Staball testing with different primers 7mm-08...results

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RonR

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Picked up a pound of this to try out for myself and today was the day I finally made it to the range and it felt great to be there. Sun was warm on the back and I got to see a Labradar in use, and a new lefty bolt in a calibre I am looking for.

W760 has done well with our 7-08's for paper punching loads and that's why this offering has got my interest. Less temp sensitive and if it's any cleaner than 760 I would consider that a bonus.

Below is a photo of min start levels of Staball and 140gr Sierra BTHP bullets. The last result on the right had 2 of 5 being the 140gr Prohunters.

Shot round robin style to reduce the consideration of heat and any shooting bias I may have had. Ran it against 4 different primers to see if there was any preference. Of course this doesn't really indicate much but I figured since I have some options with primers I would see if there was anything of interest with this result.

There is some vertical stringing but the last one group flattens out a bit. The one with the X marked on it felt bad right from the start and if that is removed from the group, in this example, the Winchester large magnum rifle got my attention.

For interest, anybody else done any Staball testing in this cartridge and what primers worked best for them?

Regards
Ronr


Staball primer 20210307_151129.jpg
 

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Hard to draw conclusions from 5 rounds, and by the MK1 eyeball none of those groups look like they indicate a trend. Shooting 2 different bullets in the last group doesn't help; you can't tell which variable had an effect, the change in bullet or primer.
 
I tried StaBall in my 7/08 Kimber. Worked up to a max load of 50 grs with the 145 Speer SBT with CCI 250. velocity was 3012 ft/sec and accuracy was MOA. One of the quirks of this powder, IMO, is it spikes real quick as you approach max. JME
 
Alpheus said:
Hard to draw conclusions from 5 rounds, and by the MK1 eyeball none of those groups look like they indicate a trend. Shooting 2 different bullets in the last group doesn't help; you can't tell which variable had an effect, the change in bullet or primer.
Click to expand...

Totally agreed. Not much to draw conclusions from, but regarding the two different bullets in the last sample...perhaps a person could consider the combination is significant enough to not care about a bullet shape change? It was round robin, so there were 4 shots between each round to produce the last sample group.

Regards
Ron
 
hunters home said:
I tried StaBall in my 7/08 Kimber. Worked up to a max load of 50 grs with the 145 Speer SBT with CCI 250. velocity was 3012 ft/sec and accuracy was MOA. One of the quirks of this powder, IMO, is it spikes real quick as you approach max. JME
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing that. One of the fellows at one of the LGS indicated that it pressurizes more rapidly than other Winchester balls according to feedback he is receiving. Seems like this stuff can move the bullets however a person needs to be aware of it's behavior.

Cheers!
Ronr
 
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I tried Stabal 6.5 in the 6.5Creedmore/260Rem/7mm-08/6.5x55. I tried both standard and magnum primers in all of them.

I used 140grain SST bullets for all of the testing in both calibers. I also tried some lighter 129 grain SSTs in the Creedmore, with a 1-8 twist rate. They were the best with this powder.

I didn't find it to be nearly as consistent as its reputation describes.

It was very good in the 6.5CM, with magnum primers, but not as consistent in the larger cases. It also gave the best velocities in the smaller case with the 140 grain bullets. The 129 grain bullets didn't produce unexplainable flyers in the Creedmore. Stabal would be a good powder, for this cartridge and maybe others with similar case capacities.

I kept getting unexpected flyers, with decent bullets, same lot cases fired in a match grade chamber/barrel on the 6.5x55. The other three rifles were regular hunting rifles, that are proven accurate shooters with 140 grain bullets, all will maintain sub moa groups out to 400 yards, if I do my part well.

I found that RL 19 with CCI 250 primers gave me velocities appx 50 fps less on overall average in every case, with excellent groups, without flyers.

This by no means a definitive report, just my experience with Stabal6.5 in my rifles.

I also have a different Tikka T3 chambered for 6.5x55, my go to hunting rifle. It has a 22 in bbl so getting more than 2800+fps is pushing things. The powder it prefers with 140 grain SST bullets is IMR7828ssc and it also consistently holds less than a moa out to 400 yards.

Another CGNer uses the same load in his T3, with similar results.

I'm going to stick with the RL19, because I have lots of it on hand and the difference between the two isn't worthwhile for me to pursue an almost identical burn rate powder for.

