I completed the gun about a week and a half ago . . .
Finally got a chance to sit down at the reloading bench two days ago.
All loads featured WW Brass (once fired), WLR primers, Hornady 225gr. Interbond bullets, and Hogdon Varget powder. All rounds were seated to the recommended length per the Hornady manual.
It was about 80 degrees at the range with an intermittent breeze from the rear. I loaded a total of 45 rounds for this first go around. I started at 48.0 grains and worked my way up to 52.0 grains in half grain increments. I used the first five rounds of 48.0 grains to get the scope adjusted and hitting close to on at 100 yards. All rounds were fired from the bench at 100 yards.
From top left to bottom right were: 48.5, 49.0, 49.5, and 50.0 grains.
I didn't get out the calipers, but the first group was right around 1" with the rest hovering somewhere between 1 1/4" and 1 3/4". I account the groups opening up a bid probably due to barrel fouling, heat, and recoil.
My process was to fire the first two rounds on a scrap target to foul the bore a little. The next three shots would go on the target pictured. There was about one minute between rounds. After firing five shots I'd clean the barrel using a patch soaked with Hoppes #9 and then follow it up with a dry patch. Not trying to get it sparkling clean, just get the big chunks out. Then, I'd allow about five minutes before shooting the next string.
The barrel is free-floated so there shouldn't be any influence on the rounds from the barrel moving and touching anything. I did notice that the barrel heated up pretty fast and I probably didn't allow it to cool down enough between strings.
As far as the recoil goes, it wasn't all that bad. The first string of five with the 48.0 grains was like my .308 with almost max loads. It steadily increased with the increasing powder weights. I decided to stop after the 50.0 grain loads because I was getting weary from shooting. I'll leave the remaining 20 rounds for another day in the near future.
I inspected each round after it was fired. I did notice some slight bulging near the case head, if I remember correctly this is due to excessive headspace. I think the next go around will be neck-sized only. I also thought that there was slight cratering of the prmiers on some of the rounds, but it was only one or two with the 49.5 grain loads. Nothing appeared in the 50.0 grain loads. I'll keep a close eye on it next time as well.
Ranger412
