Got a chance to get to the range today for a little load testing. First up was the 129 gr ABLR over 26.1 and 26.4 gr of AR Comp. the first three shots of 26.1 printed well and then m y rifle threw the 4th shot as it is prone to do. She likes a cold bore. The second charge of 26.4 was 1-1/16" which was nice.
the second round of testing was some 90gr TNTs over 8208 XBR. these loads ran from 29.4 up to 30.9. the first load of 29.4 posted a group at .75 " even with a SD of 29 and an ES of 84. not great numbers there. 30.6 gr shot the same .75" group with SD of 9.4 and an ES of 22. All loads were with CCI 450 primers and Hornady brass. Overall I was happy to get a good alternate hunting load in the 129s with almost the same point of impact as what my rifle is sighted in for with Sierra 120 gr Pro Hunters. The TNTs will make a nice plinking load with a small sight adjustment.
Looks good to me. I can get 120s, 123s and 129s to group together to the same POI, and 100s and 85s to group together to another POI, but those two categories are several inches apart. Youre fortunate that your POIs are close with the lights and the heavies
I am pretty happy about the results for sure. She has been pickier than I would have liked but having two 3/4 inch loads and a 1-1/6 load, I cant complain. I forgot to mention the 129 ABLR load used new starline brass
@TedBrewer5, what's the barrel length you shot these groups with?
I just got started into loading ammo and I have some 90 gr TNT data I'll share for what it's worth. My first batch of loads was new Hornady brass, CCI 450 primers, 30 gr H335, 90 gr TNT, COAL 2.20. Maybe I should reduce my COAL to 2.19 as well? I've been shooting this ammo through a 20" proof research carbon barrel and a 16" precision firearms stainless criterion barrel. I use these rifles for night hunting with thermal so I didn't really shoot for true accuracy groups yet but my initial groups at the range with thermal scopes were decent shooting from 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards. Both rifles grouped similarly...picture of the initial 20" 25-100 yards group attached. I used a magnetospeed v3 chrono. The 20" had an average velocity of 2721, SD 24.8, and ES 61 (5 shots). The 16" average velocity 2608, SD 13.1, and ES 26 (only 4 shots...). Both with Dead Air Sandman-S supressors. I could easily and consistently make vital hits on my steel coyote targets out to 350 yards with both rifles so I was happy with that but if there are any tips to improve SD and ES I'm all ears.
TedBrewer5 Wrote:I am pretty happy about the results for sure. She has been pickier than I would have liked but having two 3/4 inch loads and a 1-1/6 load, I cant complain. I forgot to mention the 129 ABLR load used new starline brass
05-15-2022, 06:47 PM (This post was last modified: 05-15-2022, 06:49 PM by TedBrewer5.)
The rifle is a PSA upper with a 20 SS barrel with a VGA Epsilon 6.5 muzzle break. I have added a heavier buffer and lightened the trigger.
That is a nice indoor range
