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Post by 45shooter on Sept 9, 2011 9:05:54 GMT -5
I started working on this the end of June. I bought a used Savage M11 in 270WSM with the intent of converting to 358WSSM. The rifle was painted camo all over by the previous owner and included a Nikon 3-9X scope. I also ordered a barrel, dies and preformed brass from Bryan at BFG Design. I spent the time between barrel order and receipt removing the camo from the metal parts. I left the stock alone. I think the end result looks pretty good. Barrel is a 22" sporter contour from McGowen. I am getting 2460 fps with 225 grain Sierra Gamekings and 50 grains of AA2520. But I want to do a little more testing with H4895 and 225 grain Accubonds. Accuracy seems promising. However, I think I killed a bunch of primers somehow. Maybe I did it while removing paint from the rifle. I am not sure. But the last serious range session with this rifle, I only had about a third of the rounds fire. So, my shooting wasn't the best. I don't think it's a problem with the rifle as I had a few duds with my .243 during the same time frame. At any rate, I am very happy with the results and cannot wait to ring out the bugs and get at some serious load development. Unfortunately, I'll be out of the country for the next month and so my rifle will just have to sit on the safe and wait for my return. Attachments:
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Post by HuntMeister on Sept 9, 2011 10:11:05 GMT -5
NICE! Keep us posted on your range progress!
What do you mean when you say you killed your primers?
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Post by dbd870 on Sept 9, 2011 12:10:17 GMT -5
Very nice! Pretty hard to beat if you're doing some hunting with distance involved. So, what did you spill on the primers? (bummer)
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Post by swilk on Sept 9, 2011 12:14:07 GMT -5
I am using 10x powder with the accubonds and getting around 2675 from a 24" encore barrel and about 2620 from a 22" M70 Winchester.
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Post by 45shooter on Sept 9, 2011 12:36:43 GMT -5
It turns out that Kroil does a pretty good job at removing paint. This is what I used to get the paint off the metal parts. And I did it around my reloading bench. I am pretty sure that the misfire issue is due to contamination of the primers with Kroil. I don't think it's the gun, because I had a similar issue with a .243 at about the same time.
Swilk - Do you mind sharing your starting load for 10x?
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Post by swilk on Sept 9, 2011 12:42:41 GMT -5
45gr would be a good place to start. Should give you 2500fps out of a 22" barrel.
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Post by racktracker on Sept 9, 2011 13:19:45 GMT -5
Nice, Good luck with it.
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Post by dbd870 on Sept 9, 2011 17:55:36 GMT -5
That would do it.
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Post by hornharvester on Sept 9, 2011 22:21:09 GMT -5
Use 46-48 grains of H4895 with the Sierra 225's. Ive worked up loads for every .358 bullets available for the 358 BFG. Tell me what bullet and I'll give you the load. I found 46-48 grains of most any powder except ball powders will work in the .358. The slower powders you cant get enough into the case so medium burn powders and some fast burn rifle powders work the best. A very accurate load thats not real fast is 200 grain Hornady SP and 46 grains of Varget. You can shoot one hole groups with this load.
I put together 3 Savage .358 BFGs on 16 WSM actions. Two of them were the newer single stack feed and one was the double stack feed. I liked the double better because it fed the 180 grain bullets best.
The load I used last year in my gun for two big bucks was 45.0 grains of Reloader 7, 180 Speer FP and Rem 9 1/2 primer @ 2800 fps.
Good powders are Reloader 7, 10X, H4895 or I 4895, Benchmark, Varget, Win 748, IMR 3031, AA2495.
4895 works best with the 225 bullets, Benchmark for the 200 bullets and Reloader 7 for the 180's. Good luck, h.h.
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Post by 45shooter on Sept 10, 2011 6:56:16 GMT -5
HH - Thanks for the info. It helps a lot.
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Post by swilk on Sept 10, 2011 18:13:13 GMT -5
H.H. .... after todays range session I am going to abandon the accubond.
Have you shot the Hornady 35105 200gr polymer tip bullet? I have two boxes ordered to try.
It seems there are a couple of new bullets out that I have not seen before .... Barnes has 2 different 200gr bullets ... the 35820 and the 35832.
Tried any of those 200's? Mind pointing me towards a load for them if you have? What are you setting your OAL at?
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Post by sparky on Sept 11, 2011 8:34:37 GMT -5
I settled on 45gr. of Xterminator over 225 Sierra's last year for myself and a buddy. Both out of 28" Encore's shot less than .5" with good velocity for the heavy bullet.
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Post by hornharvester on Sept 11, 2011 11:49:49 GMT -5
H.H. .... after todays range session I am going to abandon the accubond. Have you shot the Hornady 35105 200gr polymer tip bullet? I have two boxes ordered to try. It seems there are a couple of new bullets out that I have not seen before .... Barnes has 2 different 200gr bullets ... the 35820 and the 35832. Tried any of those 200's? Mind pointing me towards a load for them if you have? What are you setting your OAL at? Accubonds are a tad to long for the 1-14 twist, Sierra 225s do much better at distance. If you have a Douglas barrel its a 12 twist and some can shoot the Accubonds. The only gun I saw that shot the Accubonds was a special order 1-10 twist Douglas. I had the Flextip Hornady 200's but didnt shoot them. Instead I used the 200 SP. 46-48 grains of H4895 shot the best. Speed will be 2550 - 2600 fps. 48.0 H4895 also work good with the Sierra 225 in a bolt, 46.0 in a Encore. My friend shot the Barnes 200 TXS with 47.0 Benchmark. This load runs 2640 fps and shoots 1.5 @ 200 yards. Set the Barnes .035 off the lands at 2.350. I also liked this load but settled on the 180 Speer FP. In the McGowen barrel for a BFG i set the OAL for Hornady 200 SP at 2.290. I didnt shoot any 200 FTX but the measured OAL for them was 2.347. If you want to shoot 300 - 400 yards the Sierra's using H4895 is the way to go. h.h. |
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Post by omegahunter on Sept 13, 2011 7:04:18 GMT -5
The Hornady 200 FTX was built for the .35 Remington LeverEvolution Hornady ammo and have a velocity threshold of about 2300 fps. They are really soft bullets to be driving at full-speed out of a .358 WSSM, BFG, whatever your version is called. I use them out of my .358 WSSM Handi Rifle loaded to 2260 fps and they work great! They fly apart in soft dirt backstop when shot out of my Savage @ 2600 fps.
