Some H-4895 testing/barrel condition
Jun 24, 2020 20:18:12 GMT -5
dennis, joelmoney, and 1 more like this
Post by Richard on Jun 24, 2020 20:18:12 GMT -5
Some H-4895 testing/barrel condition
This past week I had some PM conversations with the Ultimatepredator---AKA Steve, about his results with H-4895. I knew he was using it with the 325 AeroMax and getting good results. 8208 has been doing well for me but I am always interested in possibly upping my velocity some while keeping pressure down. My past experience with 4895 (Hodgedon for this discussion) was that it seemed “dirty” or that it fouled the bore causing harder bullet seating with successive shots. Being skeptical about using these large charges made me shy away from some suggested loads (I think Bill had indicated up to around 105 gr. with the 300 grain bullets?) So maybe my fouling problem was the fact I was only loading around 95 gr. as I recall? In any event, I decided to throw caution to the wind (not really….since Steve has been shooting 102 to 103 grains with the 325 for quite some time.----His barrel is close to mine in profile and he still has all his fingers)
Further questioning revealed he had shot the 350 gr. AeroMax with 99.5 gr. of 4895 but apparently trashed a scope or two and has since stayed with the 325’s.
Again, getting back to barrel fouling, it is very possible that I needed to be feeding these bullets more powder to burn up that residue in the barrel.
So, Tuesday, Herman and I showed up at our range and I had 15 vials of 102.5 gr. of H-4895 and five of 99.5 grain prepared to see what happens. Steve indicated that the 102.5 grain load gave him 3080 fps on his LabRadar (LR) and 99.5 with the 350’s gave 3020 fps. Before coming to the range, I had cleaned and borescoped the barrel so I knew it was clean. This would give me a good indication on fouling. While the weather was overcast and around 70*, we did have some unusual (to our range) slight wind conditions. I tried, best I could, to watch the 200 yard wind flag (which appears in the lower portion of my scope while still being able to focus on the 300 yard target.) This helps dealing with the wind but not “carved in stone!” You can still get caught with a “pick up or a let up” and be out of the group.
First up was a fouling shot of 92 gr. of 8208 and a 300 Fury star tip at 3002 on a steel target. Then I followed by shooting a five shot group with a 350 gr. Fury II and the 102.5 gr. 4895 load. Velocity averaged 3135 fps with a 26 fps ES. The five shot group was somewhat large at 2.7” but shots 3, 4 and 5 came in at 1.8”. At this time, I do not think the wind played any part in the group. It is what it was however, it is not uncommon for the barrel to need some fouling before it starts to group……So far, the bullets all seated equally……….one handed.
Using the same charge, I switched to the 325 AeroMax. Again, the average velocity was 3136 fps (LR verified) but with a 55 fps ES! Hmmm? Taking one low shot of 3107 out of the group and the velocity is 3144 fps with a 31 fps ES. So here, the first three shots are .952”…..shot 4 opened it horizontally (wind) to 1.2” and shot 5 to 1.9” –horizontally. Note: Steve was getting 3080 fps with the same load.
So here is what I noticed: Prior to shooting this group, the rifle sat for about 25 minutes while I played with my 10/22……in other words, it cooled down to ambient temperature. When I loaded the first bullet, it got about half way down and became so tight, I needed two hands (not super tight) to get it seated. That shot was also the fastest at 3162 fps. After that, the next four loaded normally as did all the remaining shots I fired that day.
For group three, I switched to the 350 AeroMax and 99.5 gr. of H-4895. This load gave me 3023 fps with a 34 fps ES (this is what Steve was getting) While the ES is not all that great, it did put three shots in .544”, 4 in one inch and five 1.2” (Note: I had made a horizontal scope adjustment).
As I had four vials of 102.5 left, I opted to shoot them with the 300 gr. AeroMax (I also dropped two clicks on the scope). Here, the four shot velocity was right t 3200 fps with a 21 fps ES. The wind at this point was such that I could not keep track on my wind flag whether it was a tail, left or right wind and it shows in the 2.4” mostly horizontal group.
