Savage 10fp 223. Pre accutriger

[Saxmann10]

Trying to tune in my savage. Bought new in 1998 . What is a good reload for target accuracy. Just want an area to start, I know every rifle is different so I will adjust if needed. I have Sierra 52hpbt and 69 hpbt match ... Also hornady 52 bthp,68bthp match
and 75 bthp match. New unfires Winchester brass
thank for any help
mark

[Dan Fletcher]

I have had good results with a 10fp of the same vintage using IMR4895 power and Sierra 52, 53, and 69 MK's, Nosler 50 and 55 BT's and Berger 55 Match. Best accuracy with all of these bullets is around 24-25 gr. of powder. In fact with the lots of IMR4895 I have used, it was necessary to pour the powder slowly down the side of the funnel to allow enough room in the case neck to seat the bullet. I couldn't see much difference in accuracy using the same load in Win, Fed, Rem, or Lake City brass. I tried the Hornady 68 bthp in an AR with 1:9 twist and the results were not good, apparently due to the longer length of the Hornady 68 hpbt.

Results in your rifle may vary.

[mbohuntr]

I am using H4895 and worked up a nice load by ladder testing 4 shot goups.. best was under 1/2" with 55gr hornady sp. Now I'm going to crony the pet load and test ladder groups using different brass and bullets of the same weight. I am staying away from max charges as I have much to learn, and a heavy load doesn't leave much room for error.
I also checked each loading for pressure issues in the brass.

[darkker]

What is a good reload for target accuracy. Just want an area to start, I know every rifle is different so I will adjust if needed.

Mark,
Every rifle is different, you are correct. But more importantly every lot of powder is different, so the Starting load in any manual isn't going to be further from "good" than what anyone else will offer for you.
In every one of my rifles, there are at least two, sometimes three nodes in listed data that give very fine accuracy.

If you don't have a good chronograph, you need to buy one. You absolutely cannot accurately read pressures by staring at your brass or primers. Velocity will tell you where you are in terms of pressures.

[Saxmann10]

Just bought a chronograph .been loading handguns and shotgun and thought it was time to see what this 10fp is capable of. Shot some black hills 52 and 68 match with about 1/2 inch at 100yards. Gun maybe has 75 rounds total since bought new

[mbohuntr]

Mark,
Every rifle is different, you are correct. But more importantly every lot of powder is different, so the Starting load in any manual isn't going to be further from "good" than what anyone else will offer for you.
In every one of my rifles, there are at least two, sometimes three nodes in listed data that give very fine accuracy.

If you don't have a good chronograph, you need to buy one. You absolutely cannot accurately read pressures by staring at your brass or primers. Velocity will tell you where you are in terms of pressures.

Not to hijack the thread, but could you elaborate a bit on the multiple nodes in data comment? I worked from 25 to nearly 26 grains and only found one... did I miss something? It would be nice to have a very accurate plinking charge...

[darkker]

One grain difference isn't much change. Anyone who loads by grains, and thinks 0.1 gr is critical is misinformed about how powder works.
"Nodes" are when things happen consistently. So between most book min & max loads there are a few nodes. Barrel length and thickness will change them, as does burning rate. I found a node for a rifle, took it South one year And loaded it in MZ5's rifle and we did a post on shooting that rifle past 1k. Wasn't likely perfect for the rifle, but did the trick and I didn't care to fine tune his rifle for him.

[mbohuntr]

One grain difference isn't much change. Anyone who loads by grains, and thinks 0.1 gr is critical is misinformed about how powder works.
"Nodes" are when things happen consistently. So between most book min & max loads there are a few nodes. Barrel length and thickness will change them, as does burning rate. I found a node for a rifle, took it South one year And loaded it in MZ5's rifle and we did a post on shooting that rifle past 1k. Wasn't likely perfect for the rifle, but did the trick and I didn't care to fine tune his rifle for him.

Thank-you! I did some reading on nodes, and learned a lot!