Hand Loading Nosler e-Tips for the 7×57 Mauser – Prep for A Montana Deer Hunt By Ed Hale

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Ed Hale

I have a friend Oliver whose wife Mary is an avid hunter along with him. She shoots the .308 Winchester and she shoots the 7×57 Mauser. Honestly, I have never owned a 7×57 Mauser but it shoots sweet and kicks little. She loves the Cartridge. I understand why. In Africa hunters killed everything with it! Sort of like the 7mm-08 Winchester.

I came by opportunity to shoot the 7×57 because Oliver found it was impossible to find fully loaded rounds with the Nosler e-Tip Gilding Copper bullets.

I was testing the Nosler e-tips for Nosler and had some to load for her and get her feedback on them. They are hunting Montana next week so I was happy to help them with hand loading.

My experience with Nosler e-Tips is significant and had 7 mm 150 grain heads on hand. The ballistic coefficient is .427 and can reach out even at modest velocities. Years ago my friend reloaded but not recently so he gave me the Dies to reload the 7×57. It was a straightforward reload but I had to trim the once fired cases. I deprimed and tumbled them to give them some shine and clean them up. Since they are spending big dollars I took my time hand loading and hand weighing each round to within a 10th of a grain. The powder recommended by Nosler was H4831sc which I had in my powder locker. e-tips are not recommended to shoot at more than moderate velocities, accordingly I chose to shoot a starting load that was the most accurate for the whole of the powders I could choose. I chose seating depth to where the cannelure was on the bullet. Muzzle velocity according to the Nosler manual was a modest 2408 fps.

Adjusting for the first shot which was 7 inches to the right, I placed 2 rounds at .5/8 inch apart then we moved to 150 yards and placed the 3rd shot right next to the other 2. That was enough to prove the rounds accuracy was excellent for hunting. Now Mary should be able to shoot these as well at the range tomorrow and save rounds for the hunt. This cartridge has a Max Point Blank Range of 235 yards and will stay in a plus or minus 3 inch radius to that distance without changing the aim point. If needed the shooter can adjust the aim point beyond that distance and shoot out to 300 yards with an 11 inch bullet drop provide the wind is accounted for at 10 inches lateral with a 10 mph wind. Here a very steady rest is needed. Good Hunting to them!

In the mean time I am almost packed for my southern deer hunt with .243 Winchester and 7mm Remington Magnum both shooting e-Tips.

Hunting Ammo and Bullet Fragmentation by Ed Hale

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Ed Hale

I provide this thought provoking article for your education and mine on choosing your hunting bullet. Outdoor Life, in the article below, has more on the lead in rifle bullets used to kill deer and other big game for food. Man has been killing and consuming wild game shot with lead for hundreds of years. We are still here, but can we do better?

http://www.outdoorlife.com/articles/hunting/whitetail-deer/accessories-gear/2008/12/update-lead-your-meat

Also, below is a Power Point Presentation on the Minnesota Study regarding lead fragmentation. Lead fragments have been found as far away as 18 inches from the wound with some high speed bullet types. Most slow muzzle loader or shotgun show no lead particles.The DNR report has x-ray images that you can see with your own eyes.

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/fish_wildlife/lead/index.htm

Prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you don’t want lead in your game meat you can shoot rifle bullets without lead in them. This is a 100% guarantee of “no lead” Or shoot a shotgun slug or muzzle loader that is slow enough not to fragment.

Shoot bullets whose lead is bonded to the jacket and is proven to retain most of its weight. Bonded bullets are new on the hunting scene in the past decade and add to the value of a controlled expansion bullet that often provides an exit wound and a blood trail.

The Nosler’s E-Tip : E in E- Tip® is for Expansion and retains virtually 100% of its copper weight, curles into a perfect mushroom, and leaves no copper in your barrel or the game you hunt.

On the Nosler AccuBond; I have killed game with the Nosler AccuBond® and find that it is true to its name and holds a high weight retention.

