Where to go from here?

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gds
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Re: Where to go from here?

Post by gds »

Locked by accident
Yes, I am a Baptist, and yes I carry a gun. You might think I carry a gun because I don't trust God. Well you would be wrong. I have complete faith in my Lord. It is mankind I have no trust in
Augenblick
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Re: Where to go from here?

Post by Augenblick »

So here are my most recent results with the Hornady 190 gr Sub-x blems and AA #9. All used xtreme brass, used both CCI 400 and CCI #41 primers. Fired from Sig MCX Rattler. Normal gas setting. Omega36M suppressor. Holosun 510 green site.

Overall really happy with function. Zero issues. Gun no longer full of gritty unburnt powder. Sound is completely hearing safe.

I clearly have some issues to work on. A little tweaking for velocity. But I would say my biggest challenge now getting uniform seating depth. I have a Hornady L&L AP and a Forster Ultra Micrometer seating dye but having issues with indexing that Hornady has not been able to help with. Have sent it back and they recommend using their dies due to "longer run out". Maybe it will get better with non blem bullets but when I have sorted prepped brass by length and weight I shouldn't have to adjust seating depth so much I would think.

My shooting isn't going to get a lot better I don't think. I'm old, fat and shake more than I used to. But this shoot was with a 102.3 fever and forgot my glasses. But hey it gave me something to do waiting for my Doctor's appointment.

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Ok only 10 rounds is a stretch to call a mag dump I know but just checking for cycling issues.
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Roadrunner1969
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Re: Where to go from here?

Post by Roadrunner1969 »

I know the problem with seating Sub-Xs. I found that the thickness of the plastic tips varies, so checking for COAL is a waste of time, and can get frustrating. The measurement from the cannelure to the meplat is consistent though. I did some measurement and calculations and arrived at a target depth, set my standard seating stem (Lee) for that depth and started loading. They came out pretty consistent, except every once in a while one would be off by as much as .010", and I couldn't figure out why. I talked with Hornady and they do not have a seating stem for that bullet currently. He said that he would be doing the same things as I am.
Anyway, I am going to use the cannelure as the target for seating.
My most accurate load so far is 12 grains CFEBLK, 2.070" COAL, 5 rounds into 1/2" at 50 yds.
I just started working with some Unique that I recovered from some 38 specials that I loaded a few years ago. It is much quieter, but since I only tested 1 load, more work will have to be done to see if it remains as quiet as I increase the load and gives me the accuracy I am looking for.
popper
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Re: Where to go from here?

Post by popper »

I got a NOE sizer insert @ 332 and use it to check neck thickness. Fast and no errs. Insert loaded rnd into the backside. If it goes to the shoulder, OK. I did make a rig using an old Lee sizer for 30/30, dropped a washer into it for nose dia. Works like a ogive comparator. Keeps the coated cast loads from jamming at that 'cone' before the bore.
Augenblick
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Re: Where to go from here?

Post by Augenblick »

So I think I'm nearing the end of my 190gr sub-x development for the Rattler.

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Augenblick
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Re: Where to go from here?

Post by Augenblick »

So I think I'm nearing the end of my 190gr sub-x development for the Rattler. My friend brought a spotting scope so I was able to identify a couple of less well behaved bullets with the chronograph. On its own it isn't terrible but with identifying 1109 and 991 fps bullets out of the group I go from a 1.09" STDV 46 group to a less than 1/2" STDV 10.2 group. And it is all me. Sloppy technique. I am using blems and whether I forgot to reset seating adjustment a few thousand the or was too lazy to pull and start over I got the results I did the work for.

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The more I do this the more I learn just how important the brass prep is. Sorting by head stamp, length and weight really makes a difference. Starting out you're happy to not blow up, hit your velocity goals, get cyclic function etc.

You want quieter, you look for better powders but you have to learn why it's better for your application. Then your have to find/learn/understand that what your looking for isn't in the form you're wanting or expecting it to be. Luckily for me Dellet took the time to shepard me towards my goal instead of just giving me what I was asking for.

I say that because I really learned alot going through the process and I can apply that to the next round I develop.

