Range Test Mcmillan EOL Outdoorsman
- Thread starter Long Time Long Ranger
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Outlaw6.0
Well-Known Member
Hey! Small world, I'll be in Casper this afternoon myself 
Keep up the good work, I'm really interested in your findings with the 200 CEB.
Hats off to the group at McMillan for putting together such a well designed package & then letting one of us beat on it... That says a lot...
Keep up the good work, I'm really interested in your findings with the 200 CEB. Hats off to the group at McMillan for putting together such a well designed package & then letting one of us beat on it...
That says a lot...Long Time Long Ranger
Well-Known Member
Kelly, I think he was coming in close enough to get a good look at that rifle. After he saw it shoot on the range he wanted to make sure he could recognize it at a distance so he knew to run clear to the next county to get away from it if he saw a hunter with one this season.
Outlaw, sorry I missed you. If you or any of the guys near want to shoot sometime just let me know. I can't speak for Mr.Mcmillan but I am sure he would have no objections to a member meeting me at the range and sending a couple rounds to distant targets. We had a blast blowing up a few long range water jugs with it. Got to set them further out next time. A quarter mile gets boring after a while. I will be shooting several times each week throughout the summer. I average probably 200-300+ long range rounds per week easily in several rifles.
Outlaw, sorry I missed you. If you or any of the guys near want to shoot sometime just let me know. I can't speak for Mr.Mcmillan but I am sure he would have no objections to a member meeting me at the range and sending a couple rounds to distant targets. We had a blast blowing up a few long range water jugs with it. Got to set them further out next time. A quarter mile gets boring after a while. I will be shooting several times each week throughout the summer. I average probably 200-300+ long range rounds per week easily in several rifles.
Long Time Long Ranger
Well-Known Member
I was working up some new loads so didn't shoot long range. I kept it to 500 yards to find the most promising loads and then carry them out to long range on my next trip. All the bullets shot well enough to satisfy most hunters and none shot poorly. However two loads in particular were outstanding with accuracy and velocity spreads. Both shot just over two inch groups at 500 yards. One was the 208 Amax with H-870 powder and the other was the 200 grain Cutting Edge with Retumbo. The Amax was loaded with 103 grains H-870 with a fed 215 match primer and seated to an oal of 3.829". The velocities were 3137, 3139, 3136, 3137 and 3139 in a five shot string. This is a light load but just shot like a dream. I drove the 208 Amax to over 3200 fps with no pressure signs out of the Schneider polygon 26" barrel with H-870 at various seating depths but the accuracy node was right here. I shoot where the accuracy is and let the rifle tell me what it likes.
The other top load that was equally accurate was the new 200 grain Cutting Edge bullet loaded with 93 grains retumbo at an oal of 3.984". The velocities were 3334, 3333, 3329, 3335 and 3333 fps. Again just over 2" at 500 yards. I have been looking forward to testing this new offering from Cutting Edge after the success I have had with other bullets from them. They list a BC of .62 and I plan to test that independently as the summer progresses. I know Durvin at Cutting Edge has tested it with actual long range drops as he does with all their bullets and has it down pretty close. It is a beautifuly sleek bullet quite a bit longer than the 210 Berger or the 208 Amax. It shot well out of the 1-10 twist barrel even though it is very long.
I was anxious to test this bullet in the EOL Outdoorsman with the Schneider barrel to see if I got the same results as with some of my rifles. For some reason the cutting edge bullets shoot up to 75-100 fps faster than standard lead core bullets with what seems to be equal pressure loads. Something in the alloy and/or the design of the bullets maybe. This bullet was no different in the Mcmillan rifle. It shot 80 fps faster than what seemed to be equal pressure loads of the 200 grain Nosler Accubond which also shot extremely well in the test. This tendency combined with the high bc per weight of the Cutting Edge bullets give them an advantage at long range shooting. They are extremely accurate and have not been critical to seating depths in the rifles I have shot them in. 3330 fps is fast out of a 26" barrel 300 RUM with a 200 grain bullet however this did not show pressure as a hot load. I regularly shoot 94+ grains of Retumbo with a 200 grain bullet in the 300 RUM.
It is getting late. I will get more loads in tomorrow.
My camera is not working so I can't get pictures up of the groups the past three days but some were very impressive. I thought it just needed batteries and it seemed to work fine taking the pictures but it will not download to my computer. Something has gone haywire in the internal electronics I think. I am taking more pictures tomorrow with my son's camera.
The other top load that was equally accurate was the new 200 grain Cutting Edge bullet loaded with 93 grains retumbo at an oal of 3.984". The velocities were 3334, 3333, 3329, 3335 and 3333 fps. Again just over 2" at 500 yards. I have been looking forward to testing this new offering from Cutting Edge after the success I have had with other bullets from them. They list a BC of .62 and I plan to test that independently as the summer progresses. I know Durvin at Cutting Edge has tested it with actual long range drops as he does with all their bullets and has it down pretty close. It is a beautifuly sleek bullet quite a bit longer than the 210 Berger or the 208 Amax. It shot well out of the 1-10 twist barrel even though it is very long.