I believe I am going to order some of the Barnes 200 Tipped TSX to try.
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Post by swilk on Sept 13, 2011 8:44:16 GMT -5
Hornady lists the velocity range of the 35105 to be 1800-3000 fps.
If what you say is true I will have the same problems with the 35105 that I was having with the 3505.
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Post by omegahunter on Sept 15, 2011 13:18:48 GMT -5
Some may like the 35105 at full throttle as it would most likely turn to shrapnel inside and impart the bang/flop, but I want penetration so I don't have to be so choosey in the animal's body position when I take the shot. So 3000 fps for the 35105, yeah it could be pushed to that (in something maybe), but there might not even be an exit hole. Kind of like the .223 50 grain VMax at 3400 fps on a groundhog; vaporized bullet inside the body and no exit.
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Post by swilk on Sept 15, 2011 20:48:11 GMT -5
HH
46g benchmark put 3 of the hornady 200ftx into a 3 shot group I can cover with a nickel.
From my encore.
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Post by swilk on Sept 16, 2011 8:00:08 GMT -5
I measure the overall length of the 35105 to the lands in both my guns to be right around 2.365".
I set the OAL for the encore rounds at 2.325".
I tried various loads of 10x, 4895 and Benchmark. Load 3 rounds, shoot a group, go back to the bench and tweak things a bit.
I am at kind of a disadvantage because I have two guns, a bolt with a 1-12 twist and an encore with a 1-14, that I try and find a load each shoots equally well.
I also load for 4 other guys with encores.
The bolt gun shoots almost anything well .... the encores are much more picky.
Anyway, I was starting to get a little discouraged because everything I tried seemed to shoot around 2". Lots of groups would put two almost in the same hole and then the third would be a flier.
46G benchmark was my last group of the evening and things started to come together. 3 holes completely disappear when covered with a nickel.
I plan to run the load over a chrono this evening and then run a group through my bolt gun just to make sure it likes it.
Assuming all goes well I intend to document everything for repeatability and call it good for the year.
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Post by hornharvester on Sept 18, 2011 13:10:14 GMT -5
I measure the overall length of the 35105 to the lands in both my guns to be right around 2.365". I set the OAL for the encore rounds at 2.325". I tried various loads of 10x, 4895 and Benchmark. Load 3 rounds, shoot a group, go back to the bench and tweak things a bit. I am at kind of a disadvantage because I have two guns, a bolt with a 1-12 twist and an encore with a 1-14, that I try and find a load each shoots equally well. I also load for 4 other guys with encores. The bolt gun shoots almost anything well .... the encores are much more picky. Anyway, I was starting to get a little discouraged because everything I tried seemed to shoot around 2". Lots of groups would put two almost in the same hole and then the third would be a flier. 46G benchmark was my last group of the evening and things started to come together. 3 holes completely disappear when covered with a nickel. I plan to run the load over a chrono this evening and then run a group through my bolt gun just to make sure it likes it. Assuming all goes well I intend to document everything for repeatability and call it good for the year. Sounds like a winner! 47.0 was in a bolt gun. Ive found with Barnes bullets you can burn a little more powder do to them being all copper. They dont obrutrate like a copper jacketed lead core bullet does. Barnes told me that they test all there .223 bullets for accuracy using Benchmark. h.h. |
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Post by omegahunter on Sept 30, 2011 13:25:46 GMT -5
Got my Barnes 200 TTSX in this week and tried them out this morning on 100 yard target and through chronograph. One rifle was sighted in dead zero for 100 yards with the Hornady 200 FTX (MV 2566 fps). The TTSX hit 1.5 inches low with a MV of 2575 fps with the same powder charge and same distance from bullet to rifling.
The other rifle was sighted 2 inches high @ 100 yards with Hornady 200 SP (MV 2515 fps) with the same powder charge as the FTX load. The TTSX hit exactly 2 inches high, same point of impact (did not shoot through chrony).
So, I have decided that with my experience with finding not much of anything of the FTX (about 40 grains of the lead core and jacket separated) left in the dirt backstop at 100 yards, I will use the TTSX for 125 yards and closer and the bullet that the rifle was originally sighted in for at extended ranges. At least until I finally run out of the Hornady bullets and then I will probably only be shooting the TTSX from then on.
The Hornady 200 SP fairs much better than the FTX as I have not found a core/jacket separation yet, but I think that the TTSX will still be used inside 100 yards with that gun too.
I was using 48.0 H4895 in all loads above. I shot one TTSX with 46.0 H4895 (about 1/4 inch lower point of impact at 100 yards) and got a MV of 2460 fps.
Only thing missing from the one TTSX that I dug out was the blue polymer tip, all four petals were intact and peeled back against the bullet shank.
I also noticed that I have an extremely long throat and my TTSX is seated .035 off rifling but still have an OAL of 2.561 inches. The 46.0 and 48.0 H4895 loads for the TTSX are both compressed slightly.
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