When I brought home a Davidson's Run Ruger 77 ultralight in 7.62x39mm, I began pondering what bullet and powder to use.
I checked IMR's website and Hodgdon's, figuring I would use either a 125 or 130 grain bullet. I will admit that I use more Hodgdon powder than IMR, really for no particular reason that I know of. I scribbled down the load data for each of the sites and then a couple days ago, when I had a chance to do some shooting, I shot up some Lapua match ammo for the brass.
I was pleasantly suprised with the groups the little rifle gave with the Lapua ammo. I know it was loaded with the standard .310" or .311" bullet, but it definitely gave hunting accuracy. One thing that was immediately apparent, three shot groups with cooling time in between was a must. The "buggy whip" barrel and .308 bore heats up quick.
I loaded ten rounds each with the Lapua brass, Rem 9.5 primers, and the Sierra 125 grain Pro Hunter (flat base). I only differed in the powder. One load powered by H-4198, the other by HBL-C2.
I shot the H-4198 loads first. I only had about 85 yards to shoot in, and unfortunately had to shoot from a hasty rest across the hood of my truck. The rifle turned in groups in the 1.5-1.75" range. Certainly not something to be ruled out yet....Until I shot the BLC-2.
I keep BLC-2 on hand for use in my 7mm/08. My Remington Mountain Rifle just loves 140 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips pushed by 42.0 grains of BLC-2. As it turns out my little Ruger likes those 125 grain Sierra's pushed by 31.5 grains of BLC-2.
Again, this was far from a scientific bench rest test. Groups with this powder were significantly tighter. One of the three groups had all three shots touching, the other two groups had two of the three shots touching, and the third only out by a sliver of paper.
More of these loads will be tested before opening day, but I am definitely optimistic about being ready to hunt with this rifle during the upcoming season.
One last thing that encouraged me during this session was a bullet I recovered from the clay backstop. Conditions of the ground were as dry as a powder magazine, and the gound was hard. That Sierra showed perfect expansion, and there was no core/jacket seperation. The bullet had shed weight, but things were still together as they should be. Examination of the copper jacket of the projectile suprised me as being thicker than I thought it would be. I assumed that the bullets were designed for varmint use in the .308 or .30-06. At those speeds it probably would be. At the 2300 or so FPS I am pushing them, they are holding together well so far.
Sorry for rambling on, I think I get as much enjoyment out of working up a load to hunt with as anything else in the season. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