I hear good reports for high weight retention for Barnes Bullets made of soft copper and mushroom well but find that they leave copper in some of my rifle barrels not a big detractor just scrub your barrel well and more often.

The Hornady InterBond® bullet is a bonded lead core to the copper jacket and has high weight retention as does the Swift Scirocco® a bonded bullet that uses pure copper for the jacket and not gilding copper. Pricing of bullets for hunting are a little more for bonded and copper but they are worth it! Here is a chart of cost per shot using a .270 Winchester as an example. Note: Winchester makes a copper bullet not included here, maybe another article.

It looks like copper is slightly more per shot but data shows that they retain the most weight of the two types bonded vs copper and fully mushrooms or petals. Both bonded and copper stay together often leaving an exit wound for a blood trail. But only copper leaves no lead fragments in your meat! Choose you Bullets…WISELY!

Nosler Bonded and Copper Bullets Best for Meat Hunters by Ed Hale

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Ed Hale

It is a known fact that keeps the campfire talk burning, that if you shoot a deer with hyper-velocity 3000 fps plus, small lead core bullets, that there will likely be an explosion of damage on impact especially if a rib bone is struck on entrance, the bullet’s lead core will separate from the jacket and will fragment thus penetration will suffer and game may be harder to find lacking a blood trail. But there is more to this than meets the eye.

Further, that lead fragmentation is more widely distributed causing more loss of delicious venison suspected of metal and lead contamination. As a grandparent I want my grand-kids to eat the best venison I can provide so I shoot the best bullets that hold together.

Nosler provides one of the best bullet solutions among others but I trust Nosler. Simple as that! I have been shooting Nosler’s for decades when hunting.

To date, there have not been any cases of human illnesses linked to lead particles in hunter-harvested venison according to a study conducted by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Connection and Minnesota DOE et al. But better hunting bullets ensure to prevent this.

I had this lead bullet conversation with a friend the other day whose brother owns a 25-06, a fine long range rifle for deer and antelope at far distances. What happened was that the deer was struck in the lung area but no exit wound occurred. The deer ran off, the shooter later followed looking for a blood trail and found not a drop. The only thing the hunter had was the visual direction of the animal after the shot. He knew he hit the animal well but it took him a few days of searching to find that deer not far, in fact, from the hit. It had no exit wound to leave a blood trail. This hunter, like me, reloads his own ammo and decided never to use that jacketed lead bullet for anything but punching paper. I can’t say that I blame him because we hunters want a clean kill and the meat for the table too. Lesson Learned!

Best high power 20 and 30 caliber hunting bullets on game are bonded with lead to the copper like the Nosler AccuBond and maintain a high percentage of weight and negligible fragmentation.

Full copper bullets too like the Nosler E-Tip are designed to create a petal like a flower instead of a mushroom and keep an even higher percentage of weight and no-lead at all.

Large calibers like .375 and 40 calibers with lead cores that are un-bonded will fully penetrate because of the bullets large size and its weight/momentum and will fragment little.

A blood trail is necessary in bow hunting and in gun hunting big game for a fast recovery. In order to have a blood trail to follow you need an exit wound. Now there are some out there who do not believe an exit wound is needed. Nuts! It is your best chance for a fast recovery and flavorful meat with less stress hormones in the meat which can make the meat taste less inviting. Keep the hunting bullets that are not bonded for paper punching unless they are sizable 150 grains or larger. On the further down side is the fact that lead bullets that can fragment often require more of the surrounding meat to be tossed out suspecting fragments in the meat.

In the many articles I have written, bullets like the Nosler E-Tip and AccuBond are designed not for the target shooter but for hunters who want to maintain bullet weight while mushrooming thus creating a large wound channel for blood to flow and full penetration with an exit wound and to prevent fragmentation.

Accordingly, the Nosler E-Tip is one of the finest hunting bullets available providing full Penetration and little or no fragmentation, a no-lead solution.