I was anxious to test this bullet in the EOL Outdoorsman with the Schneider barrel to see if I got the same results as with some of my rifles. For some reason the cutting edge bullets shoot up to 75-100 fps faster than standard lead core bullets with what seems to be equal pressure loads. Something in the alloy and/or the design of the bullets maybe. This bullet was no different in the Mcmillan rifle. It shot 80 fps faster than what seemed to be equal pressure loads of the 200 grain Nosler Accubond which also shot extremely well in the test. This tendency combined with the high bc per weight of the Cutting Edge bullets give them an advantage at long range shooting. They are extremely accurate and have not been critical to seating depths in the rifles I have shot them in. 3330 fps is fast out of a 26" barrel 300 RUM with a 200 grain bullet however this did not show pressure as a hot load. I regularly shoot 94+ grains of Retumbo with a 200 grain bullet in the 300 RUM.
It is getting late. I will get more loads in tomorrow.
My camera is not working so I can't get pictures up of the groups the past three days but some were very impressive. I thought it just needed batteries and it seemed to work fine taking the pictures but it will not download to my computer. Something has gone haywire in the internal electronics I think. I am taking more pictures tomorrow with my son's camera.
WildRose
Well-Known Member
I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but I have to ask. ... . Are you full length resizing or neck sizing only for these loads?
Again thanks for such a great running thread with very detailed info as others have mentioned.
Outlaw6.0
Well-Known Member
Don, I will take you up on that offer, Thermop isn't all that far from home. Great excuse to get away for the weekend & do some shooting!
I appreciate that .
Long Time Long Ranger
Well-Known Member
I am using a full length sizing die and setting it short to neck size.
WildRose
Well-Known Member
That's what I figured. I don't see how even with the best made rifle such precision and consistency could be achieved, but I appreciate the confirmation.
Long Time Long Ranger
Well-Known Member
Brass prep and consistent technique are the keys to best accuracy.
WildRose
Well-Known Member
No argument from me at all.
Long Time Long Ranger
Well-Known Member
Looking back through my notes with the Nosler accubond bullet it likes to be seated within .005" of the lands and loaded to top velocities between 3200-3250 fps. Any faster or further from the lands in this rifle and velocity spreads increase and groups spread.
Looking back on the testing to this point one of the primary things I see is that the rifle shoots well with several different top bullets. So no matter which bullet a hunter prefers to shoot in it a top load can be produced. On some days my loads matched the conditions and I was able to hit on some extremely consistent loads with both accuracy and velocity spreads. The same loads with different conditions may perform slightly to much differently. The best target shooters keep exceptional notes and can match loads to range conditions for best results. As hunters and this is a hunting rifle we do not have that luxury. All we can hope for is to match a load that is the most stable in a wide array of conditions. This rifle has shown the ability to shoot many loads well with different bullets and powders. That is the best you can hope for in a hunting type rifle.
Looking back on the testing to this point one of the primary things I see is that the rifle shoots well with several different top bullets. So no matter which bullet a hunter prefers to shoot in it a top load can be produced. On some days my loads matched the conditions and I was able to hit on some extremely consistent loads with both accuracy and velocity spreads. The same loads with different conditions may perform slightly to much differently. The best target shooters keep exceptional notes and can match loads to range conditions for best results. As hunters and this is a hunting rifle we do not have that luxury. All we can hope for is to match a load that is the most stable in a wide array of conditions. This rifle has shown the ability to shoot many loads well with different bullets and powders. That is the best you can hope for in a hunting type rifle.
WildRose
Well-Known Member
Well stated. I've always settled on whatever load worked best overall because there's no way I'm going in the field with different ammo and different ballistics to work with based on what the conditions are on a given day.
If I had all the time in the world to work up loads AND was planning a once in a lifetime safari I might consider going to such extremes, but I'm trying to put it where it counts every time, not beat my closest competitor's best group by .003.
From following your posts it appear that the EOL most certainly is a rifle that will perform consistently well with a variety of bullets, powders, loads, in all conditions.
Long Time Long Ranger
Well-Known Member
Well the Nosler 200 grain accubond data didn't get in there somehow.
I tried bumping up the powder charge from a load in my notes and seated the bullet deeper. I bumped it from 93 grains Retumbo to 94 grains and seated the bullet .01" deeper from 3.759" to 3.749". The velocity increased to 3276 fps and the velocity spreads jumped to 28 fps. Groups spread to about .75 moa at 400 yards.
I tried the H-870 powder also with this bullet with good results. I loaded 104 grains and got a 3228 fps average with a 12 fps velocity spread. This was a mild load with this rifle. Accuracy was excellent producing a moa in the .3's at 400 yards. I felt this was excellent performance for a true quality hunting bullet with a good bc. The oal on this load was 3.755"
I tried bumping up the powder charge from a load in my notes and seated the bullet deeper. I bumped it from 93 grains Retumbo to 94 grains and seated the bullet .01" deeper from 3.759" to 3.749". The velocity increased to 3276 fps and the velocity spreads jumped to 28 fps. Groups spread to about .75 moa at 400 yards.
I tried the H-870 powder also with this bullet with good results. I loaded 104 grains and got a 3228 fps average with a 12 fps velocity spread. This was a mild load with this rifle. Accuracy was excellent producing a moa in the .3's at 400 yards. I felt this was excellent performance for a true quality hunting bullet with a good bc. The oal on this load was 3.755"
WildRose
Well-Known Member
Just out of curiosity, have you tried H-869 which essentially replace H-870 as their go to over bore powder?
