Need more care.

[slug]

A recent target shot at 200 yards. A 1903 Springfield sniper clone, put six out of ten into 2 & 7/16 inch. MV 2012 f/s. SD 11 f/s.
The brass was thirty to forty year old Dominion that I've used for decades. Many of its brethren have passed on, so I'm retiring these cases to the lapping brass cannister.
The bullets were weighed to within 1/2 grain. So, I've trimmed some 1-F Norma cases and we'll try to tighten things up on the next nice day.
As Mr. Baumgartner says, "The search for accuracy never ends."

 

[lpel]

I’d say that’s nicely done and good shooting.

 

[slug]

Update Tuesday
I switched over to Norma 1F range brass and trimmed them all to the Trim-to length. I also kept the bullet weights to within 3/10 grain and seated the bullet out a bit more to be closer to the lands.
This time, I got ten into 3 and 1/8 inches. My goal is ten into 2.5 inches at two hundred yards. We'll keep on trying.

 

[legi0n]

very nice
I'm happy with 3" at 200
but I'm running out of components nowadays and what's left is not conducive to this kind of precision

 

[jamesharrison]

Slug:

Presume your Springfield barrel has a 1:10" twist?

If so, at least using Larry Gibson's max rpm formula, you're a wee bit past the upper edge of accuracy at 2,012 fps.

His hypothesis is that the accuracy limit is 120-140,000 rpm; in a 1: 10" twist barrel that equates to 1,666 - 1,944 fps].

While I've never played with any .30-06 loads using cast bullets, I have done it on a dozen or so #1 Mk. III SMLE's, as well as a number of Lee Speed rifles, all of which had 1:10" twist barrels.

Almost without fail, any time I tried to push the bullets past 1,900 fps, I got luck with 2 which I could push to ~1,950 fps, groups started opening up. It didn't seem to matter what powder I used, whether 452AA, 700x, Unique, SR4759, IMR4198, Norma 200, WC844, WC846 or H414[SL], so I tend to give a lot of credence to his proposition.

If you are interested, send me a pm & I'll send you the correspondence I got from him explaining it in more detail.

Jim

 

[slug]

Good points, Jim:
I'm wanting to see my limits with cast bullets.
Powder coating seems to have rewritten all the unwritten rules about cast bullets.
Cheers!

 

[jamesharrison]

Slug:

I eagerly await your PC'ed bullet test results. I have yet to go down the PC'ing road, but if results warrant it, I would be sorely tempted, especially as it may allow us to attain jacketed velocities, although what that would do for terminal performance is a test for another day.

I picked up a Palma barrel in .308 Win. with a 1:14" twist for my Savage that I'm dying to try out with my long cast bullets. If they can withstand the higher RPM that a 1:14" twist will supposedly allow, [MV could, theoretically at least, be pushed to 2,720 fps] and not keyhole, vice the normal 1:10" / 1:12" twist for .30 barrels then I'll be convinced the RPM theory holds true.