OCW help and other load development

[scooterf79]

Went to the range the other day with my new assembled 6br and did my barrel break in. I went out Friday to do my first OCW test.
1:8 twist 28in Mcgowen barrel
Lapua brass
Varget
CCI br primers
107gr Sierra MK .020 off the lands.
I plan on bedding and installing pillars this weekend.


I think 29.2 and 29.5 are my 2 loads to mess with. I am above the bull because right now my scope is out adjustment because I have a 20MOA base on my rifle. I did pull a couple shots lol....the 28.9gr load, i pulled and I pulled a round in the 29.8 gr group I pulled one. I think bedding and pillars will help the fliers.

I got to play with my 6x55 Swede a little bit too.
Didnt seem to be liking re22 and 105 Horndays so I changed things a bit.
Went to IMR4831 powder 87gr vmax and 107gr Sierra MK
Just did preliminary loads moving up .5 each round for 7rds.

This is with the Vmax, the one to the left was me, I pulled that shot. I was suprised at the vmax staying in the same general vicinity even with the charges going up. I worked up to 50.5gr and was only at 3340ish fps....not quite the speed I was hoping for.

This is with the 107gr Sierra MK. The bottom 2 shots were the 2 lowest charges then the last 5 seemed to group fairly well....again not quite the speed I was looking. 48.0gr only got me to 3000 for but the horizontal spread looks like it could be promising.
Any opinions or input appreciated!
Scooter

[LongRange]

Scooter my thoughts on the BR...it should be shooting way better groups than it is even though your looking for a load...the BRs are stupid accurate even during load development.

IMHO you need to do what your going to do with it(bedding)first and then shoot that test over and if it's grouping like in this test I'd try RL-15 and if it don't shoot change bullets...also it seems the BR likes the bullets in the lands with just about every bullet used in them.
i don't shoot a BR but I did do a ton of research a few years ago when I first starting thinking about building a 6mm and the BR was high on the list...if it was me I'd start with RL-15(just as accurate in the BR as varget and 50+fps faster)105g amaxes(jammed in the lands)and a BR-4.

when you get it shooting post up I'm very interested to hear where you end up with your load combo.

[scooterf79]

LR, thanks for the info, I probably shoulda bedded and pillared it before I even shot it but.... its putting several of those bullets in and near the same hole, which makes me think its got some potential. Actually when I was doing barrel break in and sight in it put 7 shots in about the size of a qtr...not great but for what I was doing I thought...good. I think its got some pressure sitting somewhere thats throwing it off or something. I'll look into some RL-15 and I have a box of amaxs sitting on the shelf. Ill keep things updated....
Thanks again!
Scooter

[LongRange]

yeah i think its got potential as well but i also think you have something going on...like you said odd pressure somewhere on the barrel or action maybe? bed it and shoot that test again and i think your worst group is going to look like the group in the bottom left...also try starting with 25-30"lbs on the front screw and 10"lbs on the rear...find a load and then torque tune the rear screw.

[scooterf79]

Thanks LR....got it pillared and bedded....well, its setting right now. I thought my Devcon was bad but it musta been the colder air. It seems to be setting up pretty well, hopefully pop it loose tomorrow and see how it turned out. Probably wont get range time till Friday, but Ill reload that test again.
Dad swung by Cabelas the other day and I had him pick me up some Re15, no br-4s though. Ive got a couple hundred br-4s left for now so Ill be keeping an eye out for those too.
Scooter

[LongRange]

cant wait to see the results.

[Geo_Erudite]

Have you tried they 6.5 guys method, which seems to be a hybrid method. It also corrects for human error.

Part 1

Part 2

[LongRange]

Have you tried they 6.5 guys method, which seems to be a hybrid method. It also corrects for human error.

Part 1

Part 2

ive read this a few times and have never tried it because of the amount of rounds needed to find a load among other things....

Phase 1 / Step 2: Load test rounds, 5 cartridges per charge weight (start at 15% below target accuracy load and work up in .3 grain increments to 10% over target accuracy load)

second if using(which 90% of ppl are)a factory rifle or something they have rebarreled what would the target accuracy load be?
65guys say... "Target accuracy loads can be obtained from a number of sources, the most reliable being the gunsmith who built the rifle."...im not sure where you find that info for the above?

another problem i have with this is that personally im not a smart guy LOL...WAY to much for me with comparing velocities and all that.

a simpler way to find a load using a *******ized version of the 65guys load development would be to just start about 1/4 of the way above book mins and load 5 rounds in .5g increments(.3 in small cases)up to book maxes(or past if your not worried about pressure)and shoot 5 shot groups and when you see two tight groups work with powder between the two and then seating depths.

the problem most average ppl have with shooting groups is consistency...im am one of those ppl...i can put 10 rounds in the high 2s low 3s one day and the next day its a shot gun pattern(well not quite that bad but you get the idea)...another thing i see is when ppl have to shoot long stings of fire they do well the first few rounds and then start pulling shots...it takes a LOT of practice to shoot more than about 3 to 5 round groups....also(and im one of these too)is when ppl see 3 rounds in the same hole they get excited,nervous,giddy and then when the 4th one goes in or VERY close to the other 3...well you know what happens.

NO form of load development can account for shooter error and what ever method you choose to use the results are only as good as the shooter and the equipment he is using. i personally have shot several different types of load development and IMHO the OCW is the easiest way for a new or average shooter to find a load with the least amount of ammo used.

with everything ive said i will add that im NOT saying the 65guys way dont work and that one load development way is better than another but i DO think that some types of load development is better suited for more advanced shooters and some for new or average shooters.

[mikgarus]

IMHO the OCW is the easiest way for a new or average shooter to find a load with the least amount of ammo used
+1!

[scooterf79]

Well....a minor hiccup, my devcon set up ok but I guess where it was little cooler down in my shop it didnt "run" quite like normal. So I had some voids in the bedding and I redid part of it this evening before I left for work. (I left it in the house this time)
Now....provided this works, Ill be fine, but if not Ill need to order some Devcon because I just used the last bit fixing this.....so hopefully all will be well....
Scooter