Long Range Rifle/Scope/PRS question(s)

Here is how I keep my mandrels organized and protected...I'm sure there is a better way, but this made the most sense to me. Plus it's cheap and handy to close.

Ok, looking for some input on what folks would do next were this their load workup. A little background, I've burned probably 150 rds to figure out that my rifle doesn't really like StaBall, or doesn't like long bullet jump... Or maybe that it doesn't shoot very well, haven't figured that out yet. Fridays trip with StaBall and 108gr ELDs was disappointing so I skipped hunting today and went back to try some Varget loads (with 112gr and 108gr) that I see mentioned all over the GT load forum on The Hide as kind of a sanity check. I also put together a few AR-Comp loads that I hadn't seen anyone using, but sort of modeled them in QL based on popular Varget loads. Lastly I pulled my muzzle brake and can off and shot with a bare muzzle.

Here's what I got at 200 yd:





Hopefully that's clear enough to see if you click on it and zoom in. If not let me know.

So, better than StaBall, but still not great for the most part, however I think there are a few areas worth looking at, 112gr over 34.5 gr Varget, 112gr over some amount of AR-Comp, and 108gr over 32.4gr AR-Comp.

So what would you do next? Play with charge weights around those loads in smaller increments? Start testing seating depths on one or more of the loads (everything on this trip was 25 thou off hard jammed)?

My sizing mandrels are in the mail, I'll start using them next trip, hopefully they'll help with velocity uniformity.

I'm getting kind of tired of messing with load development on this rifle and my usual methods have not been terribly successful with this rig, so I'm curious what other folks would do at this juncture.

Walkalong said:

1st set of targets bottom right, what load is that?

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108gr ELD, 25 thou off hard jammed, over 32.4gr AR-Comp.

Two follow up questions:

1) All shots were fired yesterday with a magnetospeed hanging off the barrel, I don't usually do that with lighter rifles on the theory that it must mess with barrel oscillations, does anyone do load development like this, and have you seen issues when you take the Magnetospeed off?

2) I've been doing load development off of a bipod for this rifle because my bags are too low for the range benches. How do y'all do load development for your PRS guns? Off bags then move to bipod once you get a load, or off bipod the whole time?

Your rifle likes these primers.

Bipod, Pint Sized Game Changer rear bag, and Lab Radar for me.

Gtscotty said:

1) All shots were fired yesterday with a magnetospeed hanging off the barrel, I don't usually do that with lighter rifles on the theory that it must mess with barrel oscillations, does anyone do load development like this, and have you seen issues when you take the Magnetospeed off?

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I have messed with my rifles between mounted on the barrel, using a spigot mount, or using LabRadar, all for the same load development method, and the node and raw potential of groups never seems to change. Point of impact, yes, but velocity node and group sizes don’t really change.

Gtscotty said:

2) I've been doing load development off of a bipod for this rifle because my bags are too low for the range benches. How do y'all do load development for your PRS guns? Off bags then move to bipod once you get a load, or off bipod the whole time?

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I do the overwhelming majority of my load development for hunting or competition rifles from bipod and rear bag. The only time I don’t is when I don’t have a sling stud, and then I use a Sinclair front rest.

South Prairie Jim said:

View attachment 1038114Your rifle likes these primers.

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It has to if it wants to eat, all I have in quantity are CCI 450s, so that's what all the loads have used

Varminterror said:

I have messed with my rifles between mounted on the barrel, using a spigot mount, or using LabRadar, all for the same load development method, and the node and raw potential of groups never seems to change. Point of impact, yes, but velocity node and group sizes don’t really change.



I do the overwhelming majority of my load development for hunting or competition rifles from bipod and rear bag. The only time I don’t is when I don’t have a sling stud, and then I use a Sinclair front rest.

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That's good to hear, I won't worry about keeping the Magnetospeed on there then.

So if it were you, what would you do next load workup wise?

My thoughts are load up 108s over AR-Comp at 32.4 and maybe play with seating depths, 15, 25, 35 and 60 thou off.

And also load up 112gr over 34.5 Varget and similarly play with seating depth. Also I think I might try a little more AR-Comp with the 112gr, it's getting up there pressure wise, but the barrel seems to like just under 2,900 fps.

Alternatively, maybe I just load up a bunch of the 108gr and AR-Comp load and run out to to 600, 750, 1000 to see what it looks like... That would certainly be more fun.

To an earlier comment, I usually only change one variable at a time, but I was getting frustrated messing with the rifle, so I figured that if it didn't shoot at least one of these popular loads well there was probably something wrong with the barrel or rifle that needed deeper investigation.

taliv said:

given the price of primers, i'd recommend getting a barrel tuner and skipping the load workup stuff. load work up would just be to hit a target velocity without pressure, not trying to find the smallest group

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Interesting, haven't messed with those before, are there any you'd recommend that would allow me to use my suppressors?

South Prairie Jim said:

View attachment 1038114Your rifle likes these primers.

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You wrote what appears to be 400 on this target which to me is the one combination I would look at both sides of. If that's a misprint so be it but that's the one I would try to tune around given the information you posted.

South Prairie Jim said:

You wrote what appears to be 400 on this target which to me is the one combination I would look at both sides of. If that's a misprint so be it but that's the one I would try to tune around given the information you posted.

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It's just bad scribbling, they were all 450s. When you say on either side of, are you talking small powder increments or OAL?

Humm .. Yes small powder increments on each side of that charge. Myself I want to see when they come into the node and when it goes away.

I am not a numbers tuner I shoot long range BR so you decide what is valid for your disciple.

Gtscotty said:

Interesting, haven't messed with those before, are there any you'd recommend that would allow me to use my suppressors?

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Obviously this isn’t suppressor compatible, but here’s my experience with a barrel tuner

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/barrel-tuners.854700/

Cleaned and oiled my Dasher today...other than load verification it's in a holding status until PRS starts backup in April. Short of driving to a South/SouthWest match, I think she gets a rest for a few months.
Time to work up 300m loads for my Patrol Rifle gun. That's at least practice outside all winter with the rifles.

Walkalong said:

Jeff shot a night match last Sat. I wasn’t able to go

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Shot a night Steel Challenge match on Sunday, got another one this weekend as well. Longest shot is only 105'/35 yards but we are shooting pitch black, with only Weapons Mounted Lights...it's a hoot. Especially right now in the cold, the muzzle blast blurs your sight picture.
I shot a C speed with my PCC last Sunday in the cold/snow/rain mixture