Nature Boy
Member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2015
- Messages
- 8,259
I've decided to deer hunt this year with a sporterized 1903A3 and to that end I've been working up some loads for it. I figured I would share where I'm at in the process with you guys.
The most accurate so far was 125g Nosler BTs and IMR 4064 but I decided not to use anything lighter that 150g. I'm sure the 125's would get the job done but I'd rather go heavier and have a bit more margin for error.
Loads I've tested include the following bullet/powder combinations:
125 Nosler BT / IMR4064
150 Hornady SST / RL19
150 Nosler BT / RL19
150 Nosler Partition / RL19
168 Berger VLD Hunting / IMR4350
180 Nosler BT / RL22
The most consistently accurate (behind the 125g BTs) turned out to be the Berger 186 VLD Hunting so I decided to put my effort behind those. After finding 57g of IMR4350 worked best I did a distance-to-the-lands exercise following Berger's manual starting at 0.010 off. I found that the starting COAL was best with another node at 0.090 almost as good.
So the load looks like this:
168g Berger VLD Hunting
57g IMR4350
Hornady case trimmed to their recommended length
Fed 210M primer
OAL 3.445
Chrono results were surprisingly consistent with the average being ~2,670 FPS and SD between 7 and 14
Here's a 5 shot group at 100 yards
And here's a 10 shot group at 200 yards.
I believe the horizontal stringing is due to a couple of factors, not the least of which is my shooting position (not the most stable, see pic above). Also, Boyd's stock is not bedded. I plan to tackle that after hunting season.
Certainly good enough for deer hunting.....but I can't help but try to wring some more accuracy out of it.....mainly because its fun!
The most accurate so far was 125g Nosler BTs and IMR 4064 but I decided not to use anything lighter that 150g. I'm sure the 125's would get the job done but I'd rather go heavier and have a bit more margin for error.
Loads I've tested include the following bullet/powder combinations:
125 Nosler BT / IMR4064
150 Hornady SST / RL19
150 Nosler BT / RL19
150 Nosler Partition / RL19
168 Berger VLD Hunting / IMR4350
180 Nosler BT / RL22
The most consistently accurate (behind the 125g BTs) turned out to be the Berger 186 VLD Hunting so I decided to put my effort behind those. After finding 57g of IMR4350 worked best I did a distance-to-the-lands exercise following Berger's manual starting at 0.010 off. I found that the starting COAL was best with another node at 0.090 almost as good.
So the load looks like this:
168g Berger VLD Hunting
57g IMR4350
Hornady case trimmed to their recommended length
Fed 210M primer
OAL 3.445
Chrono results were surprisingly consistent with the average being ~2,670 FPS and SD between 7 and 14
Here's a 5 shot group at 100 yards
And here's a 10 shot group at 200 yards.
I believe the horizontal stringing is due to a couple of factors, not the least of which is my shooting position (not the most stable, see pic above). Also, Boyd's stock is not bedded. I plan to tackle that after hunting season.
Certainly good enough for deer hunting.....but I can't help but try to wring some more accuracy out of it.....mainly because its fun!