1st range trip, so,so. Thoughts.

[befus]

Took the 18" barreled Bushy back to the range today after encountering trigger issues last time. Had several loads and bullets following info posted here. I had changed scopes to a more powerful one so that if things went ok I could at least see those great big holes...

I shot some Barnes 275 XPB's, a 290 grain Barnes TMZ bullet, 300 grain Speer SP's, and some Hornady Black FTX's. I used LG, 300 MP, and 1680 powders.

I shot two FTX's at 25, two at 50 to get the scope on paper at 100. I then shot five FTX's pretty quickly which lumped into a 2.78 circle. Not bad considering, and certainly minute of pig. I thought the 3-shot group hand-loads would tighten that right up, but as it turned out, they really didn't.

40 grains of Lil Gun under the 275 Barnes produced the sharpest report an recoil of the bunch, as well as not grouping....staying away.

300 Speer's were well over three inches with 39 gr. of 300 MP.

The same 39 gr of 300 MP load did 2.18 with the 275 Barnes.

The slightly too long 290 Barnes TMZ did 1.80 over 39 gr 1680.

The none too good, best of the bunch, was the 275 XPB over 45 gr of 1680 which managed a tad over an inch ad a half at 1.66.

That's it. Two of the three in that final group were touching, so gonna hit that one again. It might just be that this barrel is an 1 1/2 inch barrel and, as I wrote, it is certainly accurate enuff for hogs under 150 I'd think. Any words of wisdom or other thoughts?

[Hoot]

Working up a pet load for each bullet / powder combo comes with a hefty price tag and of course range time. Remember to use the most powerful scope you can get your hands on. You want to test your loads not your eyes. Add to that use or borrow a BR class rest setup. Again, you're not trying to test your steadiness, but rather the recipe. You can work out your presentation and how it impacts accuracy once you've established how accurate the loads are with as much of you as possible removed from the equation. The rifle has to make grade with you removed, if you have any hope of it making the grade once you insert your presentation back into the equation.

Hoot

[Bmt85]

Did you work up to 40gr of Lilgun for the 275 XPB’s, start there? What is your load length? What was your case head growth?

Reason I ask is because I have a feeling you could be way over pressure. 1680 is usually a bit too slow for a 275 Barnes. You could try h110/win 296, it’s a little slower than Lilgun. I have heard SBR Socom is suppose to be a little faster than 1680. I have some, haven’t tried it yet, though.

[Hoot]

Did you work up to 40gr of Lilgun for the 275 XPB’s, start there? What is your load length? What was your case head growth?

Reason I ask is because I have a feeling you could be way over pressure. 1680 is usually a bit too slow for a 275 Barnes. You could try h110/win 296, it’s a little slower than Lilgun. I have heard SBR Socom is suppose to be a little faster than 1680. I have some, haven’t tried it yet, though.

Never heard of that powder before. My wallet just groaned. We've been needing a double base powder, that's a little faster than 1680 for a while, for those 300 grain bullets everyone is so fond of.

Hoot

[MOOSE EARS]

I'm loading 40gr of LilGun with the 275 Barnes bullets and making one ragged hole at 100yds. This should be considered a maximum load to be worked up in individual rifles. It is HOT but safe at least in my rifle. Don't add any to this load, please!

[befus]

Working up a pet load for each bullet / powder combo comes with a hefty price tag and of course range time. Remember to use the most powerful scope you can get your hands on. You want to test your loads not your eyes. Add to that use or borrow a BR class rest setup. Again, you're not trying to test your steadiness, but rather the recipe. You can work out your presentation and how it impacts accuracy once you've established how accurate the loads are with as much of you as possible removed from the equation. The rifle has to make grade with you removed, if you have any hope of it making the grade once you insert your presentation back into the equation.

