53gn V-Max

[Elliott]

Just picked up x100 53gn Hornady V-Max. Was going to plumb for the 55gn until I looked at the BC figures and the 53gn boasted an impressive 0.290

Looking forward to seeing how these perform in my 1/12 twist Tikka 223

[223AI]

Did you try those A-max I sent you? I found they were very good with my 1:12 with the added advantage they are a 'non' expanding bullet so if you go through the load development process with them you can at least buy them by post. Plus they expand incredibly well as they are designed to explode on metal targets without damaging them...

[Ka-Boom!]

Just picked up x100 53gn Hornady V-Max. Was going to plumb for the 55gn until I looked at the BC figures and the 53gn boasted an impressive 0.290

Looking forward to seeing how these perform in my 1/12 twist Tikka 223

Now here's a good use for your N133!
I use 24.5gn in neck sized Lapua brass (25ish grains for thinner brass) and seat these out to 2.290" to fit the T3 mag giving ~3250fps out of my 20" barrel. I load the 52gn Amax the same and get quite astonishing accuracy and expansion for both.

[Elliott]

Did you try those A-max I sent you? I found they were very good with my 1:12 with the added advantage they are a 'non' expanding bullet so if you go through the load development process with them you can at least buy them by post. Plus they expand incredibly well as they are designed to explode on metal targets without damaging them...

Hi mate, yes I did and I nearly bought some more today until I saw the BC of the 53gn ones. They A-max started to shape up really well but as I was new and a bit nervous I kept the powder charges on the low side.

Here was the group: http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/a...psfe971350.jpg

Starting to get a lot more confident now so I'm hoping for better results. I need to send you that money through for the Kinetic Hammer too - I'll do it this wweekend

[Elliott]

Now here's a good use for your N133!
I use 24.5gn in neck sized Lapua brass (25ish grains for thinner brass) and seat these out to 2.290" to fit the T3 mag giving ~3250fps out of my 20" barrel. I load the 52gn Amax the same and get quite astonishing accuracy and expansion for both.

Yes that's what I was thinking. Might as well find a bullet to suit my powder before I buy a faster burning one for the Nosler's. As Boydy said, the A-Max ammo seems very good too. To be honest it was between the 55gn, 53gn and the 52gn Amax. The BC of the 53gn just edged it for me

[salmo]

Yes that's what I was thinking. Might as well find a bullet to suit my powder before I buy a faster burning one for the Nosler's. As Boydy said, the A-Max ammo seems very good too. To be honest it was between the 55gn, 53gn and the 52gn Amax. The BC of the 53gn just edged it for me

Shame its not close to being anything like the real figure Elliott.

In the real world the BC of that 53 vmax is around 0.255 and it often doesn't stabilise well in 12 twist barrels due to its unusually long bearing surface for its length. Hornady often overstate their BC's, that is quite well known among serious re-loaders. In practical terms for the rifle that you have there is no real ballistic advantage to any of the bullets available to you for the realistic effective ranges you will be able to shoot accurately to.

Keeping things realistic your rifle is 300-350yd capable because your 12 twist barrel can't stabilise the heavier bullets needed to reliably reach out further. On that basis you could use bullets in the 40gr-55gr range, all of which will shoot really well with N133. Drop/drift figures for anything running around max SAAMI speeds between 40gr and 55gr will be so near to each other it wont matter out to 300yds.

Looking at your groups there is something fundamentally wrong, your rifle should be much more accurate than that and getting a load developed shouldn't be taking you as long. Looking at your .22LR videos it appears you can shoot a bit so you should be getting 1/2" groups with that Tikka by now.

[Ka-Boom!]

Just spotted your groups Elliott, and I suspect your loads are too low to fully stabilise the longish Amax. Work up, say at half a grain at a time, and I think your groups will tighten up considerably.
I too think the advertised BC of the 53gn Vmax is improbably high, so I'd simply pick the bullet that shoots best in your rifle and not worry too much about manufacturers blurb.
My own rifle hangs on well to around 500 yards, but unpredictable weirdness happens at 600 probably caused as the bullet drops into the transonic zone.

[223AI]

Just spotted your groups Elliott, and I suspect your loads are too low to fully stabilise the longish Amax. Work up, say at half a grain at a time, and I think your groups will tighten up considerably.
I too think the advertised BC of the 53gn Vmax is improbably high, so I'd simply pick the bullet that shoots best in your rifle and not worry too much about manufacturers blurb.
My own rifle hangs on well to around 500 yards, but unpredictable weirdness happens at 600 probably caused as the bullet drops into the transonic zone.

Shouldn't tat be 596 yars mate?

[Elliott]

Looking at your groups there is something fundamentally wrong, your rifle should be much more accurate than that and getting a load developed shouldn't be taking you as long. Looking at your .22LR videos it appears you can shoot a bit so you should be getting 1/2" groups with that Tikka by now.

