First Rifle Load Development

[Belmont148]

So I finally got out yesterday to shoot all of my work up loads for 3 different rifles. A Colt LE901 .308, a Colt SP6720 Tactical Light Carbine (Talo TLC), and a Ruger Mini 30 Tactical.

I was surprised at the difference in accuracy when working up to the right charge and then going over it. These custom loads definitely shoot better than the factory stuff.

Here is the best load for the Ruger. 28.0 gr. H4895 behind a 123 gr. Hornady Z-Max bullet with Winchester LR primer and Winchester brass. Not sure why the Ruger's get such a bad wrap for accuracy. Not bad to me for an AK round in a 6# semi-auto rifle with a 16" barrel.

 

[Belmont148]

Here is the best recipe for the Colt .308. This gun was shot at 100 yds with just a red dot. So i will do a little more fine tuning around this powder charge once the Trijicon 3.5 comes in. However, I was still impressed with the accuracy of this load over the factory FMJ with just the red dot.

44.4 gr. Varget behind Hornady 168 gr. A-Max bullet with CCI 250 primer and Lake City Brass.

 

[Belmont148]

I was not as impressed with the .223. Not sure if I need to keep working higher on the charge, or if the gun is just not very accurate with the pencil barrel. Or maybe it wants a heavier bullet. Either way, here was the best result with the CFE 223 powder.

27.4 gr. CFE 223 behind Hornady 55 gr. FML BT with CCI 450 primer and Winchester brass. This was also shot with an Eotech red dot.

 

[ironworkerwill]

Hey,3''x3'' that's a good ak group.

 

[Belmont148]

Yeah, I would have expected the AK round to shoot the 3" group and the $1500 Colt to shoot the 1.70" group not the opposite.

 

[ironworkerwill]

I would expect to get what I paid for. It's most likely to be the load not the weapon. I'd try varget in that .223 also, if supply allows.

 

[Belmont148]

Well, I actually think it needs a lighter load. I am close to max at 27.4. What happened was I waisted my first 4 development loads because the sights were off. I was told the gun was sighted in with the irons so I shot 4 rounds onto 4 different targets without a spotting scope and walked up to find nothing on the paper. So I lost the data for 26.2-26.8 grains. One of those was probably the sweet spot. The Varget is so hard to get, I have to load what I have into bout 200 308 rounds. I do have 2 pounds of h4198 that I am going to try and see if it will cycle this AR. All the good battle rifle powders are so hard to come by I am working with less than ideal setups.

Hopefully I can Get a decent load with the CFE 223 and also the H4198 will work.

 

[ironworkerwill]

Well the shortages of today's environment is constrictive. It has forced me to find different ways to do what I want to do. I love varget and I like H414. But, I found a local store who has several 1lb cans of Re 17. I've never used 17 before and now its my new favorite in 7mm-08.