Al, I only use RL-25 and H1000 with the 300 Sierra MKHP. For bullets from 180 grains to 250 grains I've been using RL-22 with good results. RL-25 should work well with the 250's but I would think it may be a little too slow for most of the lighter bullet weights. I think Steve Hanson may be using RL-25 with 225's, maybe he will post something.
Al, Nosler recomends 87.0 to 91.0 for the 250g Partition. Barnes shows 90.0 to 95.0 for the 225g "XLC" bullets. Nosler uses RL22 with their 225g Partition. Should have a little more information for you tomorrow. I've got the 250g Partitions & 225g Barnes loaded up to do pressure and velocity checks tomorrow. If you give me an idea of the exact bullet your looking at I can run it thru Quickload. Where in Michigan are you? I'm a Toolmaker in the Saginaw area.
The Barnes manual shows 88g to 93g for the 225 "X" bullet. I shot the 225 "XLC" today, 95g of RL25 gave me a velocity of 3147 out of a 28" barrel. I ran the Swift "A" frame thru Quickload and came up with 96g of RL25 will give you 3002fps with 55390-PSI. That is a 100% load density. Looks like RL22 will give you a little more velocity without going to a compressed load. I also got 3000fps from the 250g Partition Gold Moly-Free bullet, 92g of RL25. The "GOLDS" appear to be as accurate as the old Partitions, The "GOLDS" have a thicker jacket in the nose, are .100" longer than the old Partitions. I'm thinking they'll act more like the Swift's or the Bearclaws for performance on elk.
[This message has been edited by AJ300MAG (edited 04-24-2002).]
AJ, thanks. I cut one of those 250gr Partition Golds in half and it looks like a winner. I shoot those in my 338-378 and are very accurate. I will give them a whirl this weekend and see what they do.
Thanks, Al
Posts: 711 | Location: Michigan , USA | Registered: 03 June 2000
I worked up a load with RL-25 and regular Barnes-X 225 grain bullets last fall. The first batch started at 93.0 grains and ended at 96.0 grains in one grain increments. Velocities were 2790 fps to 2990 fps. A month later, I tried 95.0 to 98.0 grains of RL-25 with the XLCs, and found I had lost about 150 fps per equivalent charge. 98.0 grains of RL-25 gave 2910 fps (Oehler 35 used for all loads). Above 98 grains, it became difficult to seat the bullets without crunching the powder, and I noticed the velocities stopped increasing. Bolt extraction was easy with all loads, and the primers were normal. These charges were a lot higher than what Barnes listed in their manual. I must have a loose chamber, or something.
All this leads me to believe that RL-25 is okay with the uncoated Barnes-X, but that the XLCs need a faster powder to acheive higher velocities. Barnes bulets costing what they do, I have to save my pennies before I try out other powders.
Shotone, I went up to 97g with the 225g"XLC"s for a velocity of 3234fps (Oehler 35P). No sign of high pressure. The coating on the XLC bullets realy cut down the barrel friction.
I noticed you were shooting out of a 28" barrel. Mine is a Standard Rem Model 700BDL with the 24" barrel. I guess 4" of barrel can make quite a difference in the velocity. More barrel time to burn the powder and build pressure. What type of rifle are you shooting? I guess the kick on that thing must be pretty healthy!
Probably next month, I'll get started with more load development using RL-22, RL-19, and IMR4831 with the 225 gr XLCs. RL-25 reached its peak with me at 98 grains, and I couldn't get it to go any faster (2911 fps SD=22fps).
I had Krieger install a barrel on a Remington action. It starts at 1" (2 1/2" in front of the action), and tapers down to .820" where the barrel meets the muzzle brake. Muzzle brake is a Vais, tames the recoil down to where I can shoot it one handed on a bench and not get severely punished. I installed the action into a McMillan Hunter stock. Trigger gaurd & floorplate along with the scope mounts are machined from stainless steel. Checked the weight on a bathroom scale - came out at 11lbs. Official weight is proubly closer to 13lbs. We're looking at using either the 225 XLC's or the Partition Golds on an elk hunt this October. Just getting started with load development.
Sounds like a really nice rig, you have there. How does it shoot? So far, the best I've gotten with the Barnes-X 225 gr is a five shot 100 yard group a little more than 1.5". I think most of it is me getting used to the recoil. After I work through more of the Barnes loads, I've got a box of 225 gr Partitions I'll try. My loads are also for elk hunting. I hunt the coastal ranges of Oregon, so I can't imagine carrying around a 13 lb. rifle all day long.
I'd appreciate it if you could post your load development results when you get them.