Perhaps you're right but the picture on this thread was taken a while ago and shows my first ever attempt at reloading using some A-max bullets that Boydy kindly sent over.

My best groups so far have been with the Nosler bullets, but only because I've had so many to play with. My last group with the Nosler's was 0.7" at 135 yards and that was with a strong breeze from left to right.

I'll continue to persevere and see how things improve (or not as may be the case) over time. Looking forward to trying the 53gn VMax

[Elliott]

Just spotted your groups Elliott, and I suspect your loads are too low to fully stabilise the longish Amax. Work up, say at half a grain at a time, and I think your groups will tighten up considerably.
I too think the advertised BC of the 53gn Vmax is improbably high, so I'd simply pick the bullet that shoots best in your rifle and not worry too much about manufacturers blurb.
My own rifle hangs on well to around 500 yards, but unpredictable weirdness happens at 600 probably caused as the bullet drops into the transonic zone.

Yeah I think your right and those were my thoughts too. Like I mentioned, it was my first attempt at reloading so I wasn't as confident! I'll pick some more Amax up next pay day

[DedIdick]

Just picked up x100 53gn Hornady V-Max. Was going to plumb for the 55gn until I looked at the BC figures and the 53gn boasted an impressive 0.290

Looking forward to seeing how these perform in my 1/12 twist Tikka 223

My 53gn Vmax reloads (going at approx. 3400 fps) work very well up to around 300 yards through a 1 in 12

[Elliott]

My 53gn Vmax reloads (going at approx. 3400 fps) work very well up to around 300 yards through a 1 in 12

Sounds promising, I've read that they were specifically made for 1/12 twist barrels so I'm hoping for similar results.

What powder are you using Dick?

[salmo]

What exactly do you want from this rifle Elliott?

Are you looking for a foxing rifle that will be shot in the dark a lot of are you wanting to bash crows and rabbits to 300 is or a bit of both?

I think its best to try and establish your main use first then look for a bullet to do this job. So far I see no mention of Sierra who make very good quality bullets, much better in my experience than Hornady. For a good while I used a load of 21.5gr of N133 under a 55gr Sierra Blitzking, it was running at only 3000fps from a 20" barrel but would shoot around 1" at 300yds. The drop may have been a touch less if I pushed the bullets faster to say 3250 but the truth was this load was accurate enough for the job which was rabbits and crows to 350yds. Once you get over 300yds you hit rate really starts to drop due to wind reading errors.

I can't see the point in doing load development with a varying wind coming across your line of fire, it would make much more sense to me to shoot the test at 100yds and into the wind.

[223AI]

I can't see the point in doing load development with a varying wind coming across your line of fire, it would make much more sense to me to shoot the test at 100yds and into the wind.

Let's be fair, it may well have been the only opportunity to do the load testing into a safe backstop, decent light etc. I've done exactly the same in the past as the only opportunity to try out some loads has been at a mate's permission before we went Lamping. Finding time to get out and shoot with a young family and work commitments means you can't always wait for perfect conditions!

You'll find out more about how a load shoots amd if it shows promise in less than perfect conditions than you will with them sat in the cabinet.....

[Elliott]

What exactly do you want from this rifle Elliott?

Are you looking for a foxing rifle that will be shot in the dark a lot of are you wanting to bash crows and rabbits to 300 is or a bit of both?

I think its best to try and establish your main use first then look for a bullet to do this job. So far I see no mention of Sierra who make very good quality bullets, much better in my experience than Hornady. For a good while I used a load of 21.5gr of N133 under a 55gr Sierra Blitzking, it was running at only 3000fps from a 20" barrel but would shoot around 1" at 300yds. The drop may have been a touch less if I pushed the bullets faster to say 3250 but the truth was this load was accurate enough for the job which was rabbits and crows to 350yds. Once you get over 300yds you hit rate really starts to drop due to wind reading errors.

I can't see the point in doing load development with a varying wind coming across your line of fire, it would make much more sense to me to shoot the test at 100yds and into the wind.

I'm after developing a round that is as accurate as it can be and to be quite honest I'm enjoying the process as much as the shooting. Playing around with reloads is now part of the hobby. Knocking over crows at 300 yards would be perfect.

Regarding your other point, I'm currently on a closed ticket, in fact I'm waiting for my conditions to be lifted as we speak - I expect to have my amended cert back next week. I have been waiting for the land at the back of my house where I shoot with the rimmy to be cleared for centrefire for about two months now but the FEO's have been that busy it's not been possible. Once it's cleared things will become much easier.

I probably get one opportunity each week (sometimes every other week) to drive to my family land around 50 miles away to do range testing. There's only one good spot to use as a range when rattling round after round testing ammo and belive it or not sometimes it can be a bit breezy..