Recently acquired a factory Remington 700 DBM 25.5" pipe with brake 1:9.25 twist so I'm starting from scratch.
Range report from today March 19. 33deg 40% humidity 0 wind
100 yards 3 shot groups round robin shooting timed 4 minutes between shots.
CCI magnum primers 3.65 coal .20-.22 jump
This was 4th load on brass
160 AB 74.0 gr H1000 1-7/8" (first shot low, two and three touching high)
160 AB 71.0 gr 7828 2-1/8" (nice triangle)
140 AB 73.5 gr 7828 2" (verticle string)
140 AB 79.0 gr rl 25 3-3/4" (first shot low, two and three high touching)
140 AB 70.5 gr h4831 2-1/8" (verticle string)
160 Barnes XLC 80.0gr rl25 1-5/8" (nice triangle)
160 Barnes XLC 82.0gr h1000 1-7/8" (nice triangle)
Thinking I should redo the two loads with some new brass that had two shots touching. The only thing I can think is that the gun needs 10 or so shots to foul barrel and settle in?
I'd really like to get the 160 AB shooting since I don't have many of the Barnes XLCs.
Any thoughts? Advice?
Thanks
I've heard of some barrels shooting better fouled but I've never personally seen one that took 10 shots to settle in after cleaning. Especially a magnum like the STW. If you clean normally, dry patch everything out to a clean bore, and apply a light coat of oil...you should be back to normal in 1-3 shots. At least that is my experience.
If you're tied to magazine length loads then stick with that.
If you want to go after max potential accuracy then maybe try getting closer to the lands .030 or so at a time to see if the gun likes one amount of jump significantly better than the other. If it shoots better at longer than magazine length then you have a decision to make.
H1000, RL 25, and 7828 are all suitable powders in my opinion. Pick which one you like, have the most of on your bench, or whatever and work up a ladder test. With a factory rifle like that I'd work toward a consistent 1 MOA realistic goal. Some are better, some are worse, but most should do 1 MOA or slightly better. Especially with hand tailored reloads.
All that being said, if it were me...
1. I'd load 9 more rounds with the 160 NAB. (3) .030 longer....(3) .060 longer...(3) .090 longer @ 74.0gr H1000. Shoot those and see what you get. Compare them to the first group you shot with the 74.0gr H1000 at magazine length.
2. Take the best from Step 1 and load up a ladder from the powder range listed in your reloading manual. (If you're using Nosler brass, subtract 1gr from the book values). Probably 1gr increments. You could go smaller increments if you like. Shoot at 200 or 300 yards. 3 shot groups each. Pay attention to group size and vertical from you aiming points. Also watch for pressure and find your max for that combo in your gun.
This is just my process. It's not the be-all/end-all...its just what works for me and usually gets me where I want to go.
Good luck.