Further that the E-Tip is gilding alloy copper and leaves no appreciable copper in the barrel, and no one likes scrubbing copper out of barrels. Go buy some Nosler AccuBonds or E-Tips Today! You will be glad you did. © 2015

Bullet Wind Drift Correction – by Ed Hale

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Ed Hale

If you want to know calculated wind drift correction at long ranges of 200 to 600 yards you need accurate data from a chronograph and an on-line ballistic calculator such as the JBM Ballistics calculator at www.jbmballistics.com. Go to trajectory data input.

Here is a wind table I have created of wind correction in inches needed to be on a 6 inch target if the rifle was zeroed at 250 yards with a BC of 0.489 and bullet muzzle velocity of 2950 fps. To the left is wind speed and to the right is the wind correction needed to keep the bullet on target at distances out to 600 yards.

At the bottom of the table is the bullet drop as it is affected by gravity. This table now needs to be proven at the ranges and corrected as needed for real world data. I interpret that at wind speeds of 5 mph or less that you can shoot all the way out to 294 yards as the True Max Point Blank Range without need to compensate for gravity to stay in a 6 inch circle. At 400 yards the bullet will drop at the same rate 32 feet per second per second no matter what the wind does and will drop 15 inches (in yellow) based on its ballistic coefficient (wind drag) or you can compensate by turning your vertical adjustment up 3.5 MOA.

Tools:

Chronograph (cost 80 to 120 dollars)

A Camera stand that can connect to the Chronograph base

Data of Ballistic Coefficient for your bullet

A Ballistic Calculator such as www.jbmballistics.com

Once you shoot your rifle to get data for your bullet speed using the chronograph, In theory many serious hobby ballistician’s use the 6 inch circle as the ideal target bullseye of the heart lungs of a whitetail deer when plugging in data to the calculator. Some will use 8 inches for Elk heart and lungs. The lungs of a deer are laterally longer than 6 inches but you get the idea. So you have a little print out of this field tested data on your stand. You note a buck is standing at 500 yards facing left and the wind is blowing right to left at 10 mph where should you aim? I mean if you are practiced at this. Laterally you should aim around 17 inches to right of the lungs just forward of the rear ham muscle and adjust your vertical height on the scope accordingly to compensate for the 33 inch drop which is 6.4 MOA. This kind of shot needs to be practiced in training to be sure of the shot. If you have not practiced this kind of shot then let the deer walk away. Perhaps another day he will be at 100 yards, right? It is about the ethics, a clean kill and training.

Savage 11/111 Long Range Hunter Rifle and Leupold VX-6 Scope and Nosler Bullets Out of the Box (Part 1) By Ed Hale

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Ed Hale

I chose this 7mm Remington Magnum caliber to test because of the availability of ammo and brass for reloading and its outstanding accuracy record at any hunting distance. I chose the rifle because it has so much versatility with the built in cheek rest and muzzle brake. Due to the popularity of this rifle, it took my friends at Savage some time to obtain one for me to test for NH Rifleman publication. We will be testing this rifle with the Leupold VX-6 3-18 44mm CDS Illuminated Boone and Crockett system and with Nosler E-Tip Expandable solid gilding copper bullets in 140 and 150 grains.

Hunters can spend many thousands of dollars on a fine hunting rifle and never equal the engineered quality of this Rifle at this price point MSRP of $1136. Yes it is not cheap but for what is in this rifle it is truly amazing if it can shoot as well as they say. Read on…

For the Techies like me…The rifle is for right handed shooters with a barrel rate of twist of 9.5 thus for 140 grains to 175 grains bullets are stable. Stability is calculated at http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmstab-5.1.cgi where bullets are very stable above a factor of 1.5.

THE RIFLE

The rifle weighs in at 8.65 pounds without scope. Barrel Length is 26 inches and includes a 2 inch muzzle brake that can be turned on and off by a simple twist. Ammo capacity is three rounds and the cartridge is based on the large .375 Holland & Holland Magnum and necked down to 7.2mm or .284 inches. I think of this rifle as a 24 inch barrel with a 2 inch muzzle brake. So what is so engineered? I liked the Savage videos below to share with our readers all the details. The adjustable cheek rest needs an allen wrench to change the height.

