My LRB M25 600yd range report...

TonyBen

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It was a very successful day at the range! I hit the 300yd line after work and got my 300yd dope. I had 5 rounds left of my 178gr HPBT's from my previous range trip and a box of 50 rounds loaded up and split between 25 with 178gr A-MAX and 25 with 175gr SMK's. All were loaded with 42.8 grains of RL-15 in LC 2x fired cases and BR-2 primers.

I warmed up with 10 rounds of XM80 ball. POI was way off and I adjusted my scope. First targets were on the left. Then I ran the last 5 rounds of my 178 HPBT's that were loaded with 42.8gr of RL-15. POI shifted the opposite direction and I ended up cranking the scope back to where it was originally...:rolleyes:

The four remaining shots landed in a 3.327" group, or 1.059 MOA. Then I switched to 178gr A-MAX for 10 shots. They grouped in at 4.397" or 1.399 MOA. I then fired 5 rounds of 175gr SMK's (I was running out of time before the line shut down for 600). They grouped at 4.119" or 1.311 MOA.



Then the 600yd shoot began and I fired the remaining 15 rounds I had of 178gr A-Max's. All 15 rounds landed in a group approximately 9.15" or 1.456 MOA at 600. I then fired 5 rounds using 175gr SMK's, I aimed at the left edge of the circle and the 5 rounds grouped approximately 6.5" at 600 or 1.034 MOA.





Upon picking up my brass, I noticed one case was split around the case-head. This is the first time this has ever happened to me.




This was the case's 3rd firing. Once as XM-80 ball and 2x with 178's. I did anneal this batch of brass as well.

I have noticed that my bolt face has imprinted on nearly all my cases. I mean that you can tell how the case was sitting in the chamber by looking for the straight line on the bolt face where the beginning of the extractor was cut out. See the straight vertical line at the 3 o'clock position just outside the primer pocket?


Nearly all my cases have this marking on them. You can definitely spot the line in the top left and bottom left case. It's there on all of them if you look closely...


All-in-all, it was a great day at the range! I'm very happy with the accuracy out of this rifle and barrel!

Tony.
 
Case head seperation is fairly common with m14s. Mystic Player (CGN sponsor mystic precision) has a great article on loading for the m14, long and short of it make sure when full length sizing to set back very minimum amounts.
Awesome shooting by the way.
 
Tony you're doing some amazing stuff with that LRB :cool:

That case head crack is worrisome though, especially after only 3 firings in LC brass out of what I presume is a pretty tight chamber. Makes me worry about a batch of Lapua brass that I just bought - if I won't likely get more than three firings out of it safely it's not really worth the premium :(
 
Good shooten, only one ?

Where did U get the RE15? Good shooten fur sure my son.
I get 4 to 5 loadings with regular old Winchester commercial brass. Have not yet seen signs of incipient case head separation. When I can find RE15 my loads are very similar to yours. Could be just a bad batch of brass, causing the line of death at the case head. What kind of performance have U been getting with brass in the past?
 
Where did U get the RE15? Good shooten fur sure my son.
I get 4 to 5 loadings with regular old Winchester commercial brass. Have not yet seen signs of incipient case head separation. When I can find RE15 my loads are very similar to yours. Could be just a bad batch of brass, causing the line of death at the case head. What kind of performance have U been getting with brass in the past?

Thanks! I picked up RL-15 about 6 years ago when the last powder/ammo panic happened. It's been sitting on the shelf since then waiting for a need. I've since picked up another 2lbs in the last couple of weeks.

I normally don't load any heavier than 168's but this rifle is new and built for long range so this is my 1000yd load development. I normally use commercial Winchester brass with 125's and 168's. The 125's cover me from 100 to 300yds and the 168's cover my 600yd loads. I normally get over 5 reloadings with commercial brass, then I shut the gas off and run longer. I have a batch that's on it's 8th firing but it normally sees 125's.

This is new ground for me and I never use military brass. I've been stockpiling it though for this reason. I anneal necks every so often because I've got neck splits between 3 and 5 firings.

Tony.
 
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