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My buddy is just getting started with reloading for this rifle. He is using 77 gr. Sierra HPBT. Would anyone who loads for this rifle and uses this (or a similar) bullet share your loads. Readings tell us that N540 & Varget are popular powders, so if you use these, I'd be curious as to what powder weight and OAL you've settled on. Many thanks.
Seriously? No one here is reloading for this rifle? ???
Plenty of us do, we just get tired of same aggravating question...
"Hey I just bought X-gun, and X-bullets. What is THE ONE magic recipe that will allow MY GUN to shoot MOA at 1,000?"
1) There IS NO SPOON!
The loads that work in MY GUN, USUALLY won't work in YOUR GUN. Putting YOUR time and YOUR effort into loading will prove that to you, EVERY GUN IS DIFFERENT.
None of us can tell you what YOUR GUN likes to shoot, unless you give us YOUR GUN!
2) Read your books! COVER TO COVER.
"Readings" like Sierra, Nosler, Lyman, ETC give you hunting/accuracy recommendations; as well as seating depth rec's. What have you tried, and what does YOUR GUN prefer? What did YOUR GUN tell you, Do you have a short or long throat?
Roger, you might get a few more responses if you mention what caliber he is loading. One loads for both the cartridge (caliber, weight and shape of bullet) and for the rifle throat, barrel twist, etc. As darkker mentioned, your friend should read and follow the advice of as many reloading manuals as he can afford to purchase. Reloading a cartridge has so many variables that it is ALMOST never going to be the same combination from one rifle to another even though they are the same caliber from the same manufacturer.
Your friend should purchase a couple of differet powders and a couple of different bullets. Following the recommendations in one or more of the reloading manuals, he should reload five or ten cartridges of different loads then head to the range. Shoot the loads to determine which shoots the smallest group at this time. Repeat this process over and over until he finds the combination that works best in HIS rifle.
I am curious which measurement you are referencing when you mention "OAL". Do you mean the length of the cartridge from base to tip or do you mean length of cartridge from base to bullet ogive? The acronyms "OAL" and "COAL" are supposed to refer to specific measurements and I have a suspicion that, after reading many posts on various sites, that at least SOME reloaders use the expressions interchangebly.
Hope all this helps a little.
it's a known fact that there are certain "nodes" that rifles hit....that give better accuracy than others. give the rifle has the same caliber and barrel length...it's a VERY good possibility that a round will work VERY VERY VERY similarly in all rifles of the same make and model. there might be very slight variances depending on freebore and headspace..but those should be very close from one rifle to the next in a factory gun.
also...if the gun is an FT/R...and he said 77gr....it's pretty **** obvious it's a .223rem......
Varget seems to work for most folks...if he's dead set on the 77gr...it'll work fine starting around 23.5gr and working up to pressure signs from there. I'd load up 20-50 sitting 20thou off the lands...and get the powder charge close...then start messing with seating them in and out.
since his gun is 1:7...he'd be doing an injustice to himself to not try the heavier, and longer, bullets....80gr AMAX, 80gr SMK, 90gr smk.....if you have the twist, go for the weight...just keep feeding them varget in sorted brass