Hornady duplicate load

[Jimbo]

My new gun shoots the factory 123 Amazon great , (sub half min.)
My problem is I can't find a hand load that shoots 123's near as good ( 3/4 -1 min.) !
I am loading xb8208 everywhere from 26.5 up to 28.5 but nothing great so far !
Anyone with similar results ? Has anyone figured out Hornady's recipe yet ?
I love this powder but just can't make it work in this gun .
I am running a 24 " BHW barrel and it loves factory ammo !

[Fourm Member]

I just ran a test on 8208 xbr and 26.5-26.9 was my sweet spot down low and 27.3-27.5 up top with 123 smk and cci 450. 20" Shilen barrel and bolt. I also tried blc2, varget, cfe223, and tac. 8208 was as good as any other powder I tested for accuracy. Maybe you should try some different powders. I can not reproduce the factory Hornady 2510 velocity and get good accuracy out of my shilen 20". Would love to find an accurate load that gets 2500+ fps with 123 gr projectiles.

[pdq5oh]

I have a 20" BHW barrel with 1/9 twist that shoots factory AMAX very well. Better at 200 yrs than 100. I load 28.1 gr of 8208 with a 123 SST. This reload shoots much better than the same with 123 AMAXs, and equally well or better than the factory AMAXs at 200. Much better at 100. Haven't got a place close to shoot more than 250. Hope to shoot farther soon.

[BigStickSmoker]

I had fair success with 8208 between 26 and 26.5 gr hand loads. I am shooting 123gr SST though rather than Amax.

Shooting a 24 inch Shilen barrel.

These loads for me shot better than the factory Hornady that I shot. i have only about 3 dozen rounds so far. Still getting acquainted with Grendel.

[Bwild97]

Try IMR 4895, 29.2g under a 123g SST, and a CCi 450 or a Wolf SRM, Rem 7.5, COAL of 2.265" this is closest I could get to a Hornady factory load.

Start @ 28.g and work up.

[Bwild97]

Dupe!

[Jimbo]

I have a pound of 4895 I'll give it a try , how is it on temp stability ? I use my gun year round 95 in summer or varmints and to hunt
Coyotes in winter at 0

[1911man]

I have a 20" BHW barrel with 1/9 twist that shoots factory AMAX very well. Better at 200 yrs than 100. I load 28.1 gr of 8208 with a 123 SST. This reload shoots much better than the same with 123 AMAXs, and equally well or better than the factory AMAXs at 200. Much better at 100. Haven't got a place close to shoot more than 250. Hope to shoot farther soon.

What is your overall length for that load? I have been playing with the 123 Amaxes for a while in my BHW barrel with little success, but my last time out at the range I started loading them a little shorter and they shot better. I was loading them to 2.255 and I bumped it down to 2.248 and my groups shrunk.

[Jimbo]

I have been loading 2.255 OAL also . I normally don't mess with my OAL until I get some promising loads going beforehand but I will give it a try and see.

[1911man]

Try IMR 4895, 29.2g under a 123g SST, and a CCi 450 or a Wolf SRM, Rem 7.5, COAL of 2.265" this is closest I could get to a Hornady factory load.

Start @ 28.g and work up.

BWild, Ive read a bunch of your posts with various test loads and dont recall seeing this one. What kind of velocity were you seeing on the chronograph with this load compared to factory Hornady loads? If you dont mind me asking. Thanks.

[Bwild97]

This load was so close to Factory, i just put it aside. About 1moa @ 100yds avg. Velocity avg for 5 shots is 2579fps from a 24" barrel. ES: 28.61....SD: 10.0

Correction: the primer in my records is a Fed GM205m!

But if you start at 28g of IMR 4895 any of the above primers will work fine, you'll most likely see a slight increase in mv with those primers.

[Bwild97]

I can't speak to its temp stableness, I have not explored it in any way. But considering that it is an extruded powder, it should be better than any ball powder. At the time I collected velocity info temps were in the 80s F.

[1911man]

Those are some interesting numbers. Being that IMR 4895 is a very bulky powder I wouldnt think you could fit much of it in a Grendel case or come anywhere near the velocities of the AMAX load with a safe load. The factory Amax ammo averages 2480 fps out of my 18 BHW barrel. I have been unable to achieve such speeds with any decent accuracy with any powder and the 123 AMAX. I have been able to do it with the 120 SMK, and it has become my go to bullet in this caliber.

[Bwild97]

Yes, the 120g SMK is a fantastic projectile! I like it very much.

Since the 120 smk works for you you should try the 130g SGK for a hunting load, very similar ogive to the 120smk.

[1911man]

Yes, the 120g SMK is a fantastic projectile! I like it very much.

Since the 120 smk works for you you should try the 130g SGK for a hunting load, very similar ogive to the 120smk.

Thank you for that info, I have had much of a chance to play around with recipes for a hunting load. I have tried a couple of loads with the 120 BT with OK results but would love it if a heavier bullet would work out.