Hornady ELD-Match 140gr

[Second]

Is your 700 chambered to SAAMI specs for the grendel or did you have it so you can load the bullets longer?

My 700 in chambered to SAAMI specs I think. The reamer is according to CIP.
So no extra work for longer bullets.
The possibility however exist, but nothing I will continue at this stage.

[Second]

My load was 1,94g CFE, 140grs RDF, OAL 57,75mm....740m/s (temp +10c)
also no problems 1,96g....748m/s (same temp and other things). But best group was 1,94g, which was about 20mm/5rds/150m

QL prediction for max load was 1,92g

[Second]

[Mad Charlie]

"Norma 230B"
I am assuming that you mean 203B? It is my understanding that this powder is the same as RL15, does anyone have any info on the validity of that?

[Second]

"Norma 230B"
I am assuming that you mean 203B? It is my understanding that this powder is the same as RL15, does anyone have any info on the validity of that?

Thanks for spotting that typo!
Have done a edit.

Yes. Powder is 203B and nothing else.
From what I have read. RL15 and Rhino15 are the same as Norma 203B.
Manufactured all at Bofors.

[Mad Charlie]

It makes sense to me to use a case that has been fire-formed to the chamber of the rifle.

I read somewhere that it only costs about $10 to buy the drill and tap to make your own cases for the Hornady COAL gauge.

Sorry I don't remember the details but I'll take the Grendel case I bought from Hornady to the hardware store and try bolts in the threads to determine the size and pitch, then buy that drill and tap.

The thread size is 5/16x36, Most likely won't find that at the hardware store.

[Mad Charlie]

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Great shooting! Especially considering that your group is about 6.5mm smaller than measured in the picture. Roughly 22.58mm or .88 moa. (roughly).Looks to me anyway.

[Second]

Thanks Mad Charlie!
Still a bit of a beginner so the consistency needs to improve.
But is nice to see that it works.

[Second]

Went to the range after work yesterday to preform the laddertest with the two powders VV N530 and Norma 203B.

About -5C temperature and 967 hPa.

Bullet: 140gr ELD-M
COL: 61,15mm (2.407") aprox. 0,13mm jump. (0.005")
Powder: VV N530 and Norma 203B
Start load: 23,0gr
Top load: 26,0gr
Loaded in 0,3gr increments.

Result:
Grendel 140gr ELD-M N530 203B.PNG

The N530 in blue line and the 203B in red.

Shot the N530 first. All cases inspected before and after firing, checking for any signs of high pressure or other inconsistency.
Started to notice a bit of cratering on the primers around 24,5gr of N530. At 26,0gr the crater in the primer was significant.
140gr ELD N530 26.0gr.JPG140gr ELD N530 26.0gr.-1.JPG
And this is from previous test, a sign of high pressure in my gun.
No problem in opening the bolt or any clear ejector marks. Tried to take a picture from what I could find, but this is not that big.
140gr ELD N530 26.0gr.-2.JPG140gr ELD N530 26.0gr.-3.JPG
The speed from the N530 was to me a bit low. Really low at first, but at the 26,0gr it passed 700 m/s (~2300fps)
In the graph, the speed increased quite stable.
The predicted MV from the QL-calculation that Klem did not turn out the same. The load 24,6gr of N530 in a 24" barrel was predicted at 2350fps.
At 24,5gr I had 2165fps (660 m/s)

Shot the Norma 203B as second.
Started at 23,3gr and stopped at 26,0gr.
As the graph shows, the N203B is lower with the same load.
And also the pressure seems lower also. Here a picture for the highest load (26,0gr) with 203B:
140gr ELD 203B 26,0gr.JPG

But is the pressure on the N530 high because of the small jump?
There is room in the case to put the bullet longer from the lands and this will be the next test.
Just to confirm if this might be the case.

[Mad Charlie]

700's are notorious for sloppy firing pin/bolt fit, but that one photo shows quite a bit more primer extrusion than usual. You might look into having that bolt bushed.

N530 load, You might be kind of between a rock and a hard place, seating deeper can raise pressure, and bumping the lands can raise pressure. I don't think you can go any longer because of variations in seat depth, unless you make sure every cartridge has exactly the same CBTO, and shoulder bump, and even then the pressure reduction probably won't be significant. When you are running that close, the shoulder bump and CBTO have to be closely monitored. I guess that about all you can do is seat a little deeper by .005, and reduce charge and work up again. Your recipe just might not work in that rifle.

[Second]

700's are notorious for sloppy firing pin/bolt fit, but that one photo shows quite a bit more primer extrusion than usual. You might look into having that bolt bushed.

N530 load, You might be kind of between a rock and a hard place, seating deeper can raise pressure, and bumping the lands can raise pressure. I don't think you can go any longer because of variations in seat depth, unless you make sure every cartridge has exactly the same CBTO, and shoulder bump, and even then the pressure reduction probably won't be significant. When you are running that close, the shoulder bump and CBTO have to be closely monitored. I guess that about all you can do is seat a little deeper by .005, and reduce charge and work up again. Your recipe just might not work in that rifle.

[Mad Charlie]

Back the load down some, work back up at your new seat depth, and go for it.

Your smith may have seen worse, but that sloppy firing pin fit can easily be remedied by a good smith.

I probably missed it, but what tool(s) are you using to measure headspace and Cartridge Base To Ogive?

[Second]

[Mad Charlie]

Sounds like you are doing all you can at this point.
Good luck and keep us posted.

Edit: You may find this interesting, and possibly useful...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWmIwPwLyyg

[Second]

Grendel 140gr ELD-M N530 203B-2.PNG

Each round/case checked after firing.
The cratering from the firing pin from the first test on the primer was noticeable smaller.
When the load 26,0gr was fired, the was almost no crater. From the first test, I stopped at this load.
However the marking from the ejector is bigger.
140gr ELD N530 26.0gr.-4.JPG140gr ELD N530 26.0gr.-5.JPG
Continued up and at the load 26,9 the crater and markings from the ejector was clear.
The bolt opened without any problem, but I could feel that it was heavier to open.
Now I fired the 27,2 load.
There was smoke coming out from the receiver and the bolt was very heavy on the lift. The primer was penetrated by the firing pin and there was
chafings from the ejector. The MAX-load have absolutely been found. The last load 27,5gr was not fired.
140gr ELD N530 27.2gr.-1.JPG140gr ELD N530 27.2gr.-2.JPG

So. The speed that I got at the MAX-load was high at 747m/s (2450fps)
But this is not a load that I will be using in the long run.
From loading this bullet with the VV N140, I got the same speed but with lower pressure signs.
So this powder is probably not the ideal one for getting higher speed at a safe pressure. I was very interested to test this powder and see if the speed could get higher. And the thought was to find a heavy 6,5mm bullet to use on the longer ranges that could battle the wing better than the 108gr Scenar.
So an informative test for me, but a little "back to the drawing board". Which is OK.