SmallCaliberCentral

Got to the range for the second set of development loads today with some noteworthy results. About 25 degrees but clear and calm so good shooting. One load in particular really stood out: Berger 35 HP, CCI450, 27.0 H335 was good for 5 shots in 5/16" @3788 fps. Got about 120 rounds through the barrel so far including break-in and this is the first really outstanding group. Got 20 more of the same loaded now and the next step is to see if the group is repeatable... Hopefully it will prove out, then I can experiment with seating depth and try to improve it.

Awesome.

Be wary....H335 has lied to me in the past. About the time I settle on THE load....weather changes and the group size is bigger than the window.

Yup, that's one reason to shoot more groups. Only other rifle I've used H335 is my 223 (Hornady 52 BTHP, CCI450, 27.0) and that load has performed flawlessly for years.

How about in the heat? When it is above 85 F, I leave the 335 at home.

The 223 is my main prairie dog rifle and has seen plenty of use in 90+ weather. Only time I've ever had trouble was when I left the ammo in the sun too long (my 22-250 loaded with W760 had the same trouble that day for the same reason). Lesson learned and problem solved. Of course no varmint load developed in wintertime is completely proven until it is tested in hot weather what ever powder you use.

I'm sure we'll be seeing more of them small groups in the future Don't hesitate to try some Benchmark with the 35's. My LRPV likes them at about 3850 fps.

Got out to the range again today confirm the load (side note: this winter when we get a 25 degree day it's WARM). Fired four more five shot groups. Went like this: 3/8"; 7/8" - horizontal string, probably operator error; 5/8" - a 3/8" group with a called flyer that opened it up; 1/2". That seems like good enough to keep working with. I will have to work on consistency behind the trigger: any little thing I do (or forget to do) opens up the group much more noticeably than with larger calibers. I'm thinking the next step is to experiment with seating depth. I used the same depth setting as I was using to get 2.25" OAL with V-Max bullets, so these were quite short. I'll experiment with the seating die and see if a longer round shoots better. I'm also going to get a hold of some BLC2 and run series with all the bullets I've got. I'm not thinking this is my ultimate load, but I'd be happy to load up a bunch and go if it was varmint season.