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I found a very lightly used Remington 700 VSSF in 308 Win. I could not, for the life of me, get it to shoot sub-MOA with Varget/165 NBT. So I tried 43 grains of 4064, and bingo, bug holes(5 shot groups)!
I've read that 4064 is temp sensitive. Now, my problem is that I worked this load up yesterday, at 90 degrees in east Texas. I am taking this rifle to northern Michigan, where the temps can be 0-65 degrees in November!
I need to know if I'm still going to have an accurate load in the cold weather. Has anyone ever put a few cartridges in a freezer, then shot a group to find this out? I want to check the change in velocity, and POI. Will this work? I will be testing in my back yard, and the cartridges won't get much of a chance to warm up. Thoughts??
Last edited by longshot3; 09/22/16.
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Joined: Jun 2004
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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To make the test mean much you need to freeze the rifle too.
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Can't freeze the rifle. Just looking to see how the powder acts while cold. Am I crazy?
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Joined: Oct 2000
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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To make the test mean much you need to freeze the rifle too. This.
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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Which creates the problem of the rifle frosting over as soon as you remove it from the freezer, and then the frost melting.
At this point freezing the ammo is probably your best option, but in general single-based extruded powders like 4064 aren't all that temp-sensitive, and are easily ignited even in cold weather. I'd sure check the zero once you get there, however.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
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Definitely checking zero when I get there. Thanks Mule Deer, going to try it out.
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Joined: Jun 2004
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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I found a very lightly used Remington 700 VSSF in 308 Win. I could not, for the life of me, get it to shoot sub-MOA with Varget/165 NBT. So I tried 43 grains of 4064, and bingo, bug holes(5 shot groups)! Are you still using the military brass? There has been some sleuthing about the Federal 168 SMK match load, and the conclusion was it looks an awful lot like 42.8 grains of 4064 and that's in heavy brass like the military stuff. You may have hit on a very similar mark.
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I found a very lightly used Remington 700 VSSF in 308 Win. I could not, for the life of me, get it to shoot sub-MOA with Varget/165 NBT. So I tried 43 grains of 4064, and bingo, bug holes(5 shot groups)! Are you still using the military brass? There has been some sleuthing about the Federal 168 SMK match load, and the conclusion was it looks an awful lot like 42.8 grains of 4064 and that's in heavy brass like the military stuff. You may have hit on a very similar mark. For this load, I'm using commercial brass(Federal and Winchester). My 700 tactical, likes LC brass, 44 gr Varget, and 150grain Game Kings.
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Joined: Jun 2004
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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The same load is bugholing in both Federal and Winchester brass?
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The same load is bugholing in both Federal and Winchester brass? Yes! I was in disbelief, but happy!
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Campfire Outfitter
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I prefer classic.
Semper Fi
I used to run with the hare. Now I'm envious of the tortoise and I do my own stunts but rarely intentionally
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Nope. Just Varget and 4064.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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I found a very lightly used Remington 700 VSSF in 308 Win. I could not, for the life of me, get it to shoot sub-MOA with Varget/165 NBT. So I tried 43 grains of 4064, and bingo, bug holes(5 shot groups)!
I've read that 4064 is temp sensitive. Now, my problem is that I worked this load up yesterday, at 90 degrees in east Texas. I am taking this rifle to northern Michigan, where the temps can be 0-65 degrees in November!
I need to know if I'm still going to have an accurate load in the cold weather. Has anyone ever put a few cartridges in a freezer, then shot a group to find this out? I want to check the change in velocity, and POI. Will this work? I will be testing in my back yard, and the cartridges won't get much of a chance to warm up. Thoughts?? I would not worry about it. Just check zero as others have said. I routinely zeroed rifles in 60-90 degree weather here then hunted in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta in temps that stayed 0 to minus 20 through the day. Rifle and ammo were always outside and "frozen". I never missed a buck because of it.
The 280 Remington is overbore.
The 7 Rem Mag is over bore.
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Campfire Regular
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IME the only thing that varies with 4064 is your muzzle velocity. I haven't experienced a load that is accurate at one temperature, and not accurate at another. You are over thinking it.
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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Then you haven't shot in a very wide range of temperatures. But in general, yes he is over-thinking it. Re-checking the zero on arrival, which should be done anyway, will prevent any problems.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
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I ended up putting five rounds in the freezer for about three hours. Shot at the same distance, and noticed no difference at 125 yards. Now, it's time to think about busting a buck in cold weather! Will check zero when I get up there.
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I lived in Northern Michigan most of my life. The Keweenaw Peninsula in fact, doesn't get much Northern Michigan than that. I used IMR 4064 nearly exclusively until about ten years ago for my '06 burping 150 grain whatevers. There isn't any worries using it there in November or even February. Check your zero when you get there and rock on. Plenty of room for that up there and spare PBR cans for the job 
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