It was a wet, misty day at the range. The forecaster said there was a 20% chance of rain today and 60% chance tomorrow. Perhaps they are mixed up because the weather was a shithole. Reminds me of the only weather joke I know. What does it mean when they say 50% chance of rain? It means they asked all of the forecasters in the city if it will rain and half said it would. Badda-bing! What’s weird is the radar shows the high clouds heading east and the rain clouds heading west. Enough about the weather. No chrono today because it was left on, the battery died, and I forgot to include the spares in the kit. It would have been nice to verify the SD for the Superformance and H4198. I need to get in the habit of disconnecting the battery when I put it away.
6.5 Creedmoor: Continuation from the previous load test. Started with 42gr Superformance with the Nosler 140gr RDF that worked well last time. I shot 10 before and 10 after the load test. The first group was tighter but I was adjusting the scope, so not really comparable. The group below is the second group and looks sexier. The targets are a card stock but still got a bit wrinkled in the mist.
I was chasing the target with my scope but managed one good group (39.2gr) with the 38.6 to 39.4 gr IMR4350 and Nosler 140gr RDF (5*10). The first two groups had 2 out of 10 “flyers” to the upper right by about 2”. The third group was weird with 2 about 1.25” to the left so I adjusted 5 clicks to the right, and the next two shots went 1.5” to the right. I shoulda left it alone. I split the difference and ended up in the middle. I checked the scope’s manual which said ¼” for each click. Maybe not so. The fourth group worked great. The break was called halfway through the fifth group which was going great. At the beginning of the next round, 4 of the 5 shots went just outside the target circle, of course. Despite the screw ups, I was pleased with the results but worth another try, preferably not in the wind and rain and with the chrono. The 39.2gr is on the left and 39.4gr on the right.
AK: Tried out the new bottle of H4198 I bought for the MN but turns out also works with the AK, AR, and 300BLK. I started with comparing the Hornady V-max .310” with the Nosler 123gr .310” bullet with 21.0gr Reloader 7. Both bullets are FB tipped and similar styles. The Nosler has a slightly bigger ballistic coefficient of 0.304 compared to the Hornady’s 0.295. I was having trouble keeping track of the hits because I didn’t have more targets, so I haven’t decided which is better.
Another factor I was testing is the condition of the ejected brass. As you may recall from previous episodes, I removed part of the dust cover to keep the case from colliding and denting. However, it was hitting the steel charging handle causing gouges in half of the cases. I added a short rubber hose and dremeled the sharp edges which reduces the gouges significantly. I’ll try smoothing the edges more. This was the fifth time I shot these cases and the AK is hard on the brass so decided it's time to switch to newer cases.
I think the H4198 works well with this rifle. The 25.5gr grouped best so will try 25.2 to 26.0 gr next time. I was having an issue with seating the bullets. I started noticing that the neck was shaving a thin strip of the copper off about a quarter of the bullets. I tried using the expander die but the powder was in the way and I wasn't interested in transferring the powder to expand the neck. I did expand the necks for the RL7 rounds before adding the powder and had no issues. I wonder if it's because the cases were getting worn out. I'll see if it continues with the newer cases next time. Update: I was seating bullets for the 300BLK and discovered the same phenomenon. Apparently, I have become lackadaisical with chamfering the neck which has been catching the edge of the boattail.
I have less than 300 of the Hornady bullets left and then will switch over to the Noslers. The 25.0gr is on the left and 25.5gr on the right.
The 1911-22 was working great today and killed the rubber gopher several times. Maybe I’ll get around to cleaning the pistol but seems to work better when it’s dirty and neglected. However, the Blazer LR ammo was a shithole today. About 1 out of 5 was a misfire. Each time, I had to pull the rimfire round out with my screwdriver and fire it again in the mag. One failed to fire twice so I put it in the dud can. It’s never been this bad before, so I wonder if the weather was having an effect on the .22 rounds.
I think I’m getting the hang of the ultrasonic cleaner. I’m trying the Hornady case solution but was causing oxidation on the brass. I figured out that I need to soak the cases afterwards in clean water instead of just rinsing to get all of the solution off. I’m trying to decide which works better, the case solution or Lemishine powder/dish soap. I tried vinegar and lemon juice before but decided against it.
