Load Testing

ndbwhunter · Aug 11, 2021

Been doing a lot of load testing on my 300WM. Finally found two loads that shoot well, but can't decide what to do next. Loaded from 73.5 up to 77.5 grains of RL26.

First charge - 73.5 grains of RL26 pushing a 180 barnes TTSX a hair over 2800fps. 0.335MOA (all touching with 2 in the same hole)

Second charge - 77.5 grains of RL26 (same bullet) at roughly 3100fps. 0.65MOA (clover leaf)

I would love the 77.5 to have been the best based on the velocity, but clearly that wasn't the case. Either group is excellent for the purposes of hunting, but I plan to test a few more charges near the 77.5 load and switch up the primers to see if I can tighten that group.

Should I try working up from 77 in 0.2 grain increments up to 78?

Everything in between the two charges above started to open up before finally tightening up again as I got closer to 77.5.

What would you guys do? Leave it, or keep playing?

SDMF · Aug 11, 2021

180's @ 2800fps via 300Win = Cheek-slappin' 30-06.

ndbwhunter · Aug 11, 2021

SDMF said:
180's @ 2800fps via 300Win = Cheek-slappin' 30-06.

So you're saying to push it over 3000fps?

1lessdog · Aug 11, 2021

I have shot nothing but IMR-4831 in my 300 Win mag for close to 40 yrs. I shoot Hornady 165 gr Interlock at close to 3200 FPS. The Hornady 165 gr hold up real good from Whitetail to Mule Deer and Elk and Moose. I shot my N.D. Elk at roughly 250 yds. I drove that bullet thru both shoulder and stopped on the back side up against the skin breaking both shoulders and the back.

I think your rifle is shooting good, I would stop there. What is another 100 fps going to get you that 3000 fps can't

ndbwhunter · Aug 11, 2021

1lessdog said:
I have shot nothing but IMR-4831 in my 300 Win mag for close to 40 yrs. I shoot Hornady 165 gr Interlock at close to 3200 FPS. The Hornady 165 gr hold up real good from Whitetail to Mule Deer and Elk and Moose. I shot my N.D. Elk at roughly 250 yds. I drove that bullet thru both shoulder and stopped on the back side up against the skin breaking both shoulders and the back.

I think your rifle is shooting good, I would stop there. What is another 100 fps going to get you that 3000 fps can't

It is shooting quite well, but the difference of 300fps between the two charges equates to a difference in drop of 11" at 500. That is pretty significant.

Achucker · Aug 11, 2021

You could play around to see where it would open up. But remember if you are using this for hunting the spread you have in accuracy is insignificant. The .3 differences equate to about 1 inch at 500. If you are satisfied with the higher stick with it. If you are going to push it further remember to be careful watching for pressure signs.

SDMF · Aug 11, 2021

ndbwhunter said:
So you're saying to push it over 3000fps?

You said the 77.5gn is 3100fps and just over .5MOA. I'd run that. You're about 1/2gn under max w/excellent case fill % (100%) and great accuracy. What's not to love?

SupressYourself · Aug 12, 2021

Assuming you can do it consistently, there's nothing wrong with .65 MOA from a hunting rifle. If you really feel compelled to tinker, I would try different seating depths at that same charge. You might tighten it up a bit.

jdinny · Aug 12, 2021

What distance you shooting at?
Assuming 100 yards or else I missed the distance I would personally run those test loads to 200,300,400 and let one give you the answer

bucksnbears · Aug 12, 2021

Don't shoot game at 500 yards.

Moot point.;:;popcorn

Petras · Aug 12, 2021

Do you know what your ES and SD were for the two load tests in question? Personally I've passed on a .3moa load for a .6moa load strictly because the ES was 7fps on the .6moa load versus 19fps on the .3moa load. Is this going to be a big deal on a hunting load? No, probably not, but I intend to use this rifle in matches if I ever find the free time to partake in the border wars matches.

Mr. Stevenson · Aug 12, 2021

^^^^Holy fuck. That's cool.

Mr. Stevenson · Aug 13, 2021

You wouldn't believe grief I endured trying to post a pic of "Sheldon".

SupressYourself · Aug 13, 2021

Petras said:
Personally I've passed on a .3moa load for a .6moa load strictly because the ES was 7fps on the .6moa load versus 19fps on the .3moa load.

Inside of like 800 yards, (with most cartridges) you'd never know the difference between those two loads.
For example, taking my standard 6.5 Creed load, a 140 ELDM with 2850 MV. If the next shot is 20 fps slower, the impact is only about 2.48 inches lower at 800 yards.
Now I'm not saying that ES / SD are not important, but their importance is relative to the distance you're shooting and the precision required.

SDMF · Aug 13, 2021

SupressYourself said:
Inside of like 800 yards, (with most cartridges) you'd never know the difference between those two loads.
For example, taking my standard 6.5 Creed load, a 140 ELDM with 2850 MV. If the next shot is 20 fps slower, the impact is only about 2.48 inches lower at 800 yards.
Now I'm not saying that ES / SD are not important, but their importance is relative to the distance you're shooting and the precision required.

The 19FPS ES actually equates to only 10FPS from the mean which would cut your deviance down to ~1.25" @ 800 yds.

Just like how a 2" taller tire only give you 1" more clearance, only different.

SupressYourself · Aug 13, 2021

^^^ Right. I was trying to show that even in the most extreme case, (like maybe you took one shot over the chrono, which happened to be the high end of your ES, and used that as your MV, and then the next shot was at the other end of your ES)... it still doesn't matter much.

jdinny · Aug 13, 2021

it really comes down to what a lot of these guys said.
ive toned it back the more guns i load for. my first few rifles are surgical. shot them often to 800 yards. now considering ive personally yet to shoot past 450 yards ( have taken several in that 400 mark) i dont get worked up about it.

here is what i can say about the avg joe shooter. your shooting ability will limit you before any load, powder charge, seating depth anything. unless your sending thousands of shots down range yearly your greatest limiting factor will be yourself down range . you can play with every variable all you want but until you yourself as a shooter has no flaws dont blame the load or gun. myself included.

ndbwhunter · Aug 23, 2021

Snuck out this weekend to do a little more testing with the 77.5 load and just messed with the seating depth. Started out at .050" off the lands and went out to .150". Only had to shoot the .050" and .075" before I had seen enough. The .050" was about 0.35 MOA and the .075" was sub .25 MOA. Decided to save the rest of the rounds to conserve bullets and powder. I'm going to load up 10 rounds to check ES/SD and see how things look. Thanks for all the input.

Now the question is, can I use my bullet puller to knock the other bullets out a bit and re-seat them at my desired depth, or do I have to pull them all the way and re-size?

Achucker · Aug 23, 2021

Use them for playing around/plinking to just practice. It never hurts

jdinny · Aug 23, 2021

you have to resize if you pull the bullet

Load Testing

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