Except I'd have to sell a kidney... 

You got two.... 

It was not a good day for hay fever at the range. I don’t suffer from these allergies but was feeling like I was on the farm. Not sure what the temperature was because the reading on the chrono app shows 48F which I don’t believe is correct. With the recent rain and sunnier weather, I've noticed more families hanging out at the "park" and enjoying the mowed lawns.



6.5 Creedmoor: I replaced the rings with Vortex and got great results today. I started out with the 140gr Hornady Match and the Superformance that I got a low velocity SD last time with. I didn’t repeat the SD but accuracy was awesome. I paid 24 cents per bullet (plus free shipping) and can be had for as low as 22 cents. With the bottom group, the fifth hole was my zero shot with left over 42.5gr so didn’t count.



I next shot 10 groups of 5 rounds with 29.5 to 34.0 gr IMR 8208 XBR in 0.5gr increments. Nosler says this powder works best with the 140gr RDF. I appear to have hit four nodes if that’s possible, and the 30.0gr seemed to group best with the lowest velocity SD. Next time will probably be 29.5 to 31.5 gr because this range was more accurate than the higher charges. The top charge of 34gr had sticky bolt pressure signs. These were all seated to 2.830” OAL. On a side note, I hear that Roy's Fishing has H4350 at $31 per bottle. Too bad I already bought a bottle at WGS for $43.



AR-15: I made fouler rounds of 19.5gr ARComp with 55gr FMJBT and 20.4gr with the new 62gr FMJBT that I bought from Everglades Ammo (Version 2). Both powder loads worked well for me in the past. The 55gr were okay with 3” groups (right), but the 62gr were the bomb-diggity with a 0.573 moa 5-round group. At that point, I coulda wiped my hands in the air and declared that I’m done for the day, but decided to carry on much to my detriment.



I loaded 5 groups of 20 rounds with 21.5 to 23.5 gr A2230. Nosler says the powder works best with the 70gr RDF. Things were going well until the end of the second group when I got two flyers. Suddenly, the scope went crooked, and I reseated the scope in the rings. The next round caused the scope to go crooked again and I realized it was the cross hairs that went crooked until it’s now at 45degrees. This was a replacement scope that Vortex sent me over a month ago so back it goes. I'll save the load set for next time when I get the scope back. These were seated to 2.252" OAL. I have 110 of these bullets left.



See you at the Gun Show tomorrow. I'm volunteering so hopefully they won't be having me in the back licking envelopes or something.

It was a gorgeous day at the range and produced a lot of great data. After so many days of rain, it felt like a summer day from my youth. The air always seems cleaner after a good rain. At some point, they’re gonna have to dump a bunch of aggregate rock in front of the silhouette parking to cover up the mud.

It was very busy at the range. I ended up at table 25 which is way too short for me but I made do. The chrono was giving me errors and misreadings from the rifles next to me. I wonder if this happens more at the far left end than say, table 39. Caldwell told me they’ll send me a replacement screen, hopefully soon.

6.5 Creedmoor: After resizing the cases, I noticed some "wrinkles" in the Peterson necks. I didn't feel anything with the scratch test, and I annealed the cases again. Afterwards, I had two of the old Hornady cases with cracked necks and took them out. Peterson now only sells their cases through Grafs which charges extra for shipping to Hawaii. I might try gowesttrading.com but they only sell in packs of 200.

Started with seating depth testing with the Hornady HP Match 140gr and Superformance 41.0gr. The 2.80” worked really well with a nice 0.607 moa group. I didn’t have the chrono set up until the last group so don’t have complete velocities to compare.



I next shot two sets (5x10) of 29.5 to 31.5 gr IMR 8208 XBR and 140gr Nosler RDF. The 30.0gr grouped best for both sets with low velocity SD. Next time will try 29.7 to 30.5 gr.



I bought the RCBS hand primer so for grins and giggles, I primed the spare Hornady cases I had and created test rounds of 39.5 to 41.5 gr H4350 and 140gr Hornady Match. I bought more H4350, IMR4350, and Varget at Roy’s Fishing for $31 each. I also bought IMR4064 at $28 for the Mosin. These are crazy mainland prices!

