Also, on the subject of Sierra 120 HPBT. In my experiance, this will blow up on the near shoulder when driven to 3100 fps in a 25-06. They will fly at paper better than anything I've ever used {7/8" 5 shot groups}. I will never shoot them at anything alive again. Just my experince.

I shoot at long range too, out to 3000 yd.s, and that's alot of driving between shots! But you do, what you gots to do.

good huntin
Dave

[This message has been edited by djd (edited 11-01-2001).]

quote:

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Originally posted by arkypete:
I'm back to piddling around with my Remington Sendero 25-06. Today I was load testing Sierra 117 gr. Spitzer BTs with 52 grains of IMR 4831, CCI mag primers, Remington cases.
This load does rather well at 100 meters but was not doing very well at 300 meters today. I fired shot strings of 10 rounds, with a cooling and a cleaning between shot strings.
I'm wondering if I should find another bullet, say Sierra's 117 HPBT or go completely back to the Speer 100 grain HP, that just eats the center out of the target?
I'm looking to develope a 500 meter load for this rifle and thought that the 117 grain bullet would be a better choice for that distance.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Jim

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A few thoughts....

First, I'd try RL-22. It gives good velocity for heavy bullets at speeds akin to what you would expect from a .257 Weatherby. I use a Fed 215 primer but that's probably not necessary. Accuracy is also excellent.

Second, remember that it is harder to compensate for conditions then it is for range given today's laser rangefinders so while velocity is nice it isn't the end all that it used to be. Certainly where the distance is known, as long as you can keep your bullet reasonably supersonic at the distance you are shooting then you should be OK. Thus, I'd look to try no lighter than a 120 gr. VLD class bullet (like those that Berger once had) and try those. Your Sendero should have a 1/10 twist which should be fast enough for 120s. The better the BC of the bullet, the more likely you're going to have good groups at long range. The army AMU has learned that what works at 100 does not necessarily work at 300 or 600 yards and thus they have different loads for each distance they shoot in competition.

Good luck.

re5513

If your barrel is the one from the factory you might consider yourself lucky, but also consider changing it out for a custom that is better suited to long range shooting.

If it is a factory barrel, it might not be suitable for 10 shot strings without significant cooling during the string.

After checking your load against a couple of manuals and running it on QuickLoad, I would suggest that you increase your load upwards until you get to about 3100 to 3150 fps. This is not a max load suggestion, it is below max, but rather an attempt to get the velocity of the .25 caliber bullets up to a point where they can maintain a decent finishing velocity. I believe this can contribute a lot to your long range shooting with the .25 caliber.

Lastly, I have to agree with the others that suggest shooting for groupings at the yardage that you consider to be important. I know it's a pain with the conditions that you have but I would suggest that you try some of those targets that show a green edge around the hole after being shot.

Just a couple of thoughts and please keep us updated.

Bill

[This message has been edited by R Smith (edited 11-19-2001).]