I tried the Stabal last November, then again in early February when it was -30C. Velocities were very close. So were the velocities recorded with RL19 and pressures were a bit lower.
 
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bearhunter said:
I tried Stabal 6.5 in the 6.5Creedmore/260Rem/7mm-08/6.5x55. I tried both standard and magnum primers in all of them.

I used 140grain SST bullets for all of the testing in both calibers. I also tried some lighter 129 grain SSTs in the Creedmore, with a 1-8 twist rate. They were the best with this powder.

I didn't find it to be nearly as consistent as its reputation describes.

It was very good in the 6.5CM, with magnum primers, but not as consistent in the larger cases. It also gave the best velocities in the smaller case with the 140 grain bullets. The 129 grain bullets didn't produce unexplainable flyers in the Creedmore. Stabal would be a good powder, for this cartridge and maybe others with similar case capacities.

I kept getting unexpected flyers, with decent bullets, same lot cases fired in a match grade chamber/barrel on the 6.5x55. The other three rifles were regular hunting rifles, that are proven accurate shooters with 140 grain bullets, all will maintain sub moa groups out to 400 yards, if I do my part well.

I found that RL 19 with CCI 250 primers gave me velocities appx 50 fps less on overall average in every case, with excellent groups, without flyers.

This by no means a definitive report, just my experience with Stabal6.5 in my rifles.

I also have a different Tikka T3 chambered for 6.5x55, my go to hunting rifle. It has a 22 in bbl so getting more than 2800+fps is pushing things. The powder it prefers with 140 grain SST bullets is IMR7828ssc and it also consistently holds less than a moa out to 400 yards.

Another CGNer uses the same load in his T3, with similar results.

I'm going to stick with the RL19, because I have lots of it on hand and the difference between the two isn't worthwhile for me to pursue an almost identical burn rate powder for.

I tried the Stabal last November, then again in early February when it was -30C. Velocities were very close. So were the velocities recorded with RL19 and pressures were a bit lower.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing your findings and the comparatives Bearhunter. I've only tried the RL15 and couldn't make it group at all at the time, but skills have improved since then.

I've got some 150gr to try so I will conduct the same test in the future and see what results those give.

Cheers!
Ronr
 
I tried staball 6.5 in my 7-08 AI and a regular 7-08 with both 120s and 140s. Accuracy was OK, but ES and SD were not great. I also was not able to get the magical velocities promised, more on par with Varget. As other members noted, pressure rose rapidly near max. Coincidentally I also found my best accuracy near max. I'll keep some in my cabinet as a back up powder.
 
cbh560 said:
I tried staball 6.5 in my 7-08 AI and a regular 7-08 with both 120s and 140s. Accuracy was OK, but ES and SD were not great. I also was not able to get the magical velocities promised, more on par with Varget. As other members noted, pressure rose rapidly near max. Coincidentally I also found my best accuracy near max. I'll keep some in my cabinet as a back up powder.
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Thanks for that. Also good info. I will chrony if I ever develop a load for hunting/gong shooting at the range. IIRC, ES and SD wasn't good with 760 either (varget provided the best so far) but paper results were something that couldn't be argued. Or perhaps they could be argued and I just had a stellar day and less Tim's before when I was developing those loads....:d

Regards CBH

Ronr
 
I have been drawn to the velocity promise - but the accuracy and consistency just have not proven out. Like others have said - its does ok - but it isn't my go to powder yet. ES and SD not great, and accuracy was ok but nothing to brag about.
I have some Satterlee load data I can email you if anyone wants it. Pm me for details.
Jeremy
 
jef612 said:
I have been drawn to the velocity promise - but the accuracy and consistency just have not proven out. Like others have said - its does ok - but it isn't my go to powder yet. ES and SD not great, and accuracy was ok but nothing to brag about.
I have some Satterlee load data I can email you if anyone wants it. Pm me for details.
Jeremy
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Yeah, we'll see if I can figure out any preferences for this stuff. No expectations from this end, rather curiosity. I just finished loading some 150's and I'll run those down the pipe next time out.

Thanks for sharing your results Jeremy. Cheers.

Ronr
 
I've tried it staball in my t3x 7mm08, velocity was wild. Got up to 3050 with a 140 and no pressure. It didn't want to keep going. Sd/es were good, accuracy was moa. But h4350 was more accurate and consistent. In my 3006, I had similar results, fast, but just not quite as accurate. And once you near max, the signs of pressure show really fast so be careful.
 
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