The break was called and didn’t want to wait until the next break to bring the target in to 50 yards, so I shot the rest at the metal target and recorded the velocities. The rounds seemed accurate, but the chrono was starting to freak out. Being selective with the data, the velocity SD were low with an amazing 0.6fps with the last group. The 40.5 gr went all ding-batty so not sure what was happening.

1911-22: I bought high velocity Aguila and Armscor ammo at the Gun Show from Kaleo. I was hoping the higher velocity would work the action better and not jam so much, but this was not to be. Both were slower than the standard high velocity Blazer ammo. I felt like the Armscor was more accurate than the Aguila. More testing to follow…

MN 91/30: I was having fun with pistol loads and jacketed bullets. I used the Hornady 150gr SP bullets because they’re the most accurate in the rifle and only cost 26cents each at Cabela’s. I started with 13.0 to 15.0 gr Unique. This powder is not positional dependent, so I didn’t include a filler. The 15.0gr shot a great 1.476 moa group with a low velocity SD. Next will try 14.7 to 15.5 gr.



Next was 13.0 to 15.0 gr 700x. I added a Dacron filler which again cause a comical scene of fluff shooting out of the barrel. I received several questions from passersby. After the first two groups, I thought the set was going to be a bust, then the 14.0gr had an excellent 1.508 moa group. The velocity SD were not as good as Unique. Next will try 13.7 to 14.5 gr.



AR-15v2: I used my homemade AR with the pulldown sights to try some of the Bushido .223 ammo I picked up at the Gun Show. The OAL averaged 2.213” with an ES of 0.018”. Devin said he seated to the top of the Hornady cannelure. However, I can’t see the cannelure on any of the rounds. The cases were trimmed but did not appear to be deburred. The brass are from 7 different manufacturers with Winchester primers. The average velocity was 2769fps. The SD was probably not a fair measurement in this rifle so will have to try with the varmint AR after I get the scope back from Vortex. I have to say that the rounds made a satisfying chunk sound compared to the PMC factory ammo. I was playing with the sights but overall, it seemed accurate.

1911-22: I bought high velocity Aguila and Armscor ammo at the Gun Show from Kaleo. I was hoping the higher velocity would work the action better and not jam so much, but this was not to be. Both were slower than the standard velocity Blazer ammo. I felt like the Armscor was more accurate than the Aguila. More testing to follow…

I don't want to knock a particular ammo here but I thought I would share an experience I had with Armscor .22 LR and my friend's 1911-22. You'll find it here:

https://2ahawaii.com/index.php?topic=23522.msg210101#msg210101

The other comment I wanted to make is that Blazer .22 is high velocity not standard velocity. I think you meant it as you were using the Blazer as your standard to which you are comparing the other ammo to? I found the Armscor and Aguila high velocity to be only average performers in my guns. Maybe one or both will work well for you in yours.

Please be careful with the Armscor .22 LR in a semi auto as my experience shows it can be dangerous. I finally ended up using the rest of it in my revolver and bolt gun which is standard practice for me when I have a lot of crappy ammo to shoot up.

BTW, I am putting together some .22 LR ammo tests and I wonder if you would like to participate in it? All I am doing is using my most accurate rifle and shooting 10 rounds of fouling shots. Then 10 rounds thru the chrono for data only. I am using 10 shots for fps, ES, SD. Then shooting three, 5 shot target strings for accuracy at 50 yards. Maybe you would like to add to my rifle info and/or start with some pistol info at 25 yards? I will be attempting to do some pistol testing soon. I have not posted my results yet as I have not had much time at home lately. I would welcome the data if you would like to collaborate?

Thanks for the information. I thought I read it on the Blazer box but don't have it anymore. I noticed the website does say high velocity and the chrono data confirms it. I've had the KABOOM happen many years ago but was more like a kaboom. I don't remember what the ammo was back then. I bought it at the Clark County Shooting Complex back in the day.

I don't want to knock a particular ammo here but I thought I would share an experience I had with Armscor .22 LR and my friend's 1911-22. You'll find it here:

https://2ahawaii.com/index.php?topic=23522.msg210101#msg210101

The other comment I wanted to make is that Blazer .22 is high velocity not standard velocity. I think you meant it as you were using the Blazer as your standard to which you are comparing the other ammo to? I found the Armscor and Aguila high velocity to be only average performers in my guns. Maybe one or both will work well for you in yours.

