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velocity help
Hello follks!
Spent the day punching sub 1 MOA groups from my T3 lite .30-06 with my handloads.
Current load:
150 Grain Hornady SST
IMR 4451: max load of 57.8 grains Compressed
Primer: CCI 200
5 shot group using this load, measured .791″ CTC. @ 100 yds lasered.according to Hodgdons 2017 manual, it shows 57.8 grains of 4451 out of a 24″ barrel going 2960 fps. My prochrono digital shows 2840 fps. Not that 2840 is a slouch, but… does almost a 120 fps difference sound right to you guys? the 22 5/8″ barrel isn't THAT much short. i expected 20-40 fps difference, not 120. my barrel looks really tight, cleans up beautifully, etc.
Your thoughts?????
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4 Replies
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If your getting the accuracy your after don't worry about the speed , if you get the speed you might lose the sub 1 moa , on my creedmoor I've only checked the speed once I got the accuracy just for dialling the scope
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If you factor in differing ambient conditions such as temperature, barometer, altitude, etc. and then add type of brass and primer used, not to mention different chronys and rifle chambers, one could easily find a difference of 120fps, if everything else about the loads and rifles were identical, which they probably are not.
Not going to make much difference in performance unless you are planning to shoot beyond 600 meters/yards.
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Another anecdote with a different .30-06 and different components. Bullet is Hornady 150 GMX, powder is IMR4064, brass is Remington once-fired, primers are CCI Large Rifle. Hornady tests with essentially the same rifle as mine but they use Hornady or Frontier cases and Winchester Large rifle primers.
Hornady says you can load to 55.6 grains and expect 3,000 FPS. I got 3,000 FPS with 52 grains. At 55 grains, which their load data says is acceptable in THEIR tests, my primers were flattened and cratered. In fact, I finally settled on 52 grains and still get a bit of flattening and cratering.
Even with monolithic (copper) bullets, which have to go fast in order to open, I'll take accuracy over speed any day. I stick to shots less than about 200 yards, so even a 200-300 FPS MV loss is acceptable so long as the load is accurate.
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I switched to a Nosler Ballistic Tip, over 65G (compressed max load, did work up) of hodgdon's SUPERFORMANCE powder, and got 3040 fps average, with a VERY tight spread. With the target blowing around in the wind, and a 2-7x scope, i got a 1.5″ group, plenty acceptable. I am looking at my options for a 165/168 grain bullet, to have a one size fits all approach for just about any north american critter i ever chose to hunt. I “want” to shoot the 168 combined Technology Nosler Ballistic tip, which seems to get really really good reviews from everyone. Thicker jacket so it doesn't BOOM open like they used to. my SST 150's just about exploded, but i never had to track a deer. I have purchased the BEST reloading equipment i could find, and i want to really make my hand loaded rounds perfect. in every aspect. accurate, fast, clean.
My gear is as follows.
Forster Co-AX press
Forster Ultimate micrometer seating die
RCBS trim Pro 2 case trimmer
RCBS 5.10 scale
my Full length resizing die is a Hornady custom series, and for what i can tell works perfectly.
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