For all the Sirs at the Square Table, especially Sir Ron who has been so helpful in many ways in getting this done:
It finally got warm enough for my thin skin to make it to the range today - barely warm enough. I left the house at -1C/about 30F. Fifty minutes later I arrived at the range with temps around +3C (further south and closer to Lake Ontario that's always warmer than up where we live in the winter and spring. Summer is probably hottter up here because down there they get breezes off the lake. Anyway by the time I got set up (first one there) and waiting for everyone else to get their targets in place about 9:30 am, temps were up to 5-6*C. When I left 1 & 1/2 hrs later they were all the way to +10C. When I did my shooting it was somewhere between 6 - 8*C/ about 45*F. With about 15 to 20mph wind in my face I got chilled. So shooting temps were gradually warming but nonetheless cold to me after a winter of mostly indoors.
First up were those Federal factory 400gr TBBCs. I placed the Chrony so I could shoot at 50 yds. It took two to get on paper because it was last sighted for those 250gr MonoFlex at about 2685 fps, so I knew the 400s would be quite low of the sighting. Nonetheless, I put the crosshairs on center and squeezed of the one I'd disassembled and put back together again. It went "bang" and recorded the MV, but missed the target low. I tried a second that was recorded but missed low again as my thinking was to confirm a missing the target low. I aimed reticule to the top/center of the target, which recorded MV and came within 2" of center diamond, slightly right. Then the last two I overdid the correction but put two touching at near the bottom of the target. Because I was chilled, I'm planning another trip as soon as the weather starts to settle into the mid teens, then I'll make a group very slightly over center at 50 yds. As I said, the last two fired (I planned on shooting 5 total today) were touching with a spread of 0.393". There's promise there.
Here are the MVs, 1st to last shot: 2298, 2233, 2290, 2284, and 2248: corrected average to MV = 2282 fps/4624.8 ft-lbs. Recoil about 45 ft-lbs, minus the Mag-na-porting = ~40.5 ft-lbs with the rifle at 10.25 lbs with a single cartridge loaded and none in the stock cartridge holder. With 4 more +1 in chamber add 8 oz to total weight. That would add 1/2 lb to field weight but also reduce felt recoil by about 2 ft-lbs. Federal advertised the 400gr TBBC at an MV of 2250 fps, so my chronograph readings beat that by ~ 32 fps average of five.
I also fired two new loads in my .375 H&H. The first load reduced from last years load by 1 gr because it appeared to give less extreme spread: 3 into 0.963" at fifty - not great. The next load was the star of the show: 3 into 0.382" - a ragged hole. Average corrected to MV = 2847 fps from the 250gr Barnes TTSX. Pleasant to shoot. 83 grs of BIG GAME. Recoil: `41 ft-lbs with one in the chamber single loaded = 9.75 lbs. Will make some tweeks to put the group just over center at 50 yds. My bear bait will be at 40 - 50 yds from my blind. Bears are out already yet there's almost 2 months before hunting starts!
Will summarize details in tomorrow's blog with a few pics.