Stock – The AccuStock is engineered to seat the floating barrel firmly in a metal housing. A video presentation makes this clear. http://savagearms.com/accuracy/accustock/

Trigger – Next is the innovative and Adjustable AccuTrigger which allows low trigger weights and with Safety primary. The trigger on this rifle is set just under 3 pounds at 2 pounds 15 ounces and breaks crisply. Video http://savagearms.com/accuracy/accutrigger

Barrels are button rifled with a floating bolt head and head-space control and video clips are seen here. http://savagearms.com/accuracy

Recoil Pad and Muzzle Brake

The rifle has a state of the art recoil pad and absorbs lots of felt recoil. But the best option is the Muzzle Brake. Savage added a 2 inch Muzzle Brake that can be turned on or off, adding more or less to velocity and recoil absorption (Pictured below with the brake activated. See the background through the center holes)

THE SCOPE

The Leupold Scope is the VX-6 3-18 44mm CDS Illuminated with Boon and Crockett Reticle. We will set the scope on 10x for 100 yards with no Illumination. The body of this scope is too short for the existing mounts on the rifle so a set of high rings and a longer forward mount was purchased from Weaver to move the rings closer together.

THE BULLET

See the You Tube videos of Nosler bullets and E-Tips on the internet.

On one video the bullet began expand on impact of ballistic gel and at 5 to 6 inches and beyond it creates a maximum wound channel of 4 inches for an ethical kill and maintained more than 95% of bullet weight throughout and mushroomed perfectly.

BULLET GROUP TESTS (OUT OF THE BOX) SUB MOA August 7, 2015

Bullets were reloaded according to SAAMI spec’s and Nosler Manual Powder and Load recommendations for each bullet. IMR 4831 powder was chosen because it was available and had a starting load that was already proven to be accurate.

140 grain 100 yard Test at a MV of 2950 fps with 62 grains of IMR 4831 with the Muzzle Brake turned off ( Recoil was very acceptable with 140 grain bullets)

DATA and Photo’s

Group 1 = 1.06 inches

Group 2 = 0.812 inches

Group 3 = 0.687 inches

Average = .853 inches

JBM Ballistics Table for Drop, Velocity, Energy and Max Point Blank Range MPBR for a 6 inch target. Max Point Blank Range is 293 yards when sighted for 250 yard zero. If the wind was 10 mph the shot would be limited to 220 yards without any correction. The maximum height of bullet flight is at 3 inches high at 141 yards.

I was thrilled with the rifle, scope and bullet set up as this combination shot sub minute of angle right out of the Box! WOW!!!

Best Handloaded 30 Cal Picks for Deer and Bear

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Ed Hale

What is best in 30 cal for deer and bear depends on your likes and dislikes. Likes would be a round that has ample penetration and energy at ranges out to say 300 yards. That would be the 30-06 and .308 Winchester. At less distances the 30-30 Winchester is a low recoil rifle that often is in a lever action model such as the Marlin 30-30. From a reloading perspective, brass from any of these 30 calibers is readily available. Bullets range in weights from 110 grains to 220 grains for the .308 and 30-06 and best of all you get to choose the bullet like the Nosler AccuBond or the Hornady InterBond that are so well constructed. Other manufacturers are aplenty so there are more choices. For years I shot game with Nosler Partitions a great choice! The AccuBond and IB from Nosler and Hornady respectively have a high ballistic coefficient (BC) for long range use. If shots are under 100 yards then a round nose will act more like a hammer as it enters the vitals. I shot a buck with a round nose at 25 yards and it collapsed and the deer fell stone dead, not taking a step so pointed bullets are not always the norm here in the northeast.

On the Magnum side is the 300 Winchester Magnum, .300 H& H Magnum, the 300 Remington Short Action Ultra Magnum, .308 Norma Magnum and the .300 Winchester Short Magnum to name a few. They can be hand loaded up or down to mimic the .308 or .30-06 energies and velocities and when needed to shoot further at say 600 yards. Most popular of these is perhaps the .300 Winchester Magnum. Most all 30 Cal rifles have the blessing of a wide range of bullets, weights and powders.