Please be careful with the Armscor .22 LR in a semi auto as my experience shows it can be dangerous. I finally ended up using the rest of it in my revolver and bolt gun which is standard practice for me when I have a lot of crappy ammo to shoot up.

BTW, I am putting together some .22 LR ammo tests and I wonder if you would like to participate in it? All I am doing is using my most accurate rifle and shooting 10 rounds of fouling shots. Then 10 rounds thru the chrono for data only. I am using 10 shots for fps, ES, SD. Then shooting three, 5 shot target strings for accuracy at 50 yards. Maybe you would like to add to my rifle info and/or start with some pistol info at 25 yards? I will be attempting to do some pistol testing soon. I have not posted my results yet as I have not had much time at home lately. I would welcome the data if you would like to collaborate?

Yes no Armscor 22 for me. Blazers shoot amazingly well for cheap bulk ammo, so does CCI SV. HV 22lr had more wind drift at 100y than does standard velocity with less drop. I'm looking forward to your 22lr testing Inspector. I have noticed SDs and ESs makes a big difference when shooting 22lr at 100y compared to 50y. Blazers and CCI SV have no chance against the good stuff at 100y IMO.

rklapp, I was the guy shooting with the Magnetospeed that you came and asked some questions about.

Oh hey, good to have seen you out there. I think I was shooting your ammo right after that. Good stuff.

Funny thing is that I felt like the Armscor was shooting better than the Aguila. Maybe I'll try it again next time at 25 yards.

Oh hey, good to have seen you out there. I think I was shooting your ammo right after that. Good stuff.

Funny thing is that I felt like the Armscor was shooting better than the Aguila. Maybe I'll try it again next time at 25 yards.

"bushido" is different from "bushido arms"

"bushido" is different from "bushido arms"

Yes it is but I got love his business name though. 

Ah, that explains it.

It was the return of the trade winds today at the range. The guys next to me had a digital wind gauge that showed gusts of 18mph but felt more sometimes. The chrono with the water jug weighing it down worked spectacularly, but the standard deviations were atrocious. I could see the chrono jiggling in the wind, probably because of the sun shades. I mighta tried it without the shades but could never get around to it during the breaks. Tito said that I always have problems with the chrono which isn’t true. I’ve only had it fall over a few time (until I started using the water jug), replaced the LCD screen, replaced the data cable, and bent the tripod… but other than that, it’s worked flawlessly.

6.5 Creedmoor: Tried the Hornady Match 140gr with 39.5 to 41.5 gr H4350 seated to 2.80". The 40.0 and 41.0 gr had good groups, and the 41.5gr had the lowest velocity SD so will focus on that range.



Continuation of the Nosler 140gr RDF with 29.7 to 30.5 gr IMR8208 XBR. The lowest charge of 29.7gr had the best groups, and the 29.9 had the lowest velocity SD. I think I'm about ready to move on from this bullet/powder. I actually didn't shoot the set in the order listed in the table below. I accidently started shooting both groups together but I discovered when separated into two sets, the second set had tighter groups and better SD. Still scratching my head on that one.



AR-15: Retry of Nosler 70gr RDF with 21.5 to 23.5 gr A2230. It was doing that thing where the first round went an inch or two off and the rest grouped, if at all. I got the scope back from Vortex repair after the reticle got loose. The last time I tried this set, the first two groups were decent with flyers before I had to stop. This time, the groups were about twice the size and was discouraged, but the third group tightened up. I also didn't get the same results with the ARcomp 20.4gr that I had last time, and the Bushida Arms rounds didn't even try to group. I guess I'll move it over to the 300BLK and see what it does there.





I’ll have to fill in more detail tomorrow. Going to bed and we're doing the annual Pearl Harbor Bike Path cleanup in the morning.

One last thing. A couple showed up with a target frame using Hanabusa’s campaign sign for the backstop. I told them I doubt she would appreciate the use of her sign. We laughed…

It was a windy and quiet day at the range. The wind went from dead calm to about 20mph and dead again, so I decided to remove the chrono's sun shades to keep it from shaking in the wind. I don’t believe it effected the performance of the chrono under the mostly cloudy conditions.

