Blue dot rifle loads

[joe-nwt]

Ok, many of you have probably read Seafire's work on reloading reduced loads for rifle using blue dot powder over at accuratereloading.com. I read many of the posts and the question that kept nagging at me was, "what for?" Then, I read the post on using it in .223 and a fellow in the thread stated, "You can shoot for a long time without having the barrel heat up as much".

:shock: Hey, I says to myself, methinks this may be a handy trait to have in a gopher patch!

So, having plenty of blue dot on hand, I looked over the data posted by others on the thread and thought I would give it a whirl. Most of the data posted seemed to peak out around 14.0 grains so thats what I used for my upper end for my first batch. Winchester small rifle primers, Fed brass, and 50gr. speer spirepoints.

When I was at the range, my battery gave out on the chrony a couple shots into the testing. So i don't have any velocities to share just yet. I kept shooting anyway watching for the usual signs of presure. One thing I will share is that blue dot seems to be remarkably consistant. Accuracy was outstanding, with no load going outside of 1MOA out of my composite stalker. I shot at a fairly brisk pace and the barrel, while it got somewhat warm, didn't seem to get any warmer from start to finish. Although the 14gr loads seemed perfectly normal as far as pressure, 13.5gr gave slightly better accuracy. Velocity for this load should be around 2900-3000fps.

Made up 50 at 13.5gr to try for medium range gophers, leaving for Alta. tomorrow. If anyone is interested, here is the link.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/2511043/m/861101812/r/861101812#861101812

Anybody else tinker with blue dot?

 

[joe-nwt]

Of course not. That would be something like a wildcat. :roll:

Gonna try some bluedot in the 35rem contender next time out.

 

[Clark]

I have shot hundreds of ground squirrels with 13 gr Blue Dot, 60 gr JSP, .223.

The barrel never got hot or fouled.
It makes noise like 218 bee or 22 Hornet.

 

[joe-nwt]

I tried the 35 rem blue dot loads yesterday. 13gr blue dot, F210 primers, and Sierra 170gr fmj Sil bullets(.357). Accuracy was about 3-4" at 100yds out of a 14" contender. Not that bad with undersize bullets.

Was kinda wondering about 13gr of powder in a 40+ gr case, so I shot a couple groups after pointing the loaded gun at the sky to get all the powder to the back of the case, and a couple after pointing at the ground. There was slight evidence of vertical stringing with the powder forward.

I didn't chrono the load as my chronograph jumped in the way of a .45acp round earlier this fall and I haven't replaced it yet.

 

[RR]

Those Chronos Who knew 8)

Rich

 

[2bad4u2]

Right now, I'm doing some experimenting in this area with a .308 Win. Rem. 700 VSF. I've been using 110 gr. .30 Carbine FMJ bullets in my attempt to develop a cheap and accurate 100 yd. practice round.

So far, I've tried 11.5gr.-14.5 gr. of Green Dot with WLR and Fed 215M (magnum) primers. I've been shooting 15 shot groups throughout the testing. The accuracy (and I use that word very loosely) got better as I increased the powder charge and used magnum primers.

Comparing identical charge weights of Green Dot and substituting the WLR primer for a Fed 215M, one can see the groups tighten up. I speculate that Green Dot is position sensitive in the case and that the magnum primer has offered somewhat more consistent ignition.

The results have been so generally poor I haven't even considered measuring velocities with a chronograph. :lol:

However, one powder that shows great promise is Red Dot. I've read a "The Load" artical done by Ed Harris and thought I'd give it a try.

My initial 15 shot group of 110 gr. .30 Carbine bullets with 13 gr. Red Dot showed amazing consistency with only about 1" vertical and 2.5" horizontal dispersion. The barrel of the rifle had already been fouled with about 60 rds. of Green Dot so I was fairly happy with the initial group.

The same day, I tried 13 gr. Red Dot with Hornady 150 gr. Interlock BTSP bullets as well. One 5 shot group I shot measured about 1" at 100 yds.

At this point, I'm giving up on Green Dot and continuing with Red Dot testing. Based on my initial findings, magnum primers may not be necessary with Red Dot but I'm going to try it anyways to see if it makes any difference.

I've tried some Blue Dot in .223 and have been happy with the very limited testing I've done so far. I used 4 gr. Blue Dot with Hornady 35 gr. V-MAX bullets and was getting 1,100-1,200 FPS. out of my Save 112 FP. One initial 25 rd. group showed great promise. Can't wait to try Blue Dot again in .223 .

Keep the reports comming.