Update on the load development for the geeks among us....
I have been working with the Barnes 180gr TTSX lately. I am having better luck getting it to shoot well vs the 220gr Partition, and I have confidence in the TTSX based on admittedly limited personal experience on game, but widespread rave reviews from many other hunters with much greater experience than I.
My latest testing was conducted this past Friday, at 50-55F temps (should be similar to what I will have in the EC during the second half of May).
Due to the long throat on this rifle, my loads are not acceptable for a standard 300 H&H, so rather than risk someone reading the powder charge and blindly trying it, I'll just say I am about a grain shy of 100% loading density with IMR 7828, when the OAL is at 3.86".
Three groups were: 0.72", 0.93" and 1.24" (must have been me?). Average instrumental velocity at 15 feet was exactly 3,100 fps from a 26" barrel. If the chronograph did not have a counter, I would have thought it was broken....I had three rounds in a row with the same velocity and the fourth was 3 fps off from the previous three! In 36 years of using this chronograph I have never had that happen! Something about a case full of slow burning powder? Of course, every charge was trickled up to weight.
I prepped 50 new Hornady cases and loaded them with a fireform load of 64 grains of IMR 4831 and am in the process of shooting them up. These fireformed cases will get the royal treatment, and then get loaded up for our adventure with the same load of 7828 and 180 TTSX mentioned above.
With the controlled testing mostly done, shooting will henceforth be conducted primarily off the Trigger Stix. I hope to put at least 200 more rounds down range with this 30 Super between now and wheels-up.
No excuses. If a shot gets muffed, it is going to be all on me!