If you are not a hand loader then I would stick with cost effective off the shelf ammo and rifles in .308, 30-06 and 30-30. You can go into any store that sells ammo and find these cartridges cost effectively anywhere.

Tips for new shooters and veterans alike is to make sure that the recoil pad is one of the newer high tech recoil pads that absorb up to 50% of felt recoil. Simms SVL and Pachmayr Decelerator sell slip on pad and mounted pads that will be sure to make you smile instead of wince at the shot.

In closing, I have opted to shoot magnum calibers that I can hand load down to .308 or .30-06 or even the 30-30 level as long as accuracy does not suffer. If you wish to compete at long range then the .308 Winchester is widely available and a best choice for brass availability.

Why the Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator in 6.5 Creedmoor?

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Ed Hale

This was a cartridge that could have been a kin to the .308 Winchester parent cartridge but wasn’t. Hornady produced this original cartridge in 2007 and has grown steadily ever since in both the target world and the hunting world. Just between the .243 and .270 there was room to create a cartridge who’s mild recoil is similar to the .243 Winchester but shoots bullets 100 grains to 140 grains from Prairie Dogs to Elk. The .243 is not an Elk cartridge and the .270 has not been a favorite of Bench Rest Target shooters for pure accuracy. In order to make this 6.5 special required making its own Cartridge which is a bit smaller and shorter than the .308 Winchester but unwittingly a great big game cartridge.

The Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator does justice to this Cartridge in many ways. The laminate stock is as strong and precision cut as if made from a pure synthetic material. The stainless steel barrel that is hammer forged is the finest barrel for the price. And the Ruger controlled feed action ensures a very high degree of reliable feed. The trigger is a fully adjustable 2 stage target trigger and comes in the 2 pound class making it a fine long range target or predator rifle. It is recommended that adjustments are made by a qualified gunsmith.

The 6.5 Creedmoor round is said to be great on barrel life so for those who shoot large quantities of ammo are in for a treat. Go to my first article far below to begin reading this in the correct sequence.

Reloading 6.5 Creedmoor Cartridge – Initial Observations

Posted on May 23, 2015 by Ed Hale

The first thing I discovered is that new Brass for the Creedmoor does not appear to be abundant. In fact I found Hornady brass to be the one of the only available new brass in stock. Nosler Brass was out of stock. If you have read my previous articles on the 6.5 Creedmoor you will see that the Hornady brass is soft, thus making it difficult to reload. Lots of case prep to bevel the inside of the case neck without creating a sharp flair edge is difficult indeed. Pressing on with the only new brass in town, I have succeeded in reloading it more than twice. The brass is stiffer as it becomes harder with use and better for pressing the bullet into the neck.

Of great interest should be Cartridge Overall Length (COL) ; The Max SAAMI Over All Cartridge Length is specified as 2.825.

I am shooting 120 grain Sierra Pro-Hunter heads as I am a hunter first and a target shooter second. I originally set the COL for this head with case at 2.53 inches and later discovered that I could push the head out as far as a COL of 2.70 and still have enough of the bullet seated. Groups of the 2.53 COL show excellent results as groups are 1 inch or less. Yesterday I shot several rounds set at a COL of 2.70 and the result deteriorated with fliers in the 2 inch group area. One would think that groups would improve as the bullet is closer to the rifling. Not so in this case, perhaps because the case had very little of the bullet in it. I perceive that the 120 grain is still a small bullet for the 6.5 and that heavier and larger bullets will make better use of the max COL.

Bullets are readily available from most all manufacturers, key bullets like the Nosler AccuBond are available as are several Berger Hunting Bullets, et al. The reloader must experiment with COL to see what works best and provides best groups.

On powders, my only experience is with Hodgdon Hornady Superformance at this time and I like it very much because it is a smaller kernel and meters well with less variation than larger kernels. Nosler folks suggest powders such as Varget, W760, IMR 4007 SSC, Big Game, H4350, RL17 and Hunter.among others.

