Range day, c309- 200 & #315

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
Nice day at the range today, with my Rössler titan alpha rifle. This is a push- feed, bolt action rifle with switch- barrel functionality. Price level of this rifle is between rem 700, and Tikka T3 here. Currently, the .30-06- barrel is in the rifle. Accuracy potential with jacketed bullets is very good. The barrels are from german barrel maker Lothar Walter. Alloy is 96/2/2 nuclear medicine lead/antimon/tin. Air cooled «pencil hardness number» after two weeks is about 18. Sages aluminium GC.

Tested two bullets today, and two different powders. The c309- 200- R I have tested only once before, using Vectan tubal- 3000 powder (also new to me) and Viht N- 110. The other bullet I tested today, was the NOE version of the Saeco #315 bullet. I have recently aquired a 4- cavity mold, with 2 gc/2PB. Today I tested the GC bullets for the first time, the PB- bullets will go next!
So far, I have gotten good results with TU- 3000, and N110.
The bullets today were dip- lubed, using a mix of alox, beeswax, liquid boat wax and a little carnauba wax. The «dip» has a gravy- like consistency, but once the solvents leave the party it is relatively firm and dry. The lube (after drying) har approximately 80% alox, 15% beeswax and the remaining 5% equal parts parafine wax and carnauba. After dipping the bullets, I place them on wax paper to dry. The next day, they go through a push- through sizer base- first. The «lube flashing» at the base of the bullets will then act as a reservoir of lube, that nicely fills the grooves.

All shots at 100m. The increments in the target (circles) is almost exactly 1MOA at this distance. The target below, with 10 shots in one group (TU- 3000, 27grs), seems to indicate a reasonably stable barrel condition (no fliers); the load itself is slightly outside the sweet spot, I believe. There is another target below with 10 shots in 2 separate groups- I forgot to zero the target; there are 5 shots with tubal- 3000 (top group), and 5 with N- 110 (bottom).
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Spindrift

Well-Known Member
Oh, and the #315.....
Always exciting to try a new bullet, isn*t it? 18 grs of N110 shows great promise. The flier (down/ right) was actually a called flier; the remaining 4 shots are within about 15mm.... Needless to say, this will see further testing.7284885E-0DDC-4858-B4C6-44B09E723AB9.jpeg
 
Hello, are you lubing and seating your checks and then re-dipping in a lube? That looks interesting to me. I have been thinking of a switch barrel Thompson Center rifle my self. I will be following this.
 

Sendaro

Active Member
Have you ran these loads over the chronograph? If so what are the clocking at and what is the ES?
 

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
I*m sorry, I have no chrono data. I have a magnetospeed that has served me well. But after I changed my alloy (reducing antimon from 5% to 2%), the magnetospeed does not seem to detect the bullets.....

Considering the dip- lubing, I first seat/crimp/size to the final dimention. I then dip the bullets in the lube, let them dry, and run them base- first through the same sizer. If you try to size the bullets down base-first after dipping them, I have found that the gas checks can dislodge- probably due to hydraulic pressure in the rear lube groove in the sizing process. So; size bullet prior to dipping, is my advice.
 
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Intheshop

Banned
Nice write up Spindrift. How were your range conditions today?

I'm shooting in 15+ mph winds. Had to park the 223 and get back on the 7-08.
 

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
Very nice conditions today, no wind worth mentioning.... So, no excuses either
By the way, the 10 shot group in the first picture includes the cold bore shot.
 

Intheshop

Banned
Excellent on that cold bore shot!

It happens enough for me on different rigs that it's not a surprise anymore but,I still love it.... in a holy grail sorta way.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Spindrift, my Magnetospeed reads low-antimony bullets just fine, but the sensitivity needed to be corrected. If I remember correctly, I manually adjusted it to "6" via the adjustment menu.
 

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
Thank you for your kind words!
Yes, the dip lube seems to work nicely; still early days, though. What inspired me to try this concept was actually another bullet, that I will be working with through the autumn (and winter, maybe). The NOE 266-140- FN, which I will try in the 6,5x55 barrel of this rifle (I have barrels in .223rem, 6,5x55 and .30-06. Barrel change takes 3 minutes, and requires an Allen wrench only). The 266-140-FN is a bullet design that looks very interesting. Long, slender bullet with long cone, and much longer bearing surface than one might think at first glance. The lube grooves are very shallow, and give limited lube carrying capacity. Therefore, I wanted a very «clingy» lube.

In the picture below, there are 4 bullets. One with Sages copper check and no lube. One with «dip lube», but no TL overcoat (yet), one pan lubed with a simple lube- variation + TL overcoat, and one unlubed bullet with aluminum check made with my newly arrived Pat Marlin tool. I like the look of the home made checks. They are deeper, and intrude more on the lube capacity, but they also give a more substantial contribution to the bearing surface2279E23E-A90F-4C62-A694-73233A7E0A31.jpeg (which, in my vivid imagination, is the most important function of the «gas check»). Will, of course, report results with this bullet when I have tested it.
 

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
Tested the plain base version of the #315 today. The rifle was my Howa 1500 in .308, bedded into a GRS Berserk stock, TImney trigger and Ultiimax 3-12x56 scope. Brass is Norma range pickings, 11th cycle. CCI LRP. Bullets cast in the same alloy as mentioned above, air cooled hardness 18 after two weeks. Sized to .3105. Cases expanded/flared to a slightly harsh neck tension og 0.0025 (new expander plug under way...). COL set to light jam fit, which gave short segment of bullet grip (more or less only the base band in the neck).
Powder was Hodgdon universal.
Weather conditions on the range were good, no wind to speak of. But a lot of people, standing in line! I had to hurry, as I had planned to shoot 100 rounds, with two rifles.
Shot groups at 100m. Target increments 30mm (which is mote or less exactly 1MOA). Shooting from prone position, with support on a bag.
This bullet/powder combination was an instant success. This is actually close to my limnitations as a shooter, under these conditions.
After shooting my 100 rounds (in 1h15min... no time for coffee), I rummaged through the brass buckets, filled my pockets with Norma/Lapua brass....
All in all, a very nice day at the range!
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fiver

Well-Known Member
he casually drops NORMA/LAPUA RANGE PICK-UP'S....
I'm lucky to find a foreign marked something or other 308 case fired in a fluted chamber buried in the mud.