Looking for some help on finding a load for my Seekins Havak Element 300 WM.
(If you want to skip out on the long winded story below, feel free to reply or send a pm with your load info.)
Looking for something around 200gr at 2800fps+
I purchased the rifle new about 3 months ago, mounted a Trijicon Tenmile 3-18x44 on it, threaded on my Banish 338 suppressor, and took it out to try some loads.
The loads I tried were Peterson Long brass, 75-78 gr. h1000, GM215M, and Berger 205gr bullet. My groups at 100 yards were 1-1/2"-2", I emailed Seekins asking what load is used when testing these rifles, I was told to try Hornady factory ammo. I purchased a box of Precision Hunter 200gr ELDX, went out and shot 5 rounds into a 2" group.
I thought I'd try some shots without the suppressor, I grabbed the suppressor to unthread it and instead, the barrel unthreaded from the action. I emailed Seekins and told them what happened and asked for the torque spec, they said 60Ft/lb, so I brought it to a local gunsmith and had him retorque the barrel. I went out and shot 5 shots of the factory 200gr. into a 3/4" group, then 5 shots of my reloads of which 3 were touching and the other 2 were about 1-1/2" away, again thought I'd try without the suppressor, and again the barrel unthreaded from the action. This time Seekins wanted the rifle back to look it over.
I received the rifle back with a list of things that Seekins had done with it- replaced breech plug- replaced bolt head- installed UBM (free of charge)- bumped and honed chamber- cleaned and lapped barrel- function tested- accuracy tested- and test fired. I also had a voicemail from Seekins saying that they found some paint buildup on the shoulder of the barrel.
Took it out again (this time no suppressor) and tried the factory ammo first with about a 1" 4 shot group (kept the last factory round to pull apart to see what's inside). Then 75gr h1000 load at 2" group, then 76gr h1000 at 2" group. I then put my suppressor back on and shot another 2" group with the 76gr load. Near as I can tell, the barrel is still tight.
I am not impressed with the velocity on the Hornady Precision Hunter 200gr ELDX averaging 2745 FPS. I would think I should be able to find a good shooting load with 200gr.+/- bullet at 2850-2900 fps..
If you have a load for your Element 300 Win please send it my way.
Thanks!
(If you want to skip out on the long winded story below, feel free to reply or send a pm with your load info.)
Looking for something around 200gr at 2800fps+
I purchased the rifle new about 3 months ago, mounted a Trijicon Tenmile 3-18x44 on it, threaded on my Banish 338 suppressor, and took it out to try some loads.
The loads I tried were Peterson Long brass, 75-78 gr. h1000, GM215M, and Berger 205gr bullet. My groups at 100 yards were 1-1/2"-2", I emailed Seekins asking what load is used when testing these rifles, I was told to try Hornady factory ammo. I purchased a box of Precision Hunter 200gr ELDX, went out and shot 5 rounds into a 2" group.
I thought I'd try some shots without the suppressor, I grabbed the suppressor to unthread it and instead, the barrel unthreaded from the action. I emailed Seekins and told them what happened and asked for the torque spec, they said 60Ft/lb, so I brought it to a local gunsmith and had him retorque the barrel. I went out and shot 5 shots of the factory 200gr. into a 3/4" group, then 5 shots of my reloads of which 3 were touching and the other 2 were about 1-1/2" away, again thought I'd try without the suppressor, and again the barrel unthreaded from the action. This time Seekins wanted the rifle back to look it over.
I received the rifle back with a list of things that Seekins had done with it- replaced breech plug- replaced bolt head- installed UBM (free of charge)- bumped and honed chamber- cleaned and lapped barrel- function tested- accuracy tested- and test fired. I also had a voicemail from Seekins saying that they found some paint buildup on the shoulder of the barrel.
Took it out again (this time no suppressor) and tried the factory ammo first with about a 1" 4 shot group (kept the last factory round to pull apart to see what's inside). Then 75gr h1000 load at 2" group, then 76gr h1000 at 2" group. I then put my suppressor back on and shot another 2" group with the 76gr load. Near as I can tell, the barrel is still tight.
I am not impressed with the velocity on the Hornady Precision Hunter 200gr ELDX averaging 2745 FPS. I would think I should be able to find a good shooting load with 200gr.+/- bullet at 2850-2900 fps..
If you have a load for your Element 300 Win please send it my way.
Thanks!