Catch-22

Glad your Mrs is on the mend! On the point about zero pressure, using the 94.5tn RS80, I too have no pressure signs at all. I will stoke it up a bit more to see where the max is, but so far I’m happy with the speed of launching a 300gn pill. But I do think RS80 is one of those powders that seems very stable and doesn’t pressure spike, unlike how some powders do.

Surely that IS the best price. It’s a complete steal IMHO!

Ha, I wish this was true. Last time out with my 338NM, I went through 125 rounds. I definitely don’t have deep pockets...but I had a bloody big smile on my face 😆

Hmm, a 250gn bullet. Tbh, I suspect you may struggle to generate the velocity you want/need. I think RS80 may be just a tad too slow. It really is better suited to the 300gn bullets to help it generate good velocity. My opinion anyway. If I were shooting the 250s, I’d look at a slightly faster burning powder, like RS70 ( although RS70 and all the VVN5xx series are quite hot burning) or possibly the single base (and cooler) VVN165. VVN165 will definitely produce less barrel heat but may lack top velocity...if you chase that sort of thing. But it will suit the 250s better I think. Might be worth another .338LM who shoots the 250s chiming in.

That’s a very low charge of RS80. The RS website lists a starting load of 82.6gn RS80 with a 300gn Sierra SMK. Max load is 96.6gn. Obviously it’s all down to load length and how the chamber/throat was cut. But I would think you can go a fair bit higher safely without kaning your barrel.

Not a .338LM, but my .338 Norma Magnum has only 6% less case capacity. So it’s close. Using a 300gn Lapua Scenar, Ive tried RAMSHOT Magnum and got good accuracy but it was very dirty and my ES/SD was all over the shop. I now use RS80 (bought 12KG) and my current load of 94.5gn gives me 2780fps from a 27” barrel. ES = 20fps. SD = 7fps. RS80 is an excellent powder, very consistent, yields excellent accuracy, clean burning and gives good velocity without being too ‘hot’ like the VV560, VV565 and VV570 powders are.

👍

No bother, didn’t take offence. You are right, it would indeed not be suitable for the hills. But it is perfect for reaching out to 2000m 😎

Agreed, I wasn’t suggesting its use it for stalking! That would be daft. My point was you can have rifles setup to feed short and long action without issue. Personally I wouldn’t consider adapting stocks etc to make it work. You’ll end up spending loads of time and money with a gunsmith to make it work. Use a chassis system that’s proven and designed for that very purpose. The AI’s are configured for hard Mil use, so should fit the bill nicely. But I agree with Ronin’s point that the weight will make it very tough to drag around.

Why not build a portable base for your press to sit on? Link to the PRB blog has the plans. I followed these steps to make my RCBS Rockchucker Supreme press portable. Its great. I can store the press away when not needed, then pop it on the dining table for reloading. It’s rock solid and I make very concentric rounds with it. The plans were very easy to follow. I am in no way a DIY person, at all, but found it easy to make and only took an hour or two. https://precisionrifleblog.com/2012/11/12/portable-reloading-press-plans/

My Defiance Mutant XL action in an Eliseo RTM chassis is butter smooth in both long and short action config. The long (XL) action has two bolts, whilst the chassis has two lowers to support long and short action mags. Think of the upper and lowers like that on an AR15. Change the lower, bolt and barrel and I can shoot anything. I currently have barrels in 6.5x47, .30-06 and .338 Norma Magnum. Totally butter smooth and never had any feeding issues. Though it is a target gun, not a culling gun (it does weigh in at 24lbs with scope, bipod and a full mag of .338NM).

