're probably the easiest to tune from my experience.

There are bullets out there that claim higher BC's but that don't matter for nuthin if they aint accurate all day long.
 
Had a scare today as apparently lapua 77gr bullets max load is 23.7gr of powder not 24 gr. My friend Joeffrey got check out & his eyes & ears are fine. This happened on the 4th round. We read the Berger was fine with 24gr so loaded the lapua same. Bad mistake & luckily he's ok.

Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA


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Good news that your friend's ok. What about the rifle?

I don't reload yet but once I'm fully equiped, I will ALWAYS going to work up a load.
 
Joeffrey checked the rifle over with his gauges and also the firing pin, etc. The rifle is fine. Glad I only loaded 10 of the lapua 77gr's.

We're going to fire it again tomorrow. We pulled the remaining bullets and powder.

Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA
 
Don't shoot it until the rifle has been inspected very carefully. Headspace may be perfect, but my concern is that there is too much of the cartridge protruding from the chamber.
Unsupported.
Take the barrel off, and measure carefully with a depth micrometer.
The outer collar of the barrel breech should clear the front of the bolt's locking lugs by only a few thousandths; similarly, there should only be a very few thousandths between the bolt nose and the barrel breech in the counterbore.
 
tiriaq said:
Don't shoot it until the rifle has been inspected very carefully. Headspace may be perfect, but my concern is that there is too much of the cartridge protruding from the chamber.
Unsupported.
Take the barrel off, and measure carefully with a depth micrometer.
The outer collar of the barrel breech should clear the front of the bolt's locking lugs by only a few thousandths; similarly, there should only be a very few thousandths between the bolt nose and the barrel breech in the counterbore.
Click to expand...

^^^ This ^^^

That doesn't happen to a case from a .3gn overcharge. There would have been obvious pressure signs that would be hard to ignore long before you got this point.
 
Otokiak,

Looking at how the case looks blown out, I'm with tiriaq on this. It looks like there's a gap between the bolt face and the barrel... at least there is now (ok probably not quite as funny at your end... sorry.)

Were you getting stiff bolt lift on the rounds you fired?
Were you loading for a magazine length round by any chance?
What powder were you using?

If the gun is correct and you were using Varget, 24 grains should have been fine... that is unless you seated the bullets too short and or you have a short chamber.

One more thing...
You gotta think about case volume differences on a full length resized case vs a fire formed case that has just been neck resized.
A full length resized case has a lower max powder capacity that a fire formed case that has been neck resized.
This condition will affect your max safe load.

Since you only fired the gun a few times I assume they were not fire formed cases, which means you need to back off the powder a bit.

Once you get the gun sorted out, start by making sure you're jamming the lands with your seating depth.
Work up to max load in increments of no more than 0.5 grains.

The best way that I know of to detect excessive pressures is with a pin gage.
See if you can track down some pin gages in 0.175 and 0.176
Use these as go / no go gages.
Extract the primer from a fired case and see what size pin is the largest that will fit.
If a new case the .175 is tight and the 176 is loose after one firing then you have a very hot load.
You should track how many trips before the primer hole grows by 0.001"
That's a real good pressure indicator, better than case head expansion.
 
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Otokiak said:
My friend Joeffrey got check out & his eyes & ears are fine. This happened on the 4th round. Bad mistake & luckily he's ok.
Click to expand...

This is actually a classic example of why I keep reminding CGNers of why a Savage is a safer action. The Savage is designed to protect the shooter from the blast in the face that Geoffery got.

You might want to consider fluting your bolt. The fluting allows the pressure to vent to the atmosphere from the ejection port rather than travel back through the left lug way and into the shooters face.
 
BadAsMo said:
Once you get the gun sorted out, start by making sure you're jamming the lands with your seating depth.
Work up to max load in increments of no more than 0.5 grains.
Click to expand...

Just to further clarify on this point, the reason you jam the projectile in load development to begin with is that the chamber pressure is significantly higher with a jammed round vs one that's jumping slightly. This keeps you in a safe charge weight (as you work up) even if debris, or a projectile seating error of some kind jams the projectile into the lands, and spikes pressures, even though your running a jump.

You should post some pictures of the other fired cases otokiak.
 
You've selected a nice combination of parts for your build ...... I know you'll be very pleased with the BenchMark barrel. I work with a gunsmith who uses them fairly exclusively and the accuracy is outstanding. Good luck on your project, have fun !
 
Tiriaq, my friend has taken the rifle apart & remeasured & is now going to fix his mistake as his #'s were off. Hopefully tonite or tomorrow he should have it fixed as I wish to shoot it.

Otokiak
Rankin inlet, NU
CANADA
 
Rifle fixed & test fired with no problems by builder. Now to go try it again & see how she shoots. Do you guys know anyone who'll do helical/spiral fluting on my barrel that I could send it to?

Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA

P.S. I'll was til the weekend to go shoot as its suppose to we up to approx -10. It's currently -40 with windchill. Buurrrr!
 
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