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I'm in the process of working up a target load for my 12.7" group buy barrelled AR and have H322 that I've thought of trying with Nosler 123 CC. The rifle likes AR comp with 129 Nosler ABLR and I will also be making up test loads with the 123 CC using it. My 18" Odin barrel certainly likes AR Comp with both 129 ABLR and 123 CC. Any thoughts or experiences with H322 in short barrels would be appreciated.
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Morning dpete, sorry I don't have any info for you regarding the H322 for the 12 inch Grr. I use that powder in my 444, works good in that.
I see you're from the northern part of Wis, we used to hunt near Cresent Lake area and Merrill.
good luck with you're quest.Knowledge and understanding leads to Wisdom. -
I have never loaded H322 but on paper it looks like you may run out of case capacity before you run into pressure. It's generally a pretty fast powder but in this instance it probably is too bulky to matter. H322 looks like it would be ideally suited to 100gr bullets. Hodgdon has load data on their site for it.Originally posted by dpete View PostComment
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dpete I'm right there with on the shorter barrel/ faster powder. I ended up loading 123's with Benchmark this time but I'm atleast gonna try H322 next time aroundComment
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Good luck, my Grendel absolutely hates the Nosler 123 CC's, so I look forward to your performance reports. So far I've tested ARComp, CFE, and 8208; and terrible with all. But I have some LT32, which I think is similar to H322, so looking forward to seeing that. My guess is it's the bullet itself in my case, as my gun loves the 90s'; but looking forward to your findings all the same.4x P100Comment
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Mines with Eld's by the way, not a fan of the CC'sComment
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Picture of some targets with speeds and ES SD results for them from when I was testing the 123 CC with AR Comp in my 18" Odin.
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dpete,
Nice shooting!! Looks like the AR-Comp works fairly well, I want try some soon.
Hopefully heading to the range tomorrow. first 100 yd trial with the 20" BCA upper.Knowledge and understanding leads to Wisdom.Comment
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That is interesting that you guys had trouble with the 123 CC's.
They shoot great out of my 18in Grrr, using the same charge I use for the 123 ELD's with IMR8208.
They are a little faster than my ELD load by about 25fps, 2465 vs 2490fps.
The ELD's shoot a little better though.
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My 12.7" Faxon GB barrel doesn't like H322
In two words.....NOT GOOD. One good accuracy node but generally velocities and SD all over the place. The best load was close to 200 fps slower than the best AR Comp loads. I'll post those in another thread.
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H322 is too fast for 123gr bullets. Your AR Comp loads are over pressure.Originally posted by dpete View PostComment
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Not terrible, but as you suggest, for all the effort, one would hope for more. The accuracy is... OK at best. 2 MOA isn't horrid, it's just not all the great; not for the effort of an expensive "match" bullet and careful handloading at least. You can almost do that with $0.27 Wolf Steel. My guess is you were hoping to make something closer to sub MOA, so as to have fun trying to hit gongs at 500 yards for grins (like LR.. does - such envy!). Which.. you can do with 2 MOA ammo actually, but harder.Originally posted by dpete View Post
The part that's even more disappointing, for me at least, is the velocity. I read (but haven't cross checked and confirmed) that 2200 FPS is sort of a minimal velocity on target for high degree hydraulic damage. Then you step change down to expansion and contact damage, down to 1800 fps (or so I read), at which point many bullets stop expanding. And below 1800, you're basically in the relatively shallow penetration ice-pick zone of behavior. I know these aren't hunting bullets, but it would be nice to know that in a pinch, if you can get these to hit at >2200 FPS, it kind of doesn't matter and they're going to still work well(ish). Anyway, so if those velocity numbers I keep reading are true, it would be swell to have bullets launching 2350 - 2400 fps range, so as to still be above 2200 fps in that 35 -150 yard range, typical for many folks for deer hunting (particularly one would imagine, if they chose a 12" configuration for it). I was curious to see if your combination could get there.
And as I sort of suspected, the fast powder of 322 just isn't going to give peak velocities with a 123. That data shows most of the launches are not much more 2200 FPS at the muzzle; and the best accuracy node (such as it is), has a muzzle velocity below it.
I got a bunch of the Nosler 123's for dirt cheap (well under 20 cents a pop), but at this point, I'm not having any better luck; and kind of finding myself disappointing. At the end of the day, Wolf Steel is cheaper, way way easier, and apparently performs about as well. I actually just picked up another case this week (Russia is not a favored nation; internet sales taxes are coming; and inflation is on the rise). I suspect the Wolf Steel has about as good terminal velocity as these loads, if not actually better (high velocity). Though of course, to repeat, neither are really hunting bullets.4x P100Comment
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No pressure signs were seen when developing the load. What data are you basing the statement on? Just wondering.Originally posted by centerfire View PostComment
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