Hi All,
Finally got a chance to chrono some of the Hunting Economy Loads from Alexander Arms.
I also pulled some bullets to see what was inside. Here's the data:
The entire cartridge weighs 267.4 grains. It uses Hornady brass and silver primers which I assume are CCI 450's.
The C.O.L. is 2.245 inches. The bullet itself is a hollow point, 1.205 inches long with a small boat tail. I pulled three and they were all exactly 115.0 grains.
I don't have any other Berger bullets, so I can't say if this is the jacket from their 120 grain hollow point with a smaller chunk of lead.
The case was filled to about half way up the shoulder. There was 30.1 grains of powder.
The powder looked like a mix of two ball types. One had a grain size of AA2520 or AA 2460. The other balls were larger and a little flat.
The fired case showed no pressure signs. The primers were nice and round and there was no cratering.
I fired 40 rounds for this test. I have an adjustable gas block which is set for the 123 grain bullets I normally shoot. I fired groups of five, 8 magazines total. I had three failures to feed and two failures to lock the bolt back on an empty mag.
That can be easily fixed by opening up the gas block a tad.
I only had a short time to do this so I was rushed. I got about 1 inch groups at 100 yards as you can see from the pics below. I'm sure I could do better with more time to shoot.
I was shooting a 20 inch Satern barrel with a 1 in 8.5 twist. The chrono data follows the pics.
The chrono was 15 feet from the muzzle. Temperature was about 62, sunny, light winds, altitude 200 feet, humidity was about 55%.
The muzzle velocity was about 20-25 feet per second higher than I get with my 123 grain hand loads, and about 50 feet per second faster than Alexander and Hornady factory 123 grain loads I've chrono'ed.
Point of impact at 100 yards was about the same as my 123 grain loads. I didn't get a chance to shoot farther yet.
String: 2
Date: 11/1/2011
Time: 4:53:03 PM
Grains: 115
Hi Vel: 2564
Low Vel: 2515
Ave Vel: 2537
Ext Spread: 49
Std Dev: 15
Alex A 115 grain Berger HPBT
Velocity
2534
2520
2515
2539
2554
2564
2554
2534
2530
2534
String: 3
Date: 11/1/2011
Time: 5:02:30 PM
Grains: 115
Hi Vel: 2564
Low Vel: 2525
Ave Vel: 2548
Ext Spread: 39
Std Dev: 11
Alex A 115 grain Berger HPBT
Velocity
2525
2554
2564
2559
2539
2549
2559
2544
2544
2544
Finally got a chance to chrono some of the Hunting Economy Loads from Alexander Arms.
I also pulled some bullets to see what was inside. Here's the data:
The entire cartridge weighs 267.4 grains. It uses Hornady brass and silver primers which I assume are CCI 450's.
The C.O.L. is 2.245 inches. The bullet itself is a hollow point, 1.205 inches long with a small boat tail. I pulled three and they were all exactly 115.0 grains.
I don't have any other Berger bullets, so I can't say if this is the jacket from their 120 grain hollow point with a smaller chunk of lead.
The case was filled to about half way up the shoulder. There was 30.1 grains of powder.
The powder looked like a mix of two ball types. One had a grain size of AA2520 or AA 2460. The other balls were larger and a little flat.
The fired case showed no pressure signs. The primers were nice and round and there was no cratering.
I fired 40 rounds for this test. I have an adjustable gas block which is set for the 123 grain bullets I normally shoot. I fired groups of five, 8 magazines total. I had three failures to feed and two failures to lock the bolt back on an empty mag.
That can be easily fixed by opening up the gas block a tad.
I only had a short time to do this so I was rushed. I got about 1 inch groups at 100 yards as you can see from the pics below. I'm sure I could do better with more time to shoot.
I was shooting a 20 inch Satern barrel with a 1 in 8.5 twist. The chrono data follows the pics.
The chrono was 15 feet from the muzzle. Temperature was about 62, sunny, light winds, altitude 200 feet, humidity was about 55%.
The muzzle velocity was about 20-25 feet per second higher than I get with my 123 grain hand loads, and about 50 feet per second faster than Alexander and Hornady factory 123 grain loads I've chrono'ed.
Point of impact at 100 yards was about the same as my 123 grain loads. I didn't get a chance to shoot farther yet.
String: 2
Date: 11/1/2011
Time: 4:53:03 PM
Grains: 115
Hi Vel: 2564
Low Vel: 2515
Ave Vel: 2537
Ext Spread: 49
Std Dev: 15
Alex A 115 grain Berger HPBT
Velocity
2534
2520
2515
2539
2554
2564
2554
2534
2530
2534
String: 3
Date: 11/1/2011
Time: 5:02:30 PM
Grains: 115
Hi Vel: 2564
Low Vel: 2525
Ave Vel: 2548
Ext Spread: 39
Std Dev: 11
Alex A 115 grain Berger HPBT
Velocity
2525
2554
2564
2559
2539
2549
2559
2544
2544
2544
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