Has anyone actually chronoed the various Nosler cartridges. I'm having a hard time with the ME and MV numbers given when you look at magnum cartridges in like caliber. Just wondering...

I suspect the best thing for you to do is chronograph the rifle, or have someone do it for you..that's the only way you will actually know..

I'd rather imagine that you'd find the same exaggerated data with everyone's ammo.
At least that's been my experience.

I bought some of the Nosler .225 gr Partition cartridges for my .350 Rem mag. I did get pretty close to their advertised velocity in my 673 Remington. I don't off the top of my head remember how close it was though.

I haven't shot them but I do have two .338 Lapua mags, one of which I currently use Nosler brass and the other I shoot Hornady but recently tested Nosler. The Nosler brass, with exactly the same load, shoots about 40 fps faster. That said, the Hornady brass is extremely accurate and gives very low SDs so I continue to use it.

I'm having no problem getting Nosler's published velocities with the little 28 factory ammo I chronographed and no problem beating it with handloads. Its like they are barely trying with the factory stuff, but its cheaper than the empty brass here. Friends who also tend to be STWcentric are having like results.

My friends 26 Nosler factory rifle on the other hand was both slow and inaccurate whatever we did with it. There's reasonable limits to the amount of powder that can be shoved down a hole and they are teetering on it.We found the same thing with the 6.5 STW 20 some years ago.

My experience with Nosler’s ammo is that for mainstream SAAMI spec cartridges their info on the box is pretty accurate, slow rifles shoot a little slower, fast a little faster... within 50 or so FPS.

One of their field reps convinced me to get a .26 Nosler.

I cannot get the velocities claimed out of factory ammo... it’s running about 200 FPS slower than their claims, and while it shoots roughly MOA, I don’t find it a miraculously accurate rifle like Barsness et al claim it to be.

Further, I have yet to get my reloads to be anywhere near as fast as the watered down factory speeds, which tells me that their velocity claims are “overly optimistic” in their proprietary cartridges.

I also don’t see much difference between their over 6.5 cartridge line up and the Dakota line, which I have better luck with getting stated results and accuracy from, although a sample of one Nosler and two Dakotas is hardly statistically significant.

I'm in the middle of a 28 Nosler build for myself and one for a guide-friend of mine.

Another friend was at the bench one day shooting his custom with 195 VLD Elite Hunters and I watched him fling them at 3100 fps with stellar accuracy at range.

Damn impressive if you ask me.

Zeke

I'm getting 3068 fps average with 195 EOLs and RL33. Powder charge is about 3 grains less than what Berger gave me over the phone and let's just say a ton less than some internet loads out there.

quote:

Originally posted by Dogleg:
I'm getting 3068 fps average with 195 EOLs and RL33. Powder charge is about 3 grains less than what Berger gave me over the phone and let's just say a ton less than some internet loads out there.

Is that a custom barrel? I have noticed almost all of my custom barrels hit published max velocities well below published max loads.

Yes, its a Frozen Fiber.

Factories quote velocity from 30 inch pressure barrels for the most part, nobody can quote you actually velocity from "your" gun..today the factories come pretty close to average these days as all the "old tricks" have been exposed by the gunscribes, bless their little black hearts!!

The brass is soft in the case head, based on what I've seen with the 26 Nosler....hence the low velocities.

The 26 Nosler seems to be very fussy to load for into the bargain....