6.5 Creedmoor: I made 29 rounds from the remainder of the Superformance powder in the bottle with 42gr at 2.83” OAL and Nosler RDF 140gr. The accuracy was okay at 1.1 MOA.



From my previous testing, I chose 29.8gr of IMR8208 XBR to test the seating depth. The 2.85” seemed to work best with a low velocity SD. I’ll make more rounds with the remainder of the powder and then I’ll be done with this powder/bullet combo because I'm not getting the accuracy I'd like for the sacrifice in velocity.

Overall, I decided that the Hornady brass works better than the Peterson brass. Despite annealing, I lost 7 pieces of the Peterson after processing, but none of the Hornady had neck cracks. Plus the Hornady seems more accurate. I ordered the large primer Starline brass which I’ll start to use for my next batch using H4350 and the Hornady Match 140gr. The group below is the 2.81” but I’m showing it because it’s more photogenic (but high velocity SD).



300BLK: I moved the Vortex scope over from the AR-15. With the Nosler 190gr HP, I made 50 rounds of H110 14.1 to 15.3 gr and 50 rounds of LilGun 13.4 to 14.6 gr. I based the previous load test last month on the Nosler data for the 220gr HP, but the results were too low. This time, I based the test loads on the Hodgdon load data and looks to be too high. The LilGun seemed to group better but both had big extreme spreads. I have 99+ of these 190gr bullets then will be switching over to the 175gr RDF bullets. The next test loads for the 190gr will probably be based on the Hornady data which is between the Nosler and Hodgdon data.

I shot the rest of the CFEBLK 20.5gr with the surplus bullets and the accuracy was still crap like last time. This was the last of the CFEBLK in the bottle. I also made H110 17.2gr and the surplus bullets with good results. In addition, I tried out the Nosler RDF 175gr with the H110 13.0gr based on the Hornady data. I couldn’t tell where they landed on the used target and the velocity SD was crap so I think I need to go higher than the 1501fps I got when I switch over to the newer bullet. The Hodgdon load data goes from 14.5 to 16.0 gr for a 175gr bullet.

1911-22: In comparison to the Aguilar and the Armscor, the Blazer shot really well today, and the Armscor shot better than the Aguilar. The gun was really, really dirty and while cleaning, I discovered that the extractor spring is missing. Of course, the website says they are out of stock so need to figure out where to find a replacement. Another issue I have is that I shot the support to the gopher again, so it may be time to finally bury the varmint. It has about 100 holes in it from several years of shooting at it with the pistol.

It was a fun day at the range. High clouds with a light wind. I was hanging out with the Black Powder gang for a bit and didn’t have to wait too long for a bench. I did have to wait for a parking space. Must be people parking for the other ranges. When I left, I spotted a couple leaving their car and heading to Hanauma Bay. It makes me nervous when I see tourists walking along the narrow road, so I gave them a ride. When we got there, the lot was open again but dropped them off anyways. When I left, the parking lot was full again. Must be a build up of tourists from all of the rain we had this past week. Haven't been in the water for awhile but can't imagine visibility has been good.

6.5 Creedmoor: I made 30 rounds from the remainder of the bottle with IMR8208 XBR 29.8gr at 2.85” OAL. The best 5 shot group was 0.811 MOA and a decent 18fps SD. I used the remainder of the Peterson brass that I bumped the shoulder by 0.002” using the Hornady headspace comparator. Like I said before, the powder/bullet was okay but not worth the sacrifice in velocity. The problem with some of the lanes is that the grass is too high and covers the bottom of the target frame. This caused me to make adjustments as to which target I was shooting at.



Next made 2 sets of 5 test loads of 39.8 to 41.0 gr H4350 with the 140gr Hornady Match. Of the two duplicate sets, the 40.7gr had the relatively best groups and lowest velocity SD. This was the first firing of the Starline LP brass at 2.80” OAL that worked well before with the Hornady Match bullets. The next test loads will be 40.3 to 41.1 gr.



I tried the 1911-22 with the Armscor ammo which worked okay but the chrono started to go ape shit bananas with random errors and results half of what they should be. I think it just didn’t like the position of the sun at the time.

