jaysouth
Member
My favorite gun is a Remington 700 Light Tactical Rifle. It has a 20" 1:9 twist fluted barrel, a Remington 40X trigger and a target stock. So far I have put about a thousand rounds of regular pressure ammo, factory and reloads through it.
Where I do most of my shooting, the range is limited to 215 yards. As I thought about wear and tear on the barrel, I asked myself, "do I need 3,300 fps loads to punch paper and ring steel at 200 Yards"?
Looking at the net, I found some reduced loads from a usually reliable source. I started the test with Hornady 55 gr fmjbt (2267B) and 14 to 15 grains of 2400. In that range of powder weights, I found an accuracy node that gave me almost MOA accuracy at 200 years and rang steel with authority. Switching to better hornady bullets and match CCI primers, I got a hair less than MOA. However, I went back to the 2267s and WSPs when I realized that I did not need to spend extra money to slightly increase accuracy to hit 12 inch gongs. I have not chronographed the loads, but I guess around 2,100 fps with clean ignition, clean barrel and freshly ejected cases that were cold to the touch. With neck sizing and regular annealing, LC cases go over 20 loadings. I have had some good down range results with Blue Dot but it is dirty.
My "mid-range" load will not cycle an AR.
I am working up loads for the 30-06 and 16-18 grs. 2400 with M-80 pull down FMJ bullets. I will get back to you on that project.
Where I do most of my shooting, the range is limited to 215 yards. As I thought about wear and tear on the barrel, I asked myself, "do I need 3,300 fps loads to punch paper and ring steel at 200 Yards"?
Looking at the net, I found some reduced loads from a usually reliable source. I started the test with Hornady 55 gr fmjbt (2267B) and 14 to 15 grains of 2400. In that range of powder weights, I found an accuracy node that gave me almost MOA accuracy at 200 years and rang steel with authority. Switching to better hornady bullets and match CCI primers, I got a hair less than MOA. However, I went back to the 2267s and WSPs when I realized that I did not need to spend extra money to slightly increase accuracy to hit 12 inch gongs. I have not chronographed the loads, but I guess around 2,100 fps with clean ignition, clean barrel and freshly ejected cases that were cold to the touch. With neck sizing and regular annealing, LC cases go over 20 loadings. I have had some good down range results with Blue Dot but it is dirty.
My "mid-range" load will not cycle an AR.
I am working up loads for the 30-06 and 16-18 grs. 2400 with M-80 pull down FMJ bullets. I will get back to you on that project.