Jonny V
Member
With all the talk on here about lugging around rifles and pistols and shotguns in the great state of Alaska, I thought I'd re-post something I did for another forum I belong to. We had been chrono testing 45/70 ammo out of a new Marlin 1895 GBL. This section is about the "Bear Loads" (430 grain hard cast wide flat nose at advertised 1781 fps). A good case of comparing the advertising against the reality.
We went at it again with the chronograph today and some HSM 430 grain (gas check) lead rnfp ammo at an advertised 1781 fps. I will say that this load is substantially hotter than the trapdoor loads we tested last time, and it sure as hell got the attention of the AR-15 guys seated all around us!
We sent 20 rounds through the chronograph (all I could handle for one day of this stuff!) and the numbers are as follows:
1. Average velocity 1746.9 fps, with a high of 1762 (x2) and a low of 1724 (x1)
2. Total velocity spread was 38 fps
3. Average energy was 2910.31 foot pounds, with a high of 2960 and a low of 2863
4. Average Taylor Knock Out value was 48.7, with a high of 49 and a low of 48
5. Average momentum was 106.8, with a high of 108 and a low of 105
Accuracy with this round was good. It shot much lower than the BVAC trapdoor load, so the first 10 shots were spent cranking on the elevation to bring the shots up around 8" at 50 yards. One of the first rounds didn't make the paper (low). Also, we had to stop testing because the muzzle blast blew the forward chronograph screen off. Once we had a cease-fire, new target, and repaired chrono, there was a nice group of 3 inches for 14 shots, a wee bit low still, but on the centerline. I will admit that I jerked some rounds. Your best shooting with this ammo is likely to be within the first ten shots.
For me, this was a success. This ammo functioned very well. No light primer strikes (I've done the bolt cleaning thing again, and heavily lubed with CLP), no wild shots, all shots pretty much in the same velocity range, and all shots very close to advertised ballistics. I am very much aware that my GBL will not deliver numbers as high as a proof barrel. HSM must have tested this ammo with a real rifle to get the advertised numbers this close. It would not surprise me to see someone with a full length Marlin 1985 get the advertised numbers on the nose. In today's day and age, that's a good thing.
BONUS! This ammo only cost about 26 bucks a box. The brass is Starline, what's not to like?
We went at it again with the chronograph today and some HSM 430 grain (gas check) lead rnfp ammo at an advertised 1781 fps. I will say that this load is substantially hotter than the trapdoor loads we tested last time, and it sure as hell got the attention of the AR-15 guys seated all around us!
We sent 20 rounds through the chronograph (all I could handle for one day of this stuff!) and the numbers are as follows:
1. Average velocity 1746.9 fps, with a high of 1762 (x2) and a low of 1724 (x1)
2. Total velocity spread was 38 fps
3. Average energy was 2910.31 foot pounds, with a high of 2960 and a low of 2863
4. Average Taylor Knock Out value was 48.7, with a high of 49 and a low of 48
5. Average momentum was 106.8, with a high of 108 and a low of 105
Accuracy with this round was good. It shot much lower than the BVAC trapdoor load, so the first 10 shots were spent cranking on the elevation to bring the shots up around 8" at 50 yards. One of the first rounds didn't make the paper (low). Also, we had to stop testing because the muzzle blast blew the forward chronograph screen off. Once we had a cease-fire, new target, and repaired chrono, there was a nice group of 3 inches for 14 shots, a wee bit low still, but on the centerline. I will admit that I jerked some rounds. Your best shooting with this ammo is likely to be within the first ten shots.
For me, this was a success. This ammo functioned very well. No light primer strikes (I've done the bolt cleaning thing again, and heavily lubed with CLP), no wild shots, all shots pretty much in the same velocity range, and all shots very close to advertised ballistics. I am very much aware that my GBL will not deliver numbers as high as a proof barrel. HSM must have tested this ammo with a real rifle to get the advertised numbers this close. It would not surprise me to see someone with a full length Marlin 1985 get the advertised numbers on the nose. In today's day and age, that's a good thing.
BONUS! This ammo only cost about 26 bucks a box. The brass is Starline, what's not to like?
