Davemuzz, ok, here's my homework assignment:
Ok, made it to the range today with some test loads. I started with the 50 gr hornady VMAX seated to 2.350 for starters, and a couple of nosler BT 55 gr's also. Mostly the VMAX, as I only had 100rds of brass.
I started with federal match primers and cci benchrest primers loaded with both varget and h-380 in .5 gr increments. Each group is a 5 shot group, shot consecutively, without letting the rifle cool between shots.
So far, the best performers have been loads #5 and #6 on target #1, which are:
#5 = cci br primer, varget powder charge of 35.0 grs
#6 = cci br primer, varget powder charge of 35.5 grs
And on target #2, loads #3 and #4, which are:
#3 = federal match primer, h-380 powder charge of 38.0 grs
#4 = federal match primer, varget powder charge of 34.5 grs
First impressions are good. I like the gun. The trigger is better than I hoped. The gun (or the shooter) seems to want to throw the first shot out to left, then group the next four. I don't know if that's me or the rifle, but I'm betting it's me. I have just shot the gun off the rest and bag, and let the front of the gun do whatever it wanted, not trying to hold it down, only squeezing the rear bag for elevation. The rife pushes back and does want to torque a little under recoil (only a little, but I let it do it). The first shot could just be the butt settling down in the rear bag?
Here's the pudding:
Oh and so far, the nosler's have been the biggest groups, the big patterns on the targets are the BT's with varget and h-380 both. Will have to try different powders and/or primers for those puppies.
