224 Valkyrie Load testing.

[Blue68f100]

I finally got to where I can do some shooting since my wrist surgery. Been going to PT twice a week for over a month now. Still having pain and limited angular movement. But shooting a pistol grip rifle is no problem. This is a custom built AR-15 upper I put together from a Shilen 1:7 SS Barrel Blank, finished length is 24". Head space is set at min spec, so the chamber is tight. I also made my own case gauge with the barrel drop off. A fired round with the gas system turned off with fit the case gauge with just little resistance at the neck. Flush just like the Go Gauge used to set it up. I'm using new Starline Brass, Rem 7 1/2 bench rest primers in all these test. When I started these test the barrel had only 50 rounds put through it, so accuracy should improve as more go down the tube.

Before testing I zeroed the scope for the 69gr bullet weights. A total of 5 shots. 2 to see where it was at and 3 to confirm the change. The scope was originally sighted in using the 55gr FMJ-BT bullets from Hornady, cheap.

For these test I used Sierra 69gr HPBT-Match bullets, mainly since I have over 1000 of them. I shot 3 shots each at 97 yrds for a quick screening. Crony was setup at 15'. The first test was with Varget (25.0-26.5gr), one of my favorite powders due to temp stability. Powder dispensed using a RCBS 1500 Chargemaster, calibrated and verified with check weights.

The BE dots are 1/2", first ring is 1", outer ring is 1.5" diameter.

All shot at my home range using a Lead Sled (25# bag shot) on a shooting bench.



There seams to be a node around the 26.2 gr range. This load only had a 0.25" vertical spread. Also gave me the lowest ES = 14 & SD = 7 numbers.

I did do a quick clean of the barrel to remove the powder residue since I was using 2 different powders. I did not shoot any fouling shots on the CFE-223 powder. Barrel was clean of all solvent before I started shooting.

The second test was with CFE-223, since this powder shows to give the greatest velocity. Loaded 3 rounds each from 24.5-27.9gr (max).


There seams to be node in the 26.7-27.0gr area and maybe another at max. None of the brass showed any pressure indicators. So I have room to go higher if I want too. CFE-223 never has given me super low SD & ES numbers like Varget can. But still got single digits SD on a few.

I shot all these in the morning why it was relative cool. Started setting up with the temps in the mid 70's ended up near 90F by the time I finished.

My goal is to find the most accurate load, velocity is second. I only have a 300 yrd range but may have access to a 700 yrd range through my neighbor.

All comments welcome, and open for suggestions.

 

[farmerboy78]

I'm using 80gr elder and tac for my valkyrie. may try the 77gr nosler cc with the same powder in the near future.

 

[Toprudder]

There seams to be node in the 26.7-27.0gr area and maybe another at max. None of the brass showed any pressure indicators. So I have room to go higher if I want too. CFE-223 never has given me super low SD & ES numbers like Varget can. But still got single digits SD on a few.

Definitely looks like a velocity node around 26.7gn, but looks like the POI is shifting on either side of 26.7. I would definitely sniff around this charge range a little more, maybe 5 shot groups, 0.2gn increments. I would also go a little higher than 27.9 as I suspect there might be another node up there.

As for the Varget loads, the group sizes look good and not much shift in POI anywhere. It is hard to tell at 97 yards, and 3 shot groups, though.

 

[Blue68f100]

I'm planning on stretching the next set out to 200-300 yrds. This was just a quick screening to see where I need to concentrate my efforts at.

I was thinking about going higher since I had no pressure indications. I normally jump 0.1gr increments once I get the range narrowed down. What I don't know is how temp sensitive the CFE-223 is. The temp here has been over 100F before it was 2:00pm here lately. We have had some clouds and the HP has moved so our temps have dropped but still 5+ deg over our normal. Humidity is rising with a chance of rain early next week. We need it badly, my yard is burning up. The county officials have put us under a burn band this week.

CFE-223 did not preform the best at max with my 223R. They were best around 0.5gr -0.75 gr down from max.