Hey all.
I thought I would post some pics and data captured during some recent load development work for my .223 Tikka Tactical. The intent here is to show reloading newbies the benefits of reloading, while satisfying their curiosity about the load development process.
Here are a couple of caveats:
- All of the load information contained here is for illustration purposes only. Using someone's load data from the internet is not recommended and is not a good substitute for a reloading manual.
- I did this initial work without using a chronograph. To do this really well, a good chronograph is a must. Without a chronograph you have no way of determining velocity or standard deviation.
- This post only contains my first pass at this load development. See below for my planned next steps.
My Tikka has a 20" barrel with an 8" twist. I want to eventually shoot to 300M and beyond with this rifle. To suit the 8" twist, I chose the Hornady 75gr A-Max. This bullet was used with Winchester brass which I trimmed to length and deburred. The powder used was Varget and the primers were Remington 7 1/2 bench rest primers. I used a Lee classic Turret Press with a Lee collet sizer and charging, seating and factory crimp dies. Powder was measured with a Pact BBK and electronic dispenser combo. The bullets were seated to about 2.28". Due to excessive COL, I couldn't load the magazine but, due to the extreme ogive of the 75gr. A-Max, the bullets were off the lands.
The powder weights used varied from 23.0gr to 24.8gr, in 0.2gr increments. This stopped short of the listed max load in my manual.
The strings were fired at EESA's 100M range. The rifle was fred from a bench, using a Hopped front rest with a shot filled bag, and a sand filled rear bag. The rifle is equipped with a Bushnell Elite 3000 9-24x40 with a standard reticle. I would fire two 5-shot groups over abut 5 minutes and then let the rifle cool for 15 minutes, then repeat.
Here are the results.
My next load work will be done with a string from 23.3gr to 23.7 in 0.1gr steps.
So, I have a couple of questions, although I will probably answer them myself this weekend.
1. If I set the seating depth so the COL is 2.25", will the load dev work done at the longer length be a wasted effort due to the pressure increase?
2. Is the horizontal string I got at 23.4gr nost likely shooter error?
I thought I would post some pics and data captured during some recent load development work for my .223 Tikka Tactical. The intent here is to show reloading newbies the benefits of reloading, while satisfying their curiosity about the load development process.
Here are a couple of caveats:
- All of the load information contained here is for illustration purposes only. Using someone's load data from the internet is not recommended and is not a good substitute for a reloading manual.
- I did this initial work without using a chronograph. To do this really well, a good chronograph is a must. Without a chronograph you have no way of determining velocity or standard deviation.
- This post only contains my first pass at this load development. See below for my planned next steps.
My Tikka has a 20" barrel with an 8" twist. I want to eventually shoot to 300M and beyond with this rifle. To suit the 8" twist, I chose the Hornady 75gr A-Max. This bullet was used with Winchester brass which I trimmed to length and deburred. The powder used was Varget and the primers were Remington 7 1/2 bench rest primers. I used a Lee classic Turret Press with a Lee collet sizer and charging, seating and factory crimp dies. Powder was measured with a Pact BBK and electronic dispenser combo. The bullets were seated to about 2.28". Due to excessive COL, I couldn't load the magazine but, due to the extreme ogive of the 75gr. A-Max, the bullets were off the lands.
The powder weights used varied from 23.0gr to 24.8gr, in 0.2gr increments. This stopped short of the listed max load in my manual.
The strings were fired at EESA's 100M range. The rifle was fred from a bench, using a Hopped front rest with a shot filled bag, and a sand filled rear bag. The rifle is equipped with a Bushnell Elite 3000 9-24x40 with a standard reticle. I would fire two 5-shot groups over abut 5 minutes and then let the rifle cool for 15 minutes, then repeat.
Here are the results.
My next load work will be done with a string from 23.3gr to 23.7 in 0.1gr steps.
So, I have a couple of questions, although I will probably answer them myself this weekend.
1. If I set the seating depth so the COL is 2.25", will the load dev work done at the longer length be a wasted effort due to the pressure increase?
2. Is the horizontal string I got at 23.4gr nost likely shooter error?