The above describes a very common email ‘Phishing’ (pronounced FISHING) scam. A hacker creates an email that looks to be from a reputable company and sends them out to a whole bunch of email addresses, looking for someone to ‘bite’. The email ‘From’ name can be customised to anything you like, so people look at the ‘from’ name (eg Amazon or online banking) and look at the Amazon branding of the email and think it’s genuine. Often scammers simply take a copy of a real email (like a screenshot or scrape the email code), but change the links inside to point to their ‘scammer’ email inbox or website. It works by the person receiving this ‘Phishing’ email, thinks it’s genuine and clicks a link in the email (usually instructing them to login to their account or such like) then get directed to the scammers web page where they harvest login details from people who think they’re logging into the real site. My number one golden rule is NEVER to click links in an email that I didn’t specifically request to be sent to me. So if Amazon or my online banking send me an email out of the blue, I will always visit the website directly (via my Google Search) and login directly. I will never click through from an email...even if it is completely genuine. Its the only effective way to bypass Phishing scams. Having security software doesn’t mean they pick up on these bogus emails...many of the hackers are very clever and will often find ways to bypass the security. The security only fixes known problems or loopholes. They will fix one things when ones are found and exploited. Scammers are always a step ahead of the security firms.

Round robin also evens out variables such as wind when shooting groups. By evenly distributing shots across the group, you minimise the potential of misreading group size which may or may not have been negatively affected by wind changes.

No, round robin is the correct way to OCW. Also, my comment about 0.1gn to 0.2gn was in reference to tuning a suitable load once you find the right group node. I’m well aware that testing in 0.5gn increments is suitable for initial testing, but going finer with your increments is a good way to tune it. And RS80 is an outstanding powder. I’ve had stunning results in my .338 Norma Magnum with the 300gn Scenar at around 93.0gn and 94.5gn. 5 shot groups...round robin style...during load testing.

It could be that you need to build the copper up again as gruntus states. If you’ve never tested RS80 before, It could be that your barrel doesn’t like it. As stated before, you should shoot OCW groups in a round-robin style to even out potential issues fatigue, position etc. What you need to look for is the central node of a few groups, not chase small SD/ES. Find the three consecutive groups that all appear similar in size, are the smallest and display lowest vertical. So if you shoot 6 groups in total and find groups 4, 5 and 6 are all very similar and you’re happy with the size of groups, somewhere around the middle (group 5) will be the one to choose. This displays stability and predictability. Then tune the load and tighten the group size by adjusting seating depth. You could experiment with 0.1gn or 0.2gn charges either side of your optimum charge to fine tune it further. Up to you.

Apologies, was replying in ref to the saddle blankets

I cut a mouse mat and superglued it to my cheek riser. Took 10mins to do and is super comfy, hasn’t budged an inch and was cheap as chips. Looks good too...no fraying.

I’ll take this please!

Sell what you have here and buy it all over again Stateside for about 1/3 the cost. Avoids the hassles and you’ll be better off!

Yeah, definitely anneal and then size. Annealing replaces plasticity back to your brass necessary for proper sizing.

Before the mods jump in, you’ll need to provide a price per the forum rules.

I’ll have this please!

Don’t forget decent Calipers (I used cheap Frankfort Arsenal for years but now use the better Mitutoyo). Also the Hornady comparator (screws onto your calipers) with calibre appropriate bullet inserts. This allows you to measure the length of your loaded bullets, from base to O-give, enabling you to know where the bullet will contact your rifle’s lands.

No worries. PM me if I can help further. New rifle/barrel OCW findings: http://ukvarminting.com/topic/45941-defiance-eliseo-65x47-ocw/ Old rifle/barrel load: http://ukvarminting.com/topic/43032-replacement-options-for-varget-in-65x47lapua-123scenar/?do=findComment&comment=333448

If you’re doing some informal plinking but mostly hunting, I’d stick with the 243. Excellent cartridge, inherently accurate, easy to tune and mild recoiling. If you’ve an appropriate barrel twist and throat, so can load the heavier bullets (115gn), you have a great all rounder. Obviously don’t get the barrel screaming hot as the 243 suffers from poor barrel life if pushed. I’d enjoy it for what it is, you’ll bag many a rabbit and goose before needing a rebarrel. Gives you plenty of time to save up and have a custom barrel spun up in whatever flavour you want next. Regarding lowering ES/SD, I switched primers early on with my previous 6.5x47 and saw the SD drop from around 52fps to 6fps. ES is 16fps. A simple change like that can bring it all together.