First post. 6.5x284 ladder test problem

[BrentM]

ol Greyfox is what I consider an expert on this caliber. Follow his advice it will save you some head aches.

What is interesting is how similar some of the savage findings are. For example: at 53 gr H4831sc, I started getting pressure signs. 54 was too much. I was able to get 2900 at 53grs .015 off the lands with Berger TARGET VLDs. They had a much smaller bearing surface so pressure was lower. As soon as I switched to the VLD hunting and larger bearing surface pressure went up and speed went down.

Also, I had to pull my bullets off the lands due to a long throat, common in Savages I believe, and so far the rifle seems to like .075-.080 off the lands. This depth puts the bullet far enough in the neck to get better seating alignment and securement. It was easy to knock the bullet off center while handling.

Good luck and happy shooting/hunting. I wish I could find reloading supplies around here so I could test more and fine tune Thank god I have a good load to work with that performs well now. 2970 fps, .075 off lands, 215M, Lapau brass, neck sized, 57.5 grains retumbo. Seems to shoot consistent .35 MOA. Not too shabby, although I am hoping for .25 or less someday.

 

[AlanSipling]

BrentM,
I have heard that about the savages aswell. Is urs a 30" tube aswell? I am using the target hybrids. Only chose them because they have the highest B.C. (0.618). Do you sort your bergers by bearing length? I have only just started on the journey of 1000 yard capable reloading so I have not done that yet. I think I am gonna have to watch for pressure signs if I touch the lands or the air temp rises. It was only about 45°f when I tested. Can't you mail order reloading components there? I am guessing ur from the USA? I am from the UK. Do u target shoot or hunt?

 

[BrentM]

24" barrel.
Hunt. I am not much of a target guy.

It is hard to find components in the US right now. Freaking Obama and anti gun agenda has folks flipping out and hording supplies.

 

[AlanSipling]

24"? You do well to get those velocities then!! I must have a slow barrel as I have 2980fps with 52.8 grains of h4832sc and its 30"!! In the UK we can just about get any components thru the post. Powder has to be sent via TNT courier ($30 a delivery) but you don't even have to prove u have a permit unless u want ballistic tip bullets. The UK government says those are more dangerous than hollow points or hornady a max's!!! So those need to be collected from a dealer and u need to show ur permit. What do you hunt? I am mainly foxes and the occasional deer.

 

[Greyfox]

24"? You do well to get those velocities then!! I must have a slow barrel as I have 2980fps with 52.8 grains of h4832sc and its 30"!! In the UK we can just about get any components thru the post. Powder has to be sent via TNT courier ($30 a delivery) but you don't even have to prove u have a permit unless u want ballistic tip bullets. The UK government says those are more dangerous than hollow points or hornady a max's!!! So those need to be collected from a dealer and u need to show ur permit. What do you hunt? I am mainly foxes and the occasional deer.

I think your velocities are very close to what would be expected using your load of H4831sc out of a 30" barrel. A 24/26" barrel runs around 2920-2940 with H4831sc. Brent's higher velocities are being generated with a slower burning powder. I would expect your 30" barrel to run 3030-3060FPS with Brents load of 57.5 of Retumbo.IMO.

 

[BrentM]

Deer, elk, bear, wolf, mountain lion, antelope, coyote, turkey. Those are the main hunting animals here. You can get a draw for mountain goat, big horn sheep, and moose if you are very lucky.

With this rifle I will hunt wolf and coyote. I primarily archery hunt deer, elk, turkey, and bear.

 

[AlanSipling]

Grey fox,
You're correct, brentM was getting 2900 fps with 53 gr h4831sc. I was always under the impression that you got 30-50 fps more per inch of barrel tho. Now I think that's way over optimistic. 10-15 fps seems more realistic. I am happy with reaching 2980 fps. Seems a popular accuracy range for this round. On my ladder test 52.6-52.8-53.0 grains gave me the same velocity(2fps spread) and a mere half inch vertical spread on the bladder test at 500 yards. I admit this may not be particularly repeatable at this range but its a good place to experiment with seating depth.
BrenM,
Your really lucky there in USA to have such a variety to hunt. We have just deer (4 main species) and foxes plus small vermin. Bows are illegal to hunt with here. Would not want to face elk with a stick and some string tho!! Lol

 

[ShootnMathews]

Lol. I do most of my hunting with a longbow. Gun are just for fun. I do gun hunt some. Killed a nice 9 pt with my mosin nagant at 345 yards this year and a coyote and nice 7 pt with "stick and string"

 

[BrentM]

Something to keep in mind perhaps is that 2900 fps was at 4200 ft with a small bearing surface bullet. I was going to use that load as my hunting set up but I discovered the target bullet was not going to work for hunting. I changed to the hunting VLD and wound up with larger bearing surface loads. I re-tested and was in the 2850 range but higher speeds gave me pressure signs. That is the same day I had a can of Retumbo that Greyfox said to try. I loaded up two 57.5 and two 58.5 rounds. The 57.5 gave me 2975 and 2985 that day. 58.5 was around 3008 and 3020 if I remember right but I was seeing some signs of pressure and really dirty barrel. Not all the powder was being burnt up completly I beleive.

On another note, archery hunting for elk is my passion for sure when it comes to hunting. I had a great year last year and called in 25 bulls. That means called in to 60 yards or less.

 

[marioq]

Brentm,

Where you chase elk ??
I am trying to get some retumbo to load on my 111 but can't find any. I have. 4831 not sc and will try that as well as RL 22 and 25. As soon as I get my scope mounted and this dang wind in Vegas stops blowing 40 MPH, maybe I can start shooting

 

[BrentM]

I be in I-dee-hoooo.

I know what you mean about finding powder. I got super lucky and found 1 can at Cabelas and 1 at a local shop. I have not seen any new powder since. My shooting and testing days are pretty much over unless I want to spend the cash on a bulk order from Midway or something. I just don't want to spend 200 plus for an 8 lb keg. I tried to split it with a buddy but he doesn't want to spend the cash, ugh.

H4831 in either form is good. The sc is easier to load up. H4350 is fine too. I would expect 2750 to 2850 and good accuracy. My rifle did well with 48g 4350 and 51-51.5 of 4831. These were the loads that did not have pressure issues.

 

[AlanSipling]

BrentM,
25? Wow, that's quite a freezer full of meat!! How does the bow deal with elk? They are HUGE things!! It amazes me that if we were to shoot it with a rifle then we would feel under gunned with anything less than a .30 calibre. Twang an arrow at it and I would expect it just to get annoyed!! Lol.
I am shooting at about 100ft above sea level. This would I presume reduce my velocity( thicker air?)

 

[AlanSipling]

BrentM,
Good point, my velocity did not increase thru 0.6 grain increase. Will check my barrel for unburnt powder next time I shoot.

 

[BrentM]

LOL, I didn't shoot 25. In fact I did not shoot any elk last year. I shot a very large bodied bull the year before and had tons of meat left. Therefore I was being very picky and had a couple of large 360-380 class bulls I was chasing around.

Archery is extremely leathal. It is not uncommon for my 73 lb draw weight bow to fling a 460 grain arrow completely through an elk. I have dropped them in their tracks and had them run off 300-400 yards and DOA. The one thing I do know, hit them correctly and they are dead in a short period of time.

Yeah if you are not getting a change in FPS you are done. Back it down and look for accuracy. With a 30" barrel I would be looking at the slower burn powders personally. H1000, retumbo, etc. Give it a shot, might be worth the effort.