More loads. I got in a shipment of Blue Bullets, and I also ran ladders with MG 124gr JHP. All three loads came in lighter than expected. That's not surprising with the two Blue Bullets loads as I was dealing with a new bullet and was plenty conservative, but I expected more than I got out of the MG 124 JHP.
Bullet: Montana Gold 124gr JHP
Powder: N320
Primers: Federal SPP
Brass: Starline -- used
OAL: 1.078
3.7gr Avg fps - 933 fps | PF-116 | SD-12 | ES-42
3.8gr Avg fps - 965 fps | PF-120 | SD-17 | ES-56
3.9gr Avg fps - 984 fps | PF-122 | SD-6 | ES-21
4.0gr Avg fps - 1003 fps | PF-124 | SD-10 | ES-33
I was hoping to get a little more velocity than that for the 4.0gr. I know 4.2 is common for people to get to around PF133, but that's typically loaded longer, around 1.13, and we have a forum regular who is getting to about that with 4.0gr at an OAL of around 1.09/1.1, so I was thinking 4.0gr might do what I need, but....
I'll be adding to this ladder, obviously. I'd like to get around 1070.
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Bullet: Blue Bullets 125gr RN
Powder: N320
Primers: Federal SPP
Brass: Starline -- used
OAL: 1.1
3.5gr Avg fps - 957 fps | PF-120 | SD-13 | ES-45
3.6gr Avg fps - 977 fps | PF-122 | SD-6 | ES-22
3.7gr Avg fps - 989 fps | PF-124 | SD-13 | ES-49
3.8gr Avg fps - 1000 fps | PF-125 | SD-5 | ES-18
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Bullet: Blue Bullets 147gr RN
Powder: N320
Primers: Federal SPP
Brass: Starline -- used
OAL: 1.12
2.8gr Avg fps - 789 fps | PF-116 | SD-8 | ES-33
3.0gr Avg fps - 853 fps | PF-125 | SD-6 | ES-19
3.1gr Avg fps - 855 fps | PF-126 | SD-8 | ES-28
3.2gr Avg fps - 870 fps | PF-128 | SD-4 | ES-15
3.3gr Avg fps - 874 fps | PF-128 | SD-6 | ES-20
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I think I have an issue with charge weights I need to get sorted out. I'm building these ladders on the 650, and because it takes no time at all to run off ten rounds, it feels like I spend 80% of my time adjusting the powder drop for the next charge weight. Not wanting the extra time dealing with the beam scale, I've been using the electronic scale on my RCBS Chargemaster to set up the powder drop. Even a tenth of a grain has a window, and when I get set for 3.2 grains, I don't know if it's 3.21 or 3.29. I'm getting some notably mild velocity bumps here and there for my incremental charge weights here, and I've noticed it on several ladders recently, and I think that's the problem. My "3.2gr" charge might be 3.28, and the next charge weight of "3.3gr" may actually be 3.31, so it's a tenth of a grain difference on paper, but maybe only a few hundredths of a grain in actual difference. I hate to add the extra time of the beam into the already tedious powder drop adjustments while building ladders on a progressive, but if that's what I have to do....
The Blue Bullets are nice. I did get a little blue on my finger tips, but it washed right off. I did pull one after crimping and had no scrapes through the coating. The coating is also very evenly applied. It's not the Hi-Tek that Bayou and BBI and several others use. It's some proprietary blend. They do resize it again after the coating has been applied and cured. I am guessing others do this, as well, but this coating seems more evenly applied than the Hi-Tek coated bullets I've used. They're very uniform. I've seen others speaking to these being more accurate than other coated bullets, but I can't speak to that at this time. I ran 160 rounds through one target today, so I had a big hole.
I'll also add that I love the standard deviations I get out of coated bullets. It makes me feel like I'm doing something right.
More to come.
