Spent about 3 hours at the range today working on accuracy testing with the 16" BHW .264 LBC. Winds were light 5-8 MPH, and temps were low 50's.
I basically took samples of all the loads I have worked up over the last 6 years that worked in any of my Grendels. (Worked meaning less than 1 MOA in at least 1 rifle.)
My two base loads were the AA123 Scenar and the Hornady Factory AMAX. Both shot sub-MOA at 200 yards with 5 shot groups. These are both loads that have been proven to be effective in MANY rifles so I expected these results.
As many know, the .264 LBC really was designed for use with the Hornady AMAX and the 123 SMK in mind. I fully expected loads with those two bullets to shoot well, and suspected the Scenar would too. This proved to be the case. All three of those bullets shot SUB MOA with my handloads as well as the factory loads at 200 yards.
Using my 1-6 Vortex at 450 yards I was able to hit 8" steel consistently, and found that the AA 123 Scenar load was the most consistently accurate. I could move the shots around on the steel simply by shooting a box moving the scope turrets 1MOA at a time. Using the Scenar load, this was no problem at all staying on steel. This load had a very low ES in my rifle when I tested velocities last week, and after today, I'm convinced that was no fluke. Factory Hornady was minimally worse, while my handloads allowed me hits 80-90% of the time. I am amazed at the AA factory load.
However, lighter bullets did not fare as well. I could not get any load under 120 grains to shoot less than 2 MOA. Unfortunately, I did not have any 108 Scenar loads with me. The 108 and the 123 are the same bullet; except for weight, all the dimensions are the same. I am very interested in seeing if that long but lighter bullet will come close to matching the 123 performance.
I also did not play much with the Nosler 120 BT, which has shot well in all my Grendels. I did shoot 5 rounds into a group just over 1 MOA, but that was toward the end of my testing and I really think I need to revisit that bullet as well.
As expected, the LBC chamber shoots the longer, heavier bullets better than the shorter, lighter ones, at least today.
This does cause me great concern for those who have issues with their Stoner/Liberty barrels and will have their throats changed to a more conventional shape, as I would assume those barrels will more closely approximate the LBC than anything else. In that case, I would expect that they might very well shoot the heavier bullets better than the lighter ones.
Now that I have some idea of what bullets will work, I will swap to a high powered scope and try to shoot some groups, using the best of the loads from today.
I basically took samples of all the loads I have worked up over the last 6 years that worked in any of my Grendels. (Worked meaning less than 1 MOA in at least 1 rifle.)
My two base loads were the AA123 Scenar and the Hornady Factory AMAX. Both shot sub-MOA at 200 yards with 5 shot groups. These are both loads that have been proven to be effective in MANY rifles so I expected these results.
As many know, the .264 LBC really was designed for use with the Hornady AMAX and the 123 SMK in mind. I fully expected loads with those two bullets to shoot well, and suspected the Scenar would too. This proved to be the case. All three of those bullets shot SUB MOA with my handloads as well as the factory loads at 200 yards.
Using my 1-6 Vortex at 450 yards I was able to hit 8" steel consistently, and found that the AA 123 Scenar load was the most consistently accurate. I could move the shots around on the steel simply by shooting a box moving the scope turrets 1MOA at a time. Using the Scenar load, this was no problem at all staying on steel. This load had a very low ES in my rifle when I tested velocities last week, and after today, I'm convinced that was no fluke. Factory Hornady was minimally worse, while my handloads allowed me hits 80-90% of the time. I am amazed at the AA factory load.
However, lighter bullets did not fare as well. I could not get any load under 120 grains to shoot less than 2 MOA. Unfortunately, I did not have any 108 Scenar loads with me. The 108 and the 123 are the same bullet; except for weight, all the dimensions are the same. I am very interested in seeing if that long but lighter bullet will come close to matching the 123 performance.
I also did not play much with the Nosler 120 BT, which has shot well in all my Grendels. I did shoot 5 rounds into a group just over 1 MOA, but that was toward the end of my testing and I really think I need to revisit that bullet as well.
As expected, the LBC chamber shoots the longer, heavier bullets better than the shorter, lighter ones, at least today.
This does cause me great concern for those who have issues with their Stoner/Liberty barrels and will have their throats changed to a more conventional shape, as I would assume those barrels will more closely approximate the LBC than anything else. In that case, I would expect that they might very well shoot the heavier bullets better than the lighter ones.
Now that I have some idea of what bullets will work, I will swap to a high powered scope and try to shoot some groups, using the best of the loads from today.
You seek escape from pain. We seek the achievement of happiness. You exist for the sake of avoiding punishment. We exist for the sake of earning rewards. Threats will not make us function; fear is not our incentive. It is not death that we wish to avoid, but life that we wish to live. - John Galt