Since the Creedmoor Cartridge is new, older reloading manuals do not have it. Nosler does provide load data at http://www.nosler.com/nosler-load-data/65-creedmoor/ and SAAMI specifications. Hornady has the 6.5 listed at http://www.hornady.com/store/6.5-Creedmoor but no data for reloading. Check out the scrapbook of game animals taken. It includes a record Gemsbok. © 2015

Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator System Test – 6.5 Creedmoor – Updated

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Ed Hale

System Test: All components to make the shot.

Rifle – Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator 6.5 Creedmoor

Scope: Leupold VX-6 3-18x44mm B&C Reticle

Brass – Hornady

Bullets – Sierra Pro- Hunter spitzer 120 grain flat base

Powder Hodgdon Hornady Superformance at 47.5 grains

Max Cartridge OAL is 2.825

Cartridge overall length used in this test is 2.53 inches due to my own flawed empirical tests. The longer reach to the rifling I used does not appear hurt hunting accuracy at all.

A system test is one which integrates all factor into one. The shooter, rifle, brass, bullet, powder, scope,trigger pull etc. On 5/20/ 2015, I shot at my club range at 100 yards. I had to wait till late afternoon to shoot as the wind was blowing gusts past 20 mph for most of the day. In less than 10 mph wind I shot a 4 shot 1 inch group that I was just “ok” at 100 yards See photo below. That group below is truly excellent for a hunter but if you are target shooting, then I expect sub-MOA groups such as 1/2 inch or tighter from this 6.5 Creedmoor since that its derivative, a supreme target rifle that a hunter can use as well. Trigger pull average of several pull sequences is 2 lb 2.6 oz and very consistent and very crisp. As a hunter this is too low, I think, for the average shooter but in competent well practices hands is just fine for bean field hunting at long-range where there is a rest involved.

That night I chose to change only one of the factors. The cleaning of the barrel was the factor that was easiest to eliminate as a contributor to this mediocre performance. Accordingly, I scrubbed the barrel with a brush and Butches Bore Bright alternating to patch and back to the brush until it shined like a mirror. It is often the case that new barrels need some break-in rounds.

The next morning I went to shoot at 600 yards as pictured in the prone position above and found that my set up, rest and such was too low indeed as I struggled to relax. I shot just 5 shots and hit the target each time but I was not at an optimum position. Groupings reflected my suspicion as they were in the black but grouped greater than 12 inches with no wind. With 1 inch groups at 100 yards translates to 6 inch groups, and that was just not happening. I stopped shooting at 600 yards and went back to my club and shot a 100 yard target to see where it fell. I had to reset the Leupold back to its zero point having adjusted it 12 minutes up for 600 yards. So I cranked the vertical adjustment back down to its 100 yard zero (48 clicks). This is a test point for the Leupold scope! It should be back where I left it at about 1 inch high above the bull.

Below is the 2nd 3 shot group at 100 yards. Yes, three shot group! The first two bullets went through the same hole at 100 yards and the third printed just 5/8 inch above.

More alternate shooting and cleaning will aid to base line the accuracy of this load. Am I happy with the second group ever out of this rifle? You Bet. The weather was perfect with almost no wind, sunny and bright.

The only component of this system that gave me difficulty was the Hornady Brass. I found that the shoulders were too soft and any pressure to press the bullet into the case resulted in a slight bulge of the case where the shoulder meets the rest of the case body. Trial and error and lots of chamfering were successful however. I would try other manufacturers if I need more brass but as I recall there were no immediate choices, and preferred Nosler brass (none available).

