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Reviving an old thread…

Best group I have shot to date with my 308CTR…great early morning at the range with no wind and perfect conditions…God I wish everyday produced groups like this! 

5 shots @ 200yrds
Lapua Brass
168gr Amax
45gr Varget
Coal – 2.825″

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Have you tried hitting the receiver / rail with a soft mallet?  Sometimes thread lock will stick the rail to the receiver.

You could also try a little heat with a torch to warm it up…

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These are some of the best 500m shots at a specific point of aim I have seen with a good wind.  Well done!
Great Gun!!!

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Well…my gun likes Bergers with a jump, .040 off the lands shot best.
YukonAl was right on suggesting a jump may work well.
It was a terrible day for shooting, very windy and humid! But results were easy to see over multiple groups.
Shot the first round of test groups in terrible wind then the second round of groups were much better when I waited for the wind to die off while setting up any playing with the chrono.

Here are the averages of 5 shot groups over 24.5gr Varget for each seating depth:
.040 off lands (2.41 coal) = 1/4 moa average (2840fps) 
.030 off lands (2.42 coal) = 1/2 moa average (2860fps)
.020 off lands (2.43 coal) = 3/4 moa average (2875fps) slight primer issues…
.010 off lands (2.44 coal) NO results…could not complete test due to primer issues.

Group 2 in the picture was a good group even with shot 5 pulled…GREAT chrono results:
Cold Bore – 2829 fps
#2 – 2845 fps
#3 – 2844 fps
#4 – 2852 fps
#5 – 2850 fps

If you exclude the cold bore shot ES = 7 / SD = 4,…thats the best chrono results I have ever experienced.

BUT, I have to re-run the entire test and most of the load development over again.
I'm having major primer issues using CCI400's…

I've had a few pierced primers at various powder charges well below max load during load development.
Brass is showing no signs of pressure at all but the primer is starting to become a big problem.
Spoke with a few reloaders with more experience and all suggested a thicker cup primer to handle the higher pressures.  I guess thats why I can't get near max loads that most guys are able to shoot.

CCI Br4, and Remington 7.5 primers seem to be what most guys suggest to move to… so starting the entire process over again to see if I can increase the velocity a get better results.

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Great paint job!  very cool…

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Great result on the test!  Nice Group.

I'm running the same test this weekend with 80.5gr in my 223…
Touching to .050 off the lands.

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Keep your good load and start going in. You'll see excellent results, and maybe good chrono numbers when you get to .010-.015″ off the lands…or what you call “jam”

80.5 FullBores are comparable to Hybrids, and shoot great with a slight jump.

Thats the test I plan on this weekend shooting over a chrono to see what type of velocity I'm getting.
Sort of disappointed that my rifle can't handle the larger charge but what can you do…hoping I'm over 2800fps with 24.5grs…thats where I'm hoping to find a staple load without a drastic POI sight in different conditions.

My previous load of 25.5gr of Varget pushing the 75Amax only showed slight primer flattening so thought I would be able to load up to 25grs with the 80.5 Berger but not the case.
Sure wish the Amax's where more consistent on the tips, spent a lot of time working with that bullet.

Any of you guys using magnum primers with a case this full for a heavy bullet?

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No Chrono data yet, only testing for groups to see how the bullet reacted to powder and seating depth.
Guessing I'll be around 2800fps with the powder charge thats grouping well….Guys running 25grs of Varget are getting 2900fps +++ with a 24″ barrel.

I'm going to try the Berger recommended test for seating depth now that I have a good starting point.
Loving the bullet so far, everything is more consistent. 

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Action is bedded, turned out great, and I also bedded the barrel channel.
Will post pictures when its all cleaned up.

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Hey Bill,

Email or PM your address to me…I'll ship to you today if we connect in time.
All ready to go my friend…

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I'll email you later tonight when I check the brass pile.

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Let me see what I have kicking around.  After checking into this it might be possible for me to send it to you.

Send me your email so we can converse off forum.

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Was hoping you were a fellow Canadian…I have a surplus of Barnes brass that I would have given to you…
Not sure I can ship it across the border without issues…

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Where you located?

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Hey Dog, your exp with 75gr a-max is concerning.  Do you have any method of checking them for concentricity?  I see they are avail at brownells in 600 ct lot now

I roll them on a piece of flat steel…you can actually see the tip sway, its easy to spot the bad from the good.
I previously shot a 600ct box with only a couple projectiles having an apparent problem,…Nothing like the issue I'm experiencing now with the last 2 – 100ct boxes…I've heard of guys having inconsistencies with the 75 amax on other forums but this is the first time I've experienced it myself.

I been shooting Amax's in my 308 & 300 for a couple years now and have never seen this issue in the larger 30cal pills…I guess its just a bad batch but makes you wonder how many you shoot without noticing if the tip is good or not.  I have honestly not checked the tips too closely before…it might be a common thing if you inspect them.

If all goes well with the 80.5 Bergers I'll be switching for sure…I've measured and weighed a bunch of these and they are 1 of the most consistent projectiles I've reviewed so far for my 223 reloading. Very pleased with them so far.  I'm also testing the 77gr Lapua as well…very good bullet as well, both seem to be better than the Amax.

Love your thinking on the trimmer.
I was looking at the Girand but I ended up going with individual Little Crow trimmers for each calibre I shoot.  I was tired of adjusting tools and didn't want to go through that again every time I trimmed different brass.  I think the Girand is a better trimmer overall but its more work to use and I'm all about cutting my reloading time these days. 

Once you upgrade to any trimmer that cuts off the shoulder you will have better neck consistency and it leads to better ES / SD results…I've seen it first hand with my reloading.  If you are doing mostly 223 loading / shooting its not a bad investment for the Little Crow trimmer.  The improvement and time it saves is well worth the investment.