Went to the range today testing some of Berry's 150gr plated on the 300blk pistol - getting close to a low-recoil/but/cycling the action for my daughter
But I also took the Mauser, using the Lee 200GC PC cast bullet, and besides the one sub-sonic load, this time tried some mid-range speeds with Unique and Trailboss. I tested the subsonic for speed with the Lab Radar (nor for grouping) and got 1069 fps - I need to drop a little to get closer to 1020-30fps. Then tried Trailboss and Unique at 50 years for grouping. Trailboss was not great at 50 yards, so I then moved to Unique, with my hopes down given the lackluster initial 10 rounds with Trailboss. I had Unique at 12, 13, and 14 gr, hoping to identify a node to then fine tune.
So I started with Unique 12gr:
- First shot
- Second shot, touching the first one. Had to look twice over the scope to be sure.
- 3rd shot, again, touching the first two. This was getting interesting
- 4rd shot, and once again, touching the first 3. Now I am getting a little nervous as those 4x just look like one "big" hole through the scope.
- 5th shot - landed to the left and on top of the initial 4x holes, making the overall group significantly larger, but still very nice. Measured with calipers when I got home, minus bullet dia equals a .370" group for 5x shots at 50yards
Tried the second 5x (I loaded 10x for each weight charge). Not quite as impressive, but still not bad - .480" group for 5x shots at 50yards
If you look at those two groups above, the width is pretty consistent, so perhaps the vertical dispersion is just me. Something to work on/improve. But the potential that I found a node at this speed is significant. I didn't chrono this load, but per QuickLoad it should be at about 1440 fps or so. Will need to verify with the LabRadar next time.
Shot the 13 and 14 gr, but nothing quite as small - closer to the .75" to 1" mark.
So far this rifle has been working really well for me. I am definitely happy with the conversion from JES
Will