Component Score (10 is the highest) Score

Rifle – Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator 6.5 Creedmoor 10

Scope: Leupold VX-6 3-18x44mm B&C Reticle 10

Brass – Hornady Neck Too Soft 6

Bullets – Sierra Pro- Hunter spitzer 120 grain flat base 2891 fps 10

Powder Hodgdon Hornady Superformance at 47.5 grains 10

System Score (without Brass) 10

Overall Comments:

The rifle with this Leupold scope is just right for an adult hunter to carry afield and recoils so little that a young shooter with a rest could shoot it well. Cranking the Leupold scope up 48 clicks and down proved exact for where I created the scope elevation zero at 100 yards proving its accuracy in this case. On reloading the Brass; As I reload the brass it will stiffen so over time it will be less of an issue.

Bottom line I need to be better prepared to shoot Prone at 600 yards with a better adjustable rest or front bi-pod with rear bag support. The prone bi-pod is perhaps the best overall afield as my son suggested recently. Perhaps some target bullets too. I plan to purchase a roll out prone blanket, change the Prone Rest and test it before hand. As you can see, we all learn from our mistakes. If we make none, we learn little.

Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator 6.5 Creedmoor & Product Tests – Day One

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Ed Hale

Ruger® M77® Hawkeye® Predator 6.5 Creedmoor & Product Tests – Day One

Day One – I did not waste a moment when I picked up this rifle from my FFL friends at State Line Guns Ammo and Archery in Plaistow today. Yes, I am like a big kid in a candy store when it comes to new rifles and scopes and I am sure most all of your rifleman out there are just the same. Upon receiving the rifle, I inspected it and all was as it should be visually a beautiful rifle with the laminate stock. I mounted the brand new Leupold VX-6 3 -18 x 44mm CDS Scope to test too.(Above Photo by Author). The combination looks stunning! Future Testing includes the use of Hornady Brass, CCI Primers, Hodgdon Hornady Superformance Powder and Sierra bullets a combination that I believe will work supremely well.

I inspected the bore but it was a dull shine so I swabbed the bore with Butches bore bright. It is a good idea to clean the bore of a new rifle so you have a pristine starting point. Test shots are taken at the factory as was very likely in this case.

(Photo by Author)

The swab on the right was a first pass. Finding this, I ran a brush just once and then swabbed again with the patch to the left. I ran more till the bore was clean. Having owned several Ruger’s, I placed the bolt in the rifle and it worked smoothly. I did read the manual to see if there was anything new and found there were video’s which could be viewed on line for use and dis-assembly plus the lock they provide for safety and a pair of 20mm Ruger scope rings. Luckily I had a pair of 30mm rings for the Leupold VX-6 to attach to the Ruger scope platform.

I used a Wheeler Fat Wrench to torque the mounting and scope ring screws. (Photo by Author)

Next is to load the new Hornady cartridge cases, I could not get any Nosler cases as they were out of stock but the Hornady Cases look terrific. (Photo below by Author)

The brass necks and shoulder have been annealed (softened) for reloading. Now off to the reloading bench. I have found that the necks of this new brass need to be really hand chamfered quite a bit on the inside edge so that the flat base bullet does not distress the case neck angle. I ruined a few cases and bullet heads in the learning process but all is well. It took some time and trial and error to determine the cartridge length to the rifling inside the barrel (approx.2.53 to 2.6 inches by my reckoning seems a good COL for the 120 grain bullet based on later tests). Once known you should seat the bullet a bit deeper, so as not to contact the rifling. Good reloading manuals will help with this distance away from the lands and it varies from bullet to bullet and brand to brand. I used CCI 200 large rifle primers.

My research indicates that Hodgdon Hornady Superformance Powder is one of the best powders for my Sierra 120 grain Pro Hunter bullet for the 6.5 Creedmoor. Also Alliant’s Reloader 17 has been cited for excellence with the Creedmoor too.

Inspection of several fired rounds indicate that I am good to load up some ammo for another day. The recoil was pleasingly mild and the trigger seemed perfect. I will measure the trigger pull next with an electronic trigger pull gage along with other attributes.

I loaded less than a recommended load by a grain and a half, shot the round and examined the primer and cartridge. All looked normal so I shot the recommended load and it looked normal as well. Great! Now to load up some rounds for bullet speed by chronograph and accuracy with the new scope for this load and bullet. End of Day One. Much more to come… © 2015

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