October, I took possession of my new 6.5x47 Lapua. Pierce action, Broughton #3.1, 26", SS, 5R barrel. McMillan Remington Sporter in Edge fill. Rifle Basix trigger @ 2 lbs. Pierce 1-pc picatinny base with Farrell Alum 30mm rings holding a Nightforce 2.5-10x32mm with NP-R2 reticle.

Broke the barrel in with about 20 shots. A week ago decided to try the 140 Partition and Reloader 17. 1x fired cases capped with CCI 450 small rifle primers. Seated 10 thou off the lands.

This is the first 12 shots. A 365 yd ladder. All bullets were color coded with perm marker on the ogives to tell which hole is which.


At home, after crunching the numbers and bullet holes I decided to persue #'s 9 & 10 which is 41 and 41.5 gr. I loaded up some 5-round snacks of 41, 41.3 and 41.6 gr and went back out to the range yesterday.

Here is the results.


12 shots for the ladder and 15 for verification. That's 27 shots, total. All three groups were sub 3" (2.6", 2.3", 2.16") at 371 yds. I settled on the 41.6 gr load.



Gotta love a ladder!

Alan

quote:

Originally posted by GSSP:


All bullets were color coded with perm marker on the ogives to tell which hole is which.

Are you saying the color came off the bullet as it passed through the target?

quote:

Originally posted by onefunzr2:

quote:

Originally posted by GSSP:


All bullets were color coded with perm marker on the ogives to tell which hole is which.

Are you saying the color came off the bullet as it passed through the target?

Yes, exactly that!

Here is Jason Baney's article on Long-Range Load Development.

http://www.accurateshooter.com...ge-load-development/

Alan

I appreciate the tip. But a little more troublesome to do as I shoot moly coated bullets. And moly only comes in black.

Nice group indeed. Darn shame you didn't toss in a flick of the rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:
Nice group indeed. Darn shame you didn't toss in a flick of the rifle.

Easy to resolve. It now wears a much lower (.175") Pierce 1-pc alum pic base.

Alan




Here is the Pierce 1-pc base.

Excellent rifle....excellent groups, and of course she's wearing the appropriate scope.

Looks good!

Have you done a seating depth test yet to really tighten it up?

Somr folks may be interested in this

It's the best description of the process I've found.

quote:

Originally posted by rcamuglia:
Looks good!

Have you done a seating depth test yet to really tighten it up?

Next on the agenda.

Alan

Yes Vapo! I've been there before. If you go to that link, make sure you turn off your speakers first! Ha!

Hey GSSP,

Here's how I do it and it works great.

Now that you have your load selected from the Audette, load up about 25 of them with the bullets seated out all the way to MOAL and go to the range with your press and seating die, caliper and comparator.

Shoot a group at the longest OAL and check it. If it isn't as good as you'd like, seat 5 more down .010" and shoot a group. Continue doing this until you have found THE DEPTH.

I like to do it this way so that you never have any loaded up at the wrong depth that you have to pull the bullets.

Thanks Alan. Sure is a well executed, fine looking rifle. Wear the barrel out!

quote:

Originally posted by rcamuglia:

Hey GSSP,

Here's how I do it and it works great.

Now that you have your load selected from the Audette, load up about 25 of them with the bullets seated out all the way to MOAL and go to the range with your press and seating die, caliper and comparator.

Shoot a group at the longest OAL and check it. If it isn't as good as you'd like, seat 5 more down .010" and shoot a group. Continue doing this until you have found THE DEPTH.

I like to do it this way so that you never have any loaded up at the wrong depth that you have to pull the bullets.

Hey rcamuglia,

Yep! That's pretty much it. I like to mark the ogives of each 5-shots with a different colored perm marker and shoot them at 600-1000 yds; all on the same piece of paper and at the same aim point; a very large piece of paper. Just like shooting a ladder. I'm looking for the least amount of vertical, not paying attention to the wind. Now I won't do this until after I determine a proper seating depth.

Looks something like this. These are .2 gr apart, 5-shots each.

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:
Thanks Alan. Sure is a well executed, fine looking rifle. Wear the barrel out!

Hey Hot Core,

Let's see how fast Rel 17 will do it You put up the bullets, primers and powder and I'll sacrifice the barrel.

Alan

Sorry if this sounds dumb.. But what is a ladder? I dont see how the target with random holes would help to determine the load to use.
I'm not trying to start a flame,I am really wanting to know.I've never heard of this before. Thanks
And for all you jokers out there.. I know a ladder helps you get up on the roof of the house

Ty,

Open the link above, that Vapodog posted. I haven't gone through it in detail but it should explain some basics.

Alan

RL-17??? I sincerely hope you have better luck with the RL-Powders than I had. If you decide to use some Hodgdon, only shoot twice at the Target. Reason being it shoots sooooo Tight, that a 3rd shot can close the Hole back up.

Hey Ty, You might want to try the never improved-upon, always reliable, never fail, simple to use Creighton Audette Load Development Method. Anything else is just second rate.

Mr. Audette's Method is where the term "Ladder" originated.

Hot Core,

Where did Rel 17 go wrong for you; temp sensitivity, accuracy, etc? I LOVE Hodgdon powders as well.

Alan

quote:

Originally posted by GSSP:
Hot Core,

Where did Rel 17 go wrong for you; temp sensitivity, accuracy, etc? I LOVE Hodgdon powders as well.

Alan

Hey Alan, you have to realize that HC is very .... uh.... er.... opinionated and if he stepped on a crack in a sidewalk and passed gas he would never step on another one the rest of his life!

Hey Alan, A long time ago I tried a bunch of the RL Powders and found they tended to get erratic near Peak Pressure. Also had two buddies try what I had left over and they had the same results. Did not try RL-17 though because it was not on the market at the time.

I understand the esteAmed Mr. Woods swears by RL Powders though - and he is NEVER wrong!
-----

"...the test would look much like the pics above ...But I ain't sure," : Woods, 2011

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:
Hey Alan, A long time ago I tried a bunch of the RL Powders and found they tended to get erratic near Peak Pressure. Also had two buddies try what I had left over and they had the same results. Did not try RL-17 though because it was not on the market at the time.

I understand the esteAmed Mr. Woods swears by RL Powders though - and he is NEVER wrong!
-----

"...the test would look much like the pics above ...But I ain't sure," : Woods, 2011

200 yards
.300 WM
208 A-Max
74.2 gr RL-25
.585"

Guys,

Appreciate the input on RL powders. I'm of the habit of trying things for myself such as my, thus far, success with Rel 17 and my previous success with Rel 25.

818 yds with my 30-06 AI running the Nosler 180 BT @ 3000 fps.


Alan

Yeah, I consistantly have problems with RL powders in all my guns! Problem is finding one that won't shoot.

Great pics guys!