Spindrift
Well-Known Member
Had a nice day at the range today!
Fresh winter air, 25 degrees F, snow on the ground, no wind. And a couple of new (to me) bullets, among which is the NOE 310-165-FN, aka XCB. The rifle today was my Howa 1500, bedded into a GRS stock with a Timney trigger and Ultimax 3-12x56 scope in standard Leupold rings. The alloy is 96/2/2, where the «96»- part is nuclear medicine lead; an enigmatic/brilliant alloy of BHN 10-11, high density/ductility. Bullets are water quenched from a 4- cavity mold. Then, they are subjected to malicious visual sorting, but absolutely no weight control. 2 weeks post-casting, BHN is in the region of 24-26.
My plan is to try to develop a «high velocity» load with this bullet. Not that I have any particular need for a high velocity round, but... I´m curious, and want to learn cast bullet stuff. Then you have to try different things... You know how it is.
But before venturing into HV- shooting, I wanted to get a feel for the accuracy potential of this bullet/rifle combination. I chose to start with N110, 17-19grs, since this powder seems very good in the accuracy department (actually, N110 is good in all departments- totally clean burning etc).
I first tried with .3105 bullets, but when I determined max COL with this size, the base of the bullet intruded in the boiler room of the cartridge. When i sized them .309, everything came together... The bullet seemed to have a «vacuum- fit» in the neck, and max COL gave a bullet base flush with the base of the case neck. I had a really good feeling about this bullet.
Bullets were dip- lubed in my home- made «bullet gravy», made from X-lox, beeswax and liquid boat wax (dipped, dried, base- first trhough sizer). Hornady copper GC.
Shooting distance 100m ( about 110y). Prone position, with support on a bag. Target increments 30mm, which is almost exactly 1 MOA at 100m. The most accurate load (19grs) was sub- MOA. Very happy about this start. So, next I will drift down the burn chart, using slower powders /higher load density, to see how far I can go. Thought I could keep track of my (hopefully) progress in this thread.
Fresh winter air, 25 degrees F, snow on the ground, no wind. And a couple of new (to me) bullets, among which is the NOE 310-165-FN, aka XCB. The rifle today was my Howa 1500, bedded into a GRS stock with a Timney trigger and Ultimax 3-12x56 scope in standard Leupold rings. The alloy is 96/2/2, where the «96»- part is nuclear medicine lead; an enigmatic/brilliant alloy of BHN 10-11, high density/ductility. Bullets are water quenched from a 4- cavity mold. Then, they are subjected to malicious visual sorting, but absolutely no weight control. 2 weeks post-casting, BHN is in the region of 24-26.
My plan is to try to develop a «high velocity» load with this bullet. Not that I have any particular need for a high velocity round, but... I´m curious, and want to learn cast bullet stuff. Then you have to try different things... You know how it is.
But before venturing into HV- shooting, I wanted to get a feel for the accuracy potential of this bullet/rifle combination. I chose to start with N110, 17-19grs, since this powder seems very good in the accuracy department (actually, N110 is good in all departments- totally clean burning etc).
I first tried with .3105 bullets, but when I determined max COL with this size, the base of the bullet intruded in the boiler room of the cartridge. When i sized them .309, everything came together... The bullet seemed to have a «vacuum- fit» in the neck, and max COL gave a bullet base flush with the base of the case neck. I had a really good feeling about this bullet.
Bullets were dip- lubed in my home- made «bullet gravy», made from X-lox, beeswax and liquid boat wax (dipped, dried, base- first trhough sizer). Hornady copper GC.
Shooting distance 100m ( about 110y). Prone position, with support on a bag. Target increments 30mm, which is almost exactly 1 MOA at 100m. The most accurate load (19grs) was sub- MOA. Very happy about this start. So, next I will drift down the burn chart, using slower powders /higher load density, to see how far I can go. Thought I could keep track of my (hopefully) progress in this thread.