Best goups yet!!!

The weather and honey-do's finally collaborated enough to let me go the range yesterday and I shot my best groups yet!! I loaded the .338 with 73gr IMR-4350 and the 200gr. BT and got three into 1.1" at 100!!! Then I tried loads for two different bullets for the '06. 57gr 4350 and 165gr Sierra HPBT had three of them touching at 100yds. The same load with 125gr Sierra spire point flat bases were about the same as long as I did my part. I kinda like the '06, seems to shoot well anything that is stuffed in it. Just thought I'd share some results. I really think I could tighten these groups up with a rear bag, all were shoot with just a front bipod. I am definitely the weak link in the chain for this.

Nice job 1-pointer. Do you feel that since you are from Indiana you were at a disadvantage? I sure do, not being able to hunt anything other than ground hogs it sure makes it hard to get some rounds under your belt

Good luck
Jason

I know what you mean!!! Shooting rifles is definitely a discipline I need more practice at. I can't wait to hunt with a rifle, but for now I'm just trying to wear the range out. The have the nicest public range I've ever seen at SLC, and since I took hunter's ed there I get to use it for free for one year. It's only $2 so that's not that big of a deal.

Where are you shooting in Indy?? I never did locate a rifle range there, though there is a pistol range on the west side.

That's perhaps the best thing about reloading... all the pride you can take in the finished product when it all comes together just right! Congratulations, 1-pointer. Now just wait until you drop your first critter with home-brewed ammo.

Gotta love it when a plan comes together.. If you are like me, you'll find the more you shoot, the more accurate the loads get...

Never did understand that.....

Just wait until you get that first one ragged hole, 3 shot group. You'll REALLY be hooked on trying to shrink those groups then.

Watch out, you can sink thousands of $$$ into this hobby without realizing it. I took an inventory of stuff I have on hand right now. Brass, bullets, primers, and powder alone came to over $3,000, and that's just for the stuff sitting on my shelf.

When you figure in all the bullets, powder, and primers I've burned over the last ten years, plus equipment costs, well, let's just say that I'm glad my wife will never see this post!

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 03-25-2002 19:04: Message edited by: Nodak Hunter ]</font>

Nodak, I hear you on the money thing!!! Being that my wife brings home most of the money I feel bad asking to go buy a pound of powder, especially since I know I need more then one kind!! Right now I'm gonna stick with the 200gr BT until I kill something with it. Hopefully me and that bullet will have a date with a black bear this May in ID!!!

Just wondering what powder you use in your .338? Right now I've used nothing but IMR 4350 for all my loads and have been pretty satisfied, but I've been hear ALOT of good things about Reloader 22. On my short list of things to try is 4064 for the light stuff in the '06. WD has had great results with that, but for now I'm gonna keep things simple and buy the 4350 and use it for everything until summer rolls around and I get a little more cash. BTW, I found it interesting that the 185gr XLC has a higher BC than the 200gr BT!!! If I can get to the 3400fps that you stated, I don't think an elk would like that load too much.

IMR 4350 is a good all around powder for your .338 and for the .30-06. It's good down to the 150 gr in the '06. I was surprised how well the IMR 4064 did with the 150 gr in my Springfield, despite the fact that it was about all my Dad used in his '06... I guess the old Man knew more than his kid gave him credit for.