Since my testing didn't go well with Varget and 39 grain sierra blitzkings in my TC Encore Pro hunter barrel I went to the reloading shop today and picked up a couple more powders to try. Of the many choices I had I went with a pound each of H4895 and RE10x. Both shot better on average than the Varget did but H4895 seemed to shoot the best....Now keep in mind since I was testing some new powders I only loaded 3 sets of 3 to get an idea on where my pressure signs will start showing up. Each load was .5 grains more than the previous one. Here are some of the results.
The first test groups I shot were a 39 grain blitzking pushed along with some H4895. The first group missed the target so I didn't get a pic of it....needless to say it was the worst of the bunch @ 1.325"
Here is a picture of the second group.....the wind was blowing pretty good so I did the best I could but it was showing up a little in the groups. Things tightened up considerable over the first group....this one measured .750"
My 3rd and final group showed even more promise coming in @ .670"
My testing with RE10x showed some vertical stringing with all the groups. I was pretty chilly by this time and I could have probably done better....but they are what they are....This was the best of the bunch @ .880"
The 2 other groups with RE10x were a little bigger but not by much and the vertical stringing persisted. It appears that H4895 is showing the most promise. The velocities are right in line with the manuals and I'm not seeing any signs of excess pressure. The RE10x loads were starting to flatten the primers at a lower average velocity than H4895 so I'll be giving the latter more scrutiny with 5 shot groups and COL testing.
I also ran some more rounds through my Remington SPS 204. Since my velocity numbers were pretty low compared to the manual and there were no pressure signs with a 32 grain V-max I bumped the load of WC844 up .5 grains and shot a 5 shot group. I didn't gain much velocity but I was able to shoot a group that was roughly 1/4" smaller than the one I tested yesterday.
Here is that group....this was 5 shots measuring in @ .775" Since I have a few pounds of this powder left this will be the load combination that I load up for my varmint rounds in this rifle......
All the groups were shot @ 100 yards. Cool and windy doesn't bode well with concentration so I'll be revisiting the most accurate of these loads.