91/30 MN: Continuation of the pistol loads from last time. I started with the last of the Reloader 15 at 48.2gr. I didn’t want to change the zero on the scope so just eyeballed where they landed. I also shot the last of the IMR4895 at 44.9gr which also worked well but left some for later.

Made 25 rounds of Unique 14.7 to 15.5 gr with the 150gr Hornady SP. I included a small bit of Dacron in both pistol loads. The 15.5gr grouped best... I mean really, really well.  I had to use a different target because of the grass, and they landed near the previous heavier rounds. I’m 99% sure that the five landed together. The next test loads will be 15.2 to 16.0 gr.



Next made 25 rounds of 700x 13.7 to 14.5 gr with the same bullet. The 13.9gr grouped best but not quite as well as last time at 14.0gr. I’ll stick with the 14.0 and make a whole set.



I think I figured out why the metal target frame fell over. It might be because I cracked the 3/8” AR500 with the RL15 rounds. Why it didn't sheer off the bolt head is a mystery. Add another washer and good as new.

It was a windy Mother’s Day at the range. My wife wondered if there will be less people at the range because of Mother’s Day, and I replied that most mothers would cherish a day by themselves.

Good results despite the snafu. I was so pleased with the Varget results that I tried to push my .30 squeegee through the .26 barrel. Tito helped me tap the part out. I don’t want to think what that could possibly have done to my barrel. Won’t be doing that again. There was also a shouting match between an RO and a shooter which was weird. Cooler heads prevailed…

6.5 Creedmoor: Tried out the Varget 32.0 to 36.5 gr with the 140gr Hornady Match and the old Hornady brass at 2.80” OAL. I previously tried RL15 with the ELD-M with poor results so had little expectations. I picked up the bottle of Varget at Roy’s Fishing because it was on sale and got amazing results today. All six loads were under 1 MOA. Since it was so windy, I tried to use the chrono without the sunshades to avoid shaking but the reading was going ape shit bananas so was useless. I did see a 2300fps reading at one point which matches somewhat with the published data. I’m not sure what I’ll try next with the powder. Update, three cracked necks and still good results. All three were small and at the base of the necks.



I replaced the sunshades which worked mostly well until the last load of H4350. By that time, the wind was really picking up enough to blow the front sunshade off. Next was the continuation of the H4350 40.3 to 41.1 gr with the 140gr Hornady Match and the new Starline brass at 2.80” OAL. The 40.9gr grouped best but had the worst velocity SD. With the gusty wind, the chrono was not a reliable measure. I will either rerun the H4350 40.4 to 41.2 gr or I’ll test the OAL with the 40.9gr. To coin a phrase... I don’t know, you tell me, we’ll see…



MN 91/30: I had so much fun last time with the pistol loads that I decided to continue. I created 25 rounds of the 700x 14.0gr with the 150gr Hornady SP. I forgot to move the frame to 50 yards so shot 15 at the 100 yards (about 3” group) and the metal target. The velocity was about 150fps faster than the last time I used the chrono with it. I had a nice group of five with one outlier for a 1.5” group at 50 yards.



Next shot the Unique 15.2 to 16.0 gr with the 150gr Hornady SP. The 15.2gr grouped really well but so did the 15.5gr last time. At these low velocities, the wind could have played a factor. For both loads, I used a small amount of Dacron in each.



1911-22: I managed to replace the missing extractor spring which was very stiff, but the action works a lot better now. The extractor had trouble grabbing the ammo rim unless it had a full head start. I imagine it will improve over time (unless it goes missing again).

It was a sporadically breezy day at the range so no chrono. It’s too bad because I got one of my favorite tables at #39.

6.5 Creedmoor: Today was seating depth testing for both Varget and H4350 along with the 140gr Hornady Match. The bullet comparator makes this easy and accurate. I had such great results with the Varget last time that I decided to try testing with the lowest charge of 32.0gr and Hornady brass (previously at 2.80” OAL) that had the smallest group. I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but that’s what experimenting is all about.   Surprisingly, the 2.84” OAL had the best group. What I do next depends on how well the aged Hornady brass survives the resizing. After the ultrasonic cleaning and before resizing, I’ll anneal all of the Hornady and Starline brass.



