Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles 75 gr ELD-M nose deformation

I bought some 75 gr ELDM today to try in my 1-8" .223 with Varget. It's a slightly compressed load (25.0 grains) but I noticed the seating die put a ring around the nose of the bullet. The nose looks pinched a bit from the seater stem.

How will, if at all, this affect accuracy?





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only way to find out.... 3 or 4 shots will tell ya if they do affect accuracy...

I wouldn't think so myself..... at least not at 100 to 200 yds...

I'm sure you are planning on shooting further...

They should be ok.

I have loaded some heavies for my 22-250 quick twist and have had some with rings.

They shot to the same point on the target.

Out of curiosity, what seater die are you using? I got some of those 75 ELD's I haven't got to loading yet.

You're compressing Varget which is causing the ring on the nose. Go to a different powder such a XBR 8208 to reduce the compression and you'll not have to deal with the nose ring.

Depending on Mfg of die, you can install a VLD seating stem which may help.

I'm using Hornady Custom Grade dies. I bought the ELD seating stem for loading 7mm ELDX (7mm Rem Mag and 7mm-08), looks like Hornady is going to get me for another twelve bucks.




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Varget was recommended to me for use in the 1-8" Tikka by a couple of people, I'm going to try it.




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We've all got to experiment for ourselves of course, but you really would be better off with 8208 (or Benchmark, I suspect they are the same) as suggested. Not that you shouldn't try Varget if you've got it, but you'll find equal accuracy and 100-150+ fps more velocity with 8208, and no compression issues. You'll also get more rounds per pound of powder.

There's nothing wrong with compressed loads, but if it's to the point of damaging the bullet while seating (and a lot of the match bullets like ELD/Amax have thin jackets and are easily damaged), you might need to vibrate the case after dumping powder but before seating.

I doubt it’ll affect accuracy but probably will the BC. In any case it’s not good, I’d find a powder that needed less compression. A quick look on the net indicates H4895 might be a better choice.

P,
I'm recommending 8208 based off of my experience with several 223s. I had a load of 24.0 and 24.5 gr of Varget that shot lights out in my .223s. However, I was getting the same compression ring as you. I switched to 8208 with Nosler 77 Custom Comps in my AR and the ring issues went away. Varget is a good powder and you can't overcharge a .223 with it. However, compressed loads place stress on seating stems and can cause other issues such as pushing the bullets back out from your intended OAL.

Lastly, if you're dead set on Varget and nothing else, use a longer drop tube to fill your cases. This will help to settle the powder granules and reduce compression.

TAC is 87 on the burn rate chart, IMR 8208 XBR is 86. Benchmark is 81. The lower the number the faster the burn. I'll try TAC and Benchmark both.




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The nose deformation affected accuracy significantly. I couldn't have done worse if I had been shooting buckshot at 100 yards.

I loaded a dozen each 24.1 & 24.5 TAC and 23.5 Benchmark. I'll hit the range tomorrow.




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[quote=Pharmseller]I bought some 75 gr ELDM today to try in my 1-8" .223 with Varget. It's a slightly compressed load (25.0 grains) but I noticed the seating die put a ring around the nose of the bullet. The nose looks pinched a bit from the seater stem.

How will, if at all, this affect accuracy? [quote]






I make my own seating stems for my dies, first thing I do when I get them, Have them seat on the ogive, set it and forget it on all bullet

Don't put too much faith in the burn rate charts, but they are useful as a general guideline and figuring out which powders might be appropriate as you're doing. The difference between 8208 and Benchmark in that example can be just the lot to lot difference.

TAC is good for another 100-150 fps faster than 8208 with that bullet, but you may or may not find a good accuracy node with it. I really like TAC and XTerminator for a lot of loads, and use it exclusively for 50 and 65gr 5.56 AR15 loads, but didn't find the accuracy I wanted with the 75/77gr bullets. I don't like to give up 150 fps if I don't need to, but in my case Benchmark & 8208 made enough difference in accuracy to be worth it. YMMV of course, especially since it sounds like you're using a different (223 Rem) chamber.

BTW your load of Benchmark (23.5gr) should be right on, that particular load (well, 23.4-23.6 gr) with a 75gr Hornady has proven very accurate in a bunch of different rifles, and others online report the same thing.

One other powder that some really like in the 223 with 75's is Leverevolution. It does produce some impressive velocity, but I haven't worked with it enough to talk about it's accuracy potential in that combination.

I make my own seating stems sometimes too, especially for cast bullets since nose shapes vary a lot; I make them in a lathe. What's your method, do you cut them in a lathe or bed the bullets in the stem with epoxy, or ?

In my .223AI I get better velocity and less compression with 75g Horns and RL15 vs Varget. So, RL15 may be a good substitute. Drop the charge weight by .5g IIRC.

cut them in a lathe

I'm out of the heavy game. I tried three bullets, four powders, and four seating depths. Nothing shot worth a schitt. I'm going back to 50 gr NBT, 3400 fps and sub-MOA.

Sorry to hear that. I have 75 gr elds and several lbs of varget sitting here for my Tikka ctr .223 and a 8 twist 22-250 . I'm waiting on warmer temps here in the NE , but was hoping to hear someones Tikka liked this combo. I did buy the vld seater stem beforehand figuring I'd need it for these and 77 or 80 mk's if these elds can't muster sub 1/2 moa consistently.