Casual reading for you.
I wanted a 100yard range gun that was accurate, cheap to shoot, and capable of making a big enough hole in the target for me to see through the scope after each shot. I decided on a Ruger American Ranch in 300blk.
I have been killing time finding a load for the gun. I had Alliant 2400 On the shelf. So, I used it.
Here are the results:
I reloaded 33 once fired, neck sized brass cases from Federal American Eagle, Remington UMC, and SigSauer brand ammo which were previously fired in my gun.
Started with a Berry 150 grain 30-30 bullet loaded with 15.5 2400powder and a Federal Small Rifle primer, with no crimp. One of these 33 blew a primer;9 others were tossed in the trash during the next reloading session due to loose primer pockets. So, I lost a third of them to excess pressure. It is worth noting that four of these never made a mark on the 4ft x 4ft target; I think they flew apart from excess velocity in the 1/7 twist barrel-Berry warns you not to exceed a certain speed.
I reloaded 23 of them with 14.5 2400, and a heavy crimp applied by the sizing die with its decapping pin removed and a washer used as a spacer under the lock ring to raise the die without my having to readjust the die each time.
This time all of the primers looked good after firing.
There was no significant difference in accuracy between the two loads, but there were fewer random fliers on the target, and all shots found the target. The gun and load combo typically gives better than 1moa performance on three of the four shots in each group fired. If all four are counted, it gives 1.5moa most of the time. I had one group of five out of eight shots that gave .78moa, that was as good as it got.
The Sig brass gives the best accuracy. Remington is average. The Federal AE gives the worst accuracy(the federal brass really stands out-it is noticeably less accurate, and it is a pain in the rearend to reload because it starts out with a primer crimp).
My gun has a 1/7 twist barrel. It shot the factory Sig 220 subs the best, then Remington 220 subs were second best, last was the American Eagle 150 grain ammo.
The hand loads use almost the same zero as the 150 AE. I Chronographed the factory AE’s at 1930 fps. I assume the hand loads are flying at approximately 1850fps. This is about as fast as the Berry Bullet can go before it flies apart. I will check their speed on a sunny day.
The Berry bullet does not feed well in the Ruger American rotary mag—bought the AR mag version, now they feed just fine.
If I had a taper crimp die or a Lee FCD, I would use it. The crimp that I put on the second batch was about 1/8 inch wide and was extreme. It definitely put a ring in the soft copper plated lead bullet, but it did not affect accuracy at 100yards. I think the bullet probably reswagges itself when it hits the rifling, and there was plenty of undisturbed bullet below the crimp.
The Reminton UMC 220 subs seem to be the best factory ammo for the money in my gun and I will try the Berry 300BLK bullets next time.
I wanted a 100yard range gun that was accurate, cheap to shoot, and capable of making a big enough hole in the target for me to see through the scope after each shot. I decided on a Ruger American Ranch in 300blk.
I have been killing time finding a load for the gun. I had Alliant 2400 On the shelf. So, I used it.
Here are the results:
I reloaded 33 once fired, neck sized brass cases from Federal American Eagle, Remington UMC, and SigSauer brand ammo which were previously fired in my gun.
Started with a Berry 150 grain 30-30 bullet loaded with 15.5 2400powder and a Federal Small Rifle primer, with no crimp. One of these 33 blew a primer;9 others were tossed in the trash during the next reloading session due to loose primer pockets. So, I lost a third of them to excess pressure. It is worth noting that four of these never made a mark on the 4ft x 4ft target; I think they flew apart from excess velocity in the 1/7 twist barrel-Berry warns you not to exceed a certain speed.
I reloaded 23 of them with 14.5 2400, and a heavy crimp applied by the sizing die with its decapping pin removed and a washer used as a spacer under the lock ring to raise the die without my having to readjust the die each time.
This time all of the primers looked good after firing.
There was no significant difference in accuracy between the two loads, but there were fewer random fliers on the target, and all shots found the target. The gun and load combo typically gives better than 1moa performance on three of the four shots in each group fired. If all four are counted, it gives 1.5moa most of the time. I had one group of five out of eight shots that gave .78moa, that was as good as it got.
The Sig brass gives the best accuracy. Remington is average. The Federal AE gives the worst accuracy(the federal brass really stands out-it is noticeably less accurate, and it is a pain in the rearend to reload because it starts out with a primer crimp).
My gun has a 1/7 twist barrel. It shot the factory Sig 220 subs the best, then Remington 220 subs were second best, last was the American Eagle 150 grain ammo.
The hand loads use almost the same zero as the 150 AE. I Chronographed the factory AE’s at 1930 fps. I assume the hand loads are flying at approximately 1850fps. This is about as fast as the Berry Bullet can go before it flies apart. I will check their speed on a sunny day.
The Berry bullet does not feed well in the Ruger American rotary mag—bought the AR mag version, now they feed just fine.
If I had a taper crimp die or a Lee FCD, I would use it. The crimp that I put on the second batch was about 1/8 inch wide and was extreme. It definitely put a ring in the soft copper plated lead bullet, but it did not affect accuracy at 100yards. I think the bullet probably reswagges itself when it hits the rifling, and there was plenty of undisturbed bullet below the crimp.
The Reminton UMC 220 subs seem to be the best factory ammo for the money in my gun and I will try the Berry 300BLK bullets next time.