Mixed results with the seating depth testing on the H4350 at 40.9gr and 2.78” to 2.86”. The maximum length in the rifle is 2.93”, but the recommended length is as low as 2.80”. Unfortunately, the two smallest groups were at the shortest and longest lengths. My conclusion is that this is not the best range for the bullet/powder combo. The Hornady manual puts the max charge at 41.5gr. JRB indicated that this is where the accuracy starts to improve and could conceivably go up to 42.0gr without pressure signs and sufficient case capacity. I still have a bottle of H4350 left so will try 41.2 to 42.0 gr. Yes, I’ll be careful.



AR-15: Continuation (and last) of the 70gr Nosler RDF with the 22.2 to 23.0 gr A2230. Overall, I don’t find this to be a particularly accurate bullet/powder combo. My previous test loads showed best results between 22.5 and 23.0 gr and this time, the 22.8gr grouped best, so it was consistent but not impressive. I think I’ll go back to the 62gr Nosler that I’ve had great success with in the past.



Ever since I got the Vortex scope back from the manufacturer, I’ve been having consistency issues but not sure if it’s the scope or something else yet. I tried the 62gr Everglades FMJ again with the ARcomp 20.4gr and got both good and bad groups. More experimentation is needed. In the table below, the dark grey is the first set and the light grey is the second set. I try to run a bore squeegee through between sets and give it chance to cool down while I play with my 1911-22.

I can’t remenber my name half the time. So I can’t remember if you have tried using Varget with the heavier .223/5.56 rounds such as the 62gr Nosler or the 70gr Nosler? I found for my rifle, and generally speaking, Varget does very well with 62gr+ heads for this cartridge.

I can’t remenber my name half the time. So I can’t remember if you have tried using Varget with the heavier .223/5.56 rounds such as the 62gr Nosler or the 70gr Nosler? I found for my rifle, and generally speaking, Varget does very well with 62gr+ heads for this cartridge.

Thanks Joe. 

That was my plan for the 62gr. I've been using it in 6.5 with great results. Time to pick up another bottle at Roys. I picked up two boxes of CCI 41 yesterday for $24 each. For some reason, the Federal primers are $38 per box. Roy said he's expecting a crate of powder to arrive, but the shipment was lost in the mainland somewhere. Maybe pirates...

It was a Russian day at the range. I haven’t shot my AK VEPR in some time and decided to try the IMR4064 powder on the Mosin which acted like Reloader 15. I met someone who has a heavily modified Mosin with a mounted scope, chopped barrel, and a threaded muzzle break. Unfortunately, the front scope glass developed hairline cracks, probably due to muzzle flash with the surplus ammo. Makes me appreciate the long barrel with the 91/30. Both rifles shot at 50 yards (because my old eyes have trouble seeing the little circles with the low power scopes).

MN 91/30: Made two sets of 25 rounds with 36.0 to 40.0 gr IMR4064. The first set is with the Hornady 150gr SP and the second is Hornady 174 gr RN. Usually, the SP is more accurate but this time, the RN performed better. For both, the 38.0gr shot best for both bullets which closely resembles the previous results with Reloader 15, IMR4895, and Varget. For each load, I shot four at the target and the fifth at the 100 yard steel target. I’m not sure what happened to the fourth shot of the 38.0gr but decided to exclude it.



For the RN bullet, it was unusual that the heavier bullet was more accurate at the lower loads compared to past results. The two unaccounted hits were from my kick ass plinking rounds I shot previously.



AK VEPR: The AK was the traditional dumpster fire for accuracy. I made two sets of 25.0 to 27.0 gr Reloader 7 with the 123gr Nosler FB .310”. The 26.0gr was more accurate in the first set, and the 27.0gr for the second set. I got the load data from Nosler which indicates they are compressed loads. None of the rounds sound crunchy while seating the bullet. I have enough RL7 for 85 more rounds or I might use the lighter load I developed at 21gn with the Hornady FB. An interesting property of the higher loads is that the brass was ejecting straight up and hitting the shelter.

I took Dave's advice and uploaded my posts starting January 22, 2017 to a blog website. I appreciate everyone's support (and the criticism too).

https://ronsreloading.wordpress.com

I'm able to categorize my posts to count how many references there are for each caliber.
AR-15: 28
300BLK: 24
AK-47: 22
MN 91/30: 21
6.5 CM: 18
1911-22: 9