S&L M65 7 X 61 new to me

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Keithjohn

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So I bought this old jewel after a bit of research ( I was more into the rifle than the cartridge ) and was pleasantly surprised - this thing has interesting reloading potential !
First try at a load was with a Speer 140 gr boat tail with 61 gr H4831 - not sure of the speed but I got a 1.5" five shot group right off . Then I tried 150 gr w/ same load and 2.5" groups

NOW - I read they had a 1/10 twist and mine has a 1/12 twist !!

Does anybody have load info for 100-140 gr bullets ? I think I'll try 140 accubond and something lighter 100-120ish .
Any info will be appreciated , Keith
 
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Seat the bullets out just shy of the rifling but not too long to reliably feed through the magazine.Groups should tighten.
 
mbogo3 said:
Seat the bullets out just shy of the rifling but not too long to reliably feed through the magazine.Groups should tighten.
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Thanks , I do have the bullet length set for these bullets . I am quite pleased with the first group I threw with the 140 gr bullets , the 150 s were not supposed to stabilize I just tried anyway . I'm sure with a couple different bullet/powder combos I'll improve the results plus now I'll have chamber sized brass to work with
 
My 7x61 chambered S&L with 1 in 12 twist preferes flat base bullets over all boat tails. It will stabilize 160 grain flat based bullets with no problem but really loves any 140 grain flat base bullet. 140 grain Partitions and 139 Grain Hornady SPs are it's favorites and it consistently cuts sub-MOA 5 shot groups.
 
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Your 2.5" group is not due to twist or stabilization, unless the bullets went in sideways. Try a work up in 0.3 gr increments.

If the barrel is less than perfect, a flat based bullet will usually work better.
 
Ganderite said:
Your 2.5" group is not due to twist or stabilization, unless the bullets went in sideways. Try a work up in 0.3 gr increments.

If the barrel is less than perfect, a flat based bullet will usually work better.
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I'm more excited about the new cartridge than REALLY having a problem . I appreciate the experience shared about the flat based bullets .
I have a long slow journey ahead , y/day I went from 61.0 up to 65.5 in .5 increments and found velocity go from high 2700s to 2980 - still not hitting real pressure signs but velocity has only moved 20-30 fps the last 3 loads AND groups are tightening the faster I push the 140 gr Speer now to 1/2-3/4" groups

Now to get some 140gr accubond or sst and to try different powders - I sure can't find much info , comments appreciated
 
Most accurate load in his gun was 139gr Hornady SP/64.5gr H4831/CCI 250/3.19 " OAL/2975 out of a 22" barrel
 
I have three Schultz & Larsens, in line with three cartridges shown on the red cover of the old Norma reloading manual.
- a Model 68DL in 7x61 S&H.
- a Model 65DL in 308 NM
- a Model 68DL in 358 NM
Apparently these three cartridges were the co-operative effort between Schultz & Larsen and Norma. With the 7x61, there were slight changes made. Some time after the 7x61 appeared on the market, Remington came out with the 7mm Rem Mag. 'Supposedly' to compete with this newcomer, the 7x61 case was changed in an effort to match the 7mm Rem Mag. The interior profile of the case was change and so was the case metallurgy and thinner case to increase the power capacity. As I recall, the original brass was head stamped 7x61 S&H or 7x61 Re. The new improved brass is head stamped 7x61 Super.
 
mbogo3 said:
Most accurate load in his gun was 139gr Hornady SP/64.5gr H4831/CCI 250/3.19 " OAL/2975 out of a 22" barrel
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One that has, surprisingly, turned out well for me is using CCI 200 primers with IMR 4064 and the 120gr Barnes TTSX !! At 100 yds, grouped 0.558". My plan is to push Barnes 140gr TTSX through it for the most part. Accuracy with that bullet pushed by IMR 4350 wasn't exactly shabby. That was my load used for my Antelope draw in AB a couple of years ago.
 
Well I found with 65.5 gr h4831 with the 139gr Speer groups tightened , my magnetospeed gave 2980 for average fps .
I'm going to try mr 4350 starting out with 57 gr if it's nice tommorrow , I want to check maybe RL22 also
 
Accuracy Load: IMR-4350/ 61.0grs. 3100fps/ 2987ft. lbs.
Hunting Load: IMR-4350/ 61.0grs. 3100fps/ 2987ft. lbs.

From the Sierra manual and they show a 1 in 10 twist.

They also used IMR 4350 for the 150 grain and IMR4064 for the 120 grain.
 
horseman2 said:
Accuracy Load: IMR-4350/ 61.0grs. 3100fps/ 2987ft. lbs.
Hunting Load: IMR-4350/ 61.0grs. 3100fps/ 2987ft. lbs.

From the Sierra manual and they show a 1 in 10 twist.

They also used IMR 4350 for the 150 grain and IMR4064 for the 120 grain.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this . I assume you are talking about the 140gr ?
I never got to it today , so I'm looking between 57&61 for the 4350 next time out
 
horseman2 said:
Accuracy Load: IMR-4350/ 61.0grs. 3100fps/ 2987ft. lbs.
Hunting Load: IMR-4350/ 61.0grs. 3100fps/ 2987ft. lbs.

From the Sierra manual and they show a 1 in 10 twist.

They also used IMR 4350 for the 150 grain and IMR4064 for the 120 grain.
Click to expand...

That's what is stamped on the barrel of my model 68DL Schultz & Larsen.
 
The German made Weatherbys also have a slow twist for lighter bullets as high velocity sells/sold guns back in the day.
 
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