Hoot

Hoot, I've been reloading 35+ years, so I gots the practice down. I already did what you mentioned if you read my post. Guess what I was really asking was if those results were uncommon in an AR platform. The only one I had until now is a Bushmaster and no matter what ammo I tried it never shot less than 2" at a hundred. Kinda soured me on these things. Took me a long time to wish to join in the fun again and I'm just trying to get the feel for these things and the 450 in particular.

[befus]

Did you work up to 40gr of Lilgun for the 275 XPB’s, start there? What is your load length? What was your case head growth?

Reason I ask is because I have a feeling you could be way over pressure. 1680 is usually a bit too slow for a 275 Barnes. You could try h110/win 296, it’s a little slower than Lilgun. I have heard SBR Socom is suppose to be a little faster than 1680. I have some, haven’t tried it yet, though.

Nope, just got the best loads I found here and went with them. Did the standard 2.26 length on the LG. I'm just not a technical shooter and all the brass went in the same pile, so I'll measure some cases to see, but in the long run the plan is to find one load which has reasonable accuracy (around an inch is fine for me), and load up all the cases I have with it. If I end up with 40 loaded shells It'll last me for as long as I choose to own this rifle, unless we have the Hog Apocalypse. All I do know is that the 1680 shot the best groups out of my rifle so far.

[befus]

I'm loading 40gr of LilGun with the 275 Barnes bullets and making one ragged hole at 100yds. This should be considered a maximum load to be worked up in individual rifles. It is HOT but safe at least in my rifle. Don't add any to this load, please!

Ya Moose, I used that info, but I can say, based on a lot of shooting from Army days in the early 70's on, that load will not find its way into my rifle again. The report was so piercing, and the recoil so sharp, I hesitated to shoot the final two shots of the three I took. I did not see pressure signs, but it just wasn't right, if you know what I mean.

[Bmt85]

Did you work up to 40gr of Lilgun for the 275 XPB’s, start there? What is your load length? What was your case head growth?

Reason I ask is because I have a feeling you could be way over pressure. 1680 is usually a bit too slow for a 275 Barnes. You could try h110/win 296, it’s a little slower than Lilgun. I have heard SBR Socom is suppose to be a little faster than 1680. I have some, haven’t tried it yet, though.

Never heard of that powder before. My wallet just groaned. We've been needing a double base powder, that's a little faster than 1680 for a while, for those 300 grain bullets everyone is so fond of.

Hoot

I came across a guy using in 7.62x40 who was getting good results. Shooters World also has Buffalo Rifle, which is a little faster then SBR Socom. I think it's burn rate is around 5722, which should be a little slower than H110/Win 296. I also picked up some of that to try.

[Bmt85]

Did you work up to 40gr of Lilgun for the 275 XPB’s, start there? What is your load length? What was your case head growth?

Reason I ask is because I have a feeling you could be way over pressure. 1680 is usually a bit too slow for a 275 Barnes. You could try h110/win 296, it’s a little slower than Lilgun. I have heard SBR Socom is suppose to be a little faster than 1680. I have some, haven’t tried it yet, though.

Nope, just got the best loads I found here and went with them. Did the standard 2.26 length on the LG. I'm just not a technical shooter and all the brass went in the same pile, so I'll measure some cases to see, but in the long run the plan is to find one load which has reasonable accuracy (around an inch is fine for me), and load up all the cases I have with it. If I end up with 40 loaded shells It'll last me for as long as I choose to own this rifle, unless we have the Hog Apocalypse. All I do know is that the 1680 shot the best groups out of my rifle so far.

Yeah, you have to work up to that, especially at that c.o.a.l. I load the 275 TSX around 2.335 and in one of my rifles, max is 39gr of Lil gun. One of my other rifles can go up to 42gr. That is MAX for those rifles, and keep everything safe. Hodgdon lists a start of 30.4gr and a max of 35.4gr of Lilgun for a c.o.a.l of 2.225. You should be keeping an eye on everything in general, but you REALLY need to watch everything when going above book. Especially in an AR, they aren't nearly as forgiving as a bolt action.