Reloder 25/Retumbo & .30-378 data needed!

[Judah Ben-Hur]

Need some data......... then its time to go out and play.

I bought some RL-25 some time ago (too long ago) but never could find any solid data for a Weatherby .30-378 and drifted away from the shooting rifles for a couple of years. Emailed the company the other day but they didn't have their own data for this caliber. Some of it is RL-22 data and work up from its maximum......... :-( . I have found the powder makers data to be more realistic than the bullet makers from past experience. I have 180/200 Nosler Partitions, 180 Combined Technology, Sierra 180 Gamekings, 200/220 Match HPBT's, 180 Barnes X/XBT's on hand to play with. Just stated to get back into the reloading game (Hornet & 30-378) for now. More to follow! Always used H50BMG, H870, AA8700 in the past with good success. Thought I would try some newer powders so I loaded up some Retumbos the other day but they were iffy with 220 gr HPBT's. Would like a realistic RL-25 starting area for 180's on up. The gun is a factory stock Accumark with 6.5X20X50 scope. She is still is a shooter with the factory stuff after sitting for about two years.

Here is a 100 yard 3 shot group with factory ammo @ 3400 fps, clean barrel. I could never get the reloads with Barnes X's to shoot worth a damn. :-(

 

[Judah Ben-Hur]

200 yard group shot on another day with factory ammo.

 

[dakotasin]

starting at rl-22's max and working up is probably the best way to do it. i've had to use that method before, and it works fine... your starting point will actually be a little low, but not that big of a deal.

 

[Judah Ben-Hur]

Looks like that is what I will have to do. I hope they are not too ridicously? low. :banghead:

 

[cola8d8]

Just some input... I have had very good groups and very consistant velocity (+/- 9-12 fps ES) using lots of retumbo in a 300 RUM. 3380 with 180s, 26 in bbl. Still under max load in the book.

 

[Judah Ben-Hur]

I will eventually get around to Retumbo with 180's but wanted to play around with the heavier bullets. I ran into some pressure @ 107 gr. with the 220's going 3175 fps. Need to pull the rest that I had loaded and move on. So far, the accuracy hasn't shown all the way through to my liking with the Retumbo/220 gr HPBT's combo. Probably when all is said and done, I will be putting H870 or AA8700 in the things.

 

[cola8d8]

How long is your bbl? I have tried H1000 and RL 25 in mine (300 RUM). All seemed to group better the faster you pushed the 180 accubonds (1 in 10 twist). Retumbo grouped a little better and gave me less of an extreme spread.

 

[cola8d8]

also... Be sure to check out http://www.stevespages.com/page8a.htm it lists 95-102 RL 25 for a 200 grain bullet, seems anything over 200 does not list RL 25

 

[Judah Ben-Hur]

...... 26 inch.

A couple of years ago, H50BMG was very, very, very accurate in my gun with 180 and 200 gr pills of different makes (except Barnes). I bought it when I purchased the rifle and it was my first reloadings that put the Accumark through the paces. It was very favorable from start to max loadings. It didn't have quite the velocity as the others I tried. I want both! .... but I probably shouldn't be worried over a few less fps. Still have a brand new 5lb jug of it plus some H870 stash. I finally got over the 3500 fps with a 180 gr bullet kick that I was into for awhile. ;-)

Thanks for the address, I had that at one time but lost alot of info with a hard drive crash of days gone by. Somewhere in my travels I remember a good discussion about RL-25 vs Retumbo and one favoring heavier bullets over the other. I think it was mostly 300 RUM related too. It could have been www.longrangehunting.com but not sure. I will have to go dig some more.

 

[cola8d8]

or www.accuratereloading.com bunch of bright guys there too.