So………..after some 21 shots of H-4895, other than the one shot on the cool barrel, I found no evidence of fouling or tight loading……….for what that is worth?
This past week I had some PM conversations with the Ultimatepredator---AKA Steve, about his results with H-4895. I knew he was using it with the 325 AeroMax and getting good results. 8208 has been doing well for me but I am always interested in possibly upping my velocity some while keeping pressure down. My past experience with 4895 (Hodgedon for this discussion) was that it seemed “dirty” or that it fouled the bore causing harder bullet seating with successive shots. Being skeptical about using these large charges made me shy away from some suggested loads (I think Bill had indicated up to around 105 gr. with the 300 grain bullets?) So maybe my fouling problem was the fact I was only loading around 95 gr. as I recall? In any event, I decided to throw caution to the wind (not really….since Steve has been shooting 102 to 103 grains with the 325 for quite some time.----His barrel is close to mine in profile and he still has all his fingers)
Further questioning revealed he had shot the 350 gr. AeroMax with 99.5 gr. of 4895 but apparently trashed a scope or two and has since stayed with the 325’s.
Again, getting back to barrel fouling, it is very possible that I needed to be feeding these bullets more powder to burn up that residue in the barrel.
So, Tuesday, Herman and I showed up at our range and I had 15 vials of 102.5 gr. of H-4895 and five of 99.5 grain prepared to see what happens. Steve indicated that the 102.5 grain load gave him 3080 fps on his LabRadar (LR) and 99.5 with the 350’s gave 3020 fps. Before coming to the range, I had cleaned and borescoped the barrel so I knew it was clean. This would give me a good indication on fouling. While the weather was overcast and around 70*, we did have some unusual (to our range) slight wind conditions. I tried, best I could, to watch the 200 yard wind flag (which appears in the lower portion of my scope while still being able to focus on the 300 yard target.) This helps dealing with the wind but not “carved in stone!” You can still get caught with a “pick up or a let up” and be out of the group.
First up was a fouling shot of 92 gr. of 8208 and a 300 Fury star tip at 3002 on a steel target. Then I followed by shooting a five shot group with a 350 gr. Fury II and the 102.5 gr. 4895 load. Velocity averaged 3135 fps with a 26 fps ES. The five shot group was somewhat large at 2.7” but shots 3, 4 and 5 came in at 1.8”. At this time, I do not think the wind played any part in the group. It is what it was however, it is not uncommon for the barrel to need some fouling before it starts to group……So far, the bullets all seated equally……….one handed.
Using the same charge, I switched to the 325 AeroMax. Again, the average velocity was 3136 fps (LR verified) but with a 55 fps ES! Hmmm? Taking one low shot of 3107 out of the group and the velocity is 3144 fps with a 31 fps ES. So here, the first three shots are .952”…..shot 4 opened it horizontally (wind) to 1.2” and shot 5 to 1.9” –horizontally. Note: Steve was getting 3080 fps with the same load.
So here is what I noticed: Prior to shooting this group, the rifle sat for about 25 minutes while I played with my 10/22……in other words, it cooled down to ambient temperature. When I loaded the first bullet, it got about half way down and became so tight, I needed two hands (not super tight) to get it seated. That shot was also the fastest at 3162 fps. After that, the next four loaded normally as did all the remaining shots I fired that day.
For group three, I switched to the 350 AeroMax and 99.5 gr. of H-4895. This load gave me 3023 fps with a 34 fps ES (this is what Steve was getting) While the ES is not all that great, it did put three shots in .544”, 4 in one inch and five 1.2” (Note: I had made a horizontal scope adjustment).
As I had four vials of 102.5 left, I opted to shoot them with the 300 gr. AeroMax (I also dropped two clicks on the scope). Here, the four shot velocity was right t 3200 fps with a 21 fps ES. The wind at this point was such that I could not keep track on my wind flag whether it was a tail, left or right wind and it shows in the 2.4” mostly horizontal group.
So………..after some 21 shots of H-4895, other than the one shot on the cool barrel, I found no evidence of fouling or tight loading……….for what that is worth?