I'm always going to love/hate the rattler. Love it's size, function, robustness. It has eaten everything I've thrown at it. I hate that I'm stuck with the 5.5" barrel. Other MCX variants you can go from 6" - 16" barrels. The 5.5" barrel is just going to be louder. It's physics, no way around it but faster powder helped a lot. It's not going to be moa at 200 yards. It's going to be dirty with a lot of blackout powders because....5.5" isn't long enough to burn them.

It's super compact and if I do my part and can make ammo I can put in a half inch at 50 yards no factory ammo can match that at the sound level of my ammo and that feels pretty good.

I'm not done with the rattler. I ordered a Liberty Anthem S suppressor that I'm really excited about because not only will it be quieter with less back pressure it also has no barrel length restrictions and I can develop super loads. No way in hell I'm shooting supers out of that short ass barrel without a suppressor.

I'm probably going to try the maker rec 200gr expanding next.

On another note those cast HiTek 220 grain bullets I've got down pretty well now too. Zero functional issues in either my rattler or 16" PSA. Big thing I notice is a fairly consistent poi shift. Fun to ping steel with for cheap.

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Augenblick
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Re: Where to go from here?

Post by Augenblick »

So i never posted a follow up because I got really frustrated. I picked my brass, sorted it by case length, case weight, sorted bullets by weight, carefully measured powder and seated everything to uniform length of my best testing data. Time to tighten up those groups right? Not quite.

My range day was shortly after May 31st so shooting at a public range I was paranoid and had removed my pistol brace. I know, I know but I don't need that kind of hassle. The chronograph wouldn't connect to Bluetooth and without the pistol brace I had no cheek weld so my groups were crap. On top of that I shot my chronograph, shot it dead.

When I saw how bad I was shooting I should have stopped and salvaged my work for another day but I didn't.

I'll come back to this load when stuff is sorted. I can ring steel at 50 yards all day with these rounds within a couple of inches and for a 5.5" barrel with a red dot that is more than enough for a pdw. The perfectionist in me isn't satisfied. I should get a decent grouping from that load. I'll be back to it.

Dellet. If you read this I've been meaning to ask you why you went with the Lehigh 194 gr over something like the Makers 190 gr? Is it superior expansion or ballistics? Something else?
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dellet
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Re: Where to go from here?

Post by dellet »

Augenblick wrote: Tue Aug 08, 2023 9:11 pm
I'll come back to this load when stuff is sorted. I can ring steel at 50 yards all day with these rounds within a couple of inches and for a 5.5" barrel with a red dot that is more than enough for a pdw. The perfectionist in me isn't satisfied. I should get a decent grouping from that load. I'll be back to it.

Dellet. If you read this I've been meaning to ask you why you went with the Lehigh 194 gr over something like the Makers 190 gr? Is it superior expansion or ballistics? Something else?
The Lehigh 194’s were available a few years before the Makers, but I have shot quite a few of the Maker bullets also.
viewtopic.php?f=141&t=97863

The Maker is probably a tougher bullet, I don’t remember them ever opening up in flight, or losing petals in gel. I spent about 3 years doing nothing else but finding weak spots in bullets designed for the Blackout. It was a barrel of laughs, but I found out a lot of companies didn’t really want honest feedback.
Paul, Maker bullets, was not one of those. He designed a 110 grain subsonic bullet for bolt action/single shots and sent me some to test. I sent him back results of shooting them through an AR. He asked why I did that and the answer was simple, “because you know some jackass will do it, and blame you when it doesn’t work”. Other than extensive powder fouling using a really slow powder to get them to cycle, they worked fine :lol:

Note my avatar photo :

On a side note, long before “Pistol braces” made the scene, a tennis ball with a hole cut in it and stuffed on the end of a standard pistol buffer tube, was common for a reason.
300 Blackout, not just for sub-sonics.
Augenblick
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Re: Where to go from here?

Post by Augenblick »

Almost a bad day.

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Dellet I took your warning about knowing what a double load of AA #9 looks like.
Roadrunner1969
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Re: Where to go from here?

Post by Roadrunner1969 »

Wow, that could have gotten interesting real fast.
RIP on the chrono, sorry to hear of its passing.
I've been working up loads for the 190 Subx using Unique and HP38...still working on them (for bolt gun).
Also working on finding a good load for 200 grain Speer and just got hold of a bunch of 208 ELDM seconds.
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