Was shooting today, decided to dust off an old reliable load and clock it in my new barrel. 1st 2 rounds were spot on for accuracy & speed, clocked right @ 2750 fps. Round #3 was a bit stiff & I felt a gritty blowback pepper my face, extraction of the fired case was okay, maybe just a touch sticky.
Check the pics. Dang near a case head separation.
Other than the ammo being 13 years old & having a new stainless 26" barrel on the M-77, I've shot this same load for decades.
The IMR 4831 looks to be from 2000 & 2003.
The one factor could be I switched from a CCI 250 to the Fed 215 on this box. I'm pretty damn surprised looking at that, I hardly ever change a component on a proven load.....
(That could be it right there)
I'm sure my CCI 250 primers were never that mashed, I'd have backed off the load if they were.
That, and it was 85 degrees today @ the range. Most times I shoot it, 45-65 degrees.
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