wildcat junkie

5# of RL-17 & 2# of Norma MRP is due for delivery tomorrow. As soon as Dennis Olson gets my 8mm-06 Ackley barreled action back to me I can finish bed it & start load development. I'll be posting some updates on the OTHER THREAD.

Well, I just ordered the barrel from ER Shaw & it will take 12-16 weeks so it will be a while before I get to that point! I still have to bed the action, install the buttplate/grip cap etc so I can do about 90% of the work up to bedding the barrel. soldering on the barrel band, stock finish, rust bluing, etc. & such so I will do some pix of those procedures Hopefully I can have it completed in time for deer season. I just ordered the misc stuff from Midway. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/335507/prvi-partizan-reloading-brass-7x57mm-mauser-7mm-mauser-bag-of-100 https://www.midwayusa.com/product/662267/lee-pacesetter-3-die-set-7x57mm-mauser-7mm-mauser https://www.midwayusa.com/product/310429/nosler-ballistic-tip-hunting-bullets-284-caliber-7mm-284-diameter-140-grain-spitzer-box-of-50 https://www.midwayusa.com/product/691343/sunny-hill-niedner-style-grip-cap-checkered-steel-in-the-white https://www.midwayusa.com/product/619353/sunny-hill-niedner-style-buttplate-checkered-steel-in-the-white https://www.midwayusa.com/product/766129/lee-collet-neck-sizer-die-7x57mm-mauser-7mm-mauser https://www.midwayusa.com/product/233412/talley-classic-bolt-handle-steel-in-the-white http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1781113977/talley-barrel-band-sling-swivel-stud-steel-in-the-white Lots of work to keep me busy until the batrrel gets here. In the mean time I should be getting the barred action of my 8mm-06 Ackley back soon, but that won't take much work to get it shooting. Load development for that will keep me busy for a while.

I had an 8 1/2' bass rod when I was a teenager in the Midwest. When I took up flyfishing for trout in 1999 I went W/a 9' 4-wght W/a soft action.

If you replace the line go W/a 6wgt weight forward line. Always best to err on the heavy side when in doubt. A 5 or 6wgt outfit is a good starting point. It's the weight of the line that makes the leader turn over & present the fly W/O a lot of slack. The bigger the fly, the heavier line you need to overcome wind resistance.

Add Wooly Buggers, stone fly nymphs & Goddard Caddis. (easy to see) I catch 90% of my trout on those 3. Stimulators work good after the stone flies hatch & grasshoppers are about. Late in the season (Sept) sofa pillows can produce. Most guys I watch trying to learn work the cast too fast. You want to give the line time to straighten out before you start your forward & back cast. That will load the rod better & give you more power. A 4-count works well to get the timing right. Keep the slack mended & your rod tip low when anticipating the strike. Give the fish time to turn down before raising the rod to set the hook. The $60ish Scientific Anglers combos Wally World used to sell were some pretty nice balanced outfits. Either the Trout or Panfish combos were good. The only difference between them was the flies which were crap anyway. I bought one for a back-up 4-piece rod.

I'll see if I can find it in the morning. I think its in the camper.

Well the spot I was speaking of is in the St Regis River below the class IV rapids that start at the old washed out dam below St Regis Falls. I fish from just below the old stone abutments up through the pocket water & the boulder field just below the rapids.

I made a heavy duty wading staff from a piece of ironwood. It has a leather spiral in a whittled groove on the handle W/a 1/2" wide leather hand loop & an elastic loop that clips to my vest. At the bottom, an 1 1/2" length of heavy copper pipe W/an epoxy filled end takes the wear & tear of the rocks at tip. I fish a lot of pocket water on steep gradients so the rocks are smooth & rounded. It's like walking on greased bowling balls! I of my favorite spots is below some class IV rapids!

Felt alone isn't even enough i the freestone rivers up here. You need studs too.

Breathable stocking foot for sure. You can wear long underwear of your choice under the breathables but the neoprene will make you drench with sweat once the water & outside temperatures warm. Stocking foot waders W/good quality wading boots will give you support while boot-foot waders will not. They could be downright dangerous in some situations. Felt soles W/carbide studs may be in order too. You can glue them on W/Barge cement. No need to go high dollar. Since the patents ran out on Gore-Tex, breathables have come way down in price. You do want double knees & built in gravel guards.

What do you think?

The barreled action will be similar to this except for a straight bolt handle W/a slightly tear drop shaped knob. Bite your tongue! That would be sacrilegious! No it's not "military" but a 1960s era commercial Yugoslavian intermediate length LR 98 Mauser action. It is similar to the M48 Yugo military action but no stripper clip thumb slot or hump on the rear receiver bridge. It has a hinged floorplate W/lever release. They come D&T'ed for scope bases. It will have the same Niedner steel buttplate & grip cap as well as a barrel band & boat style (rear) swivel stud. And yes it will be 7X57 Mauser albeit loaded to modern >60K pressure for 3050 (7mm-08 pressure) -3100fps (slightly under 270 Win pressure) W/140gr Nosler Balistic Tips. And yes I will keep the classic European flat sides as it gives it a unique look that sets it apart from the average sporter. I am ordering an ER-Shaw #3 barrel to be turned down to the custom contour as in the 8X57 barreled action above. It is for my son & he wants it to be the little brother to the 8X57 I now have.(the flat sides will be a little narrowed top to bottom)) (But I think it will be even more handsome)

Run some calcs for RL-17. You'll probably gain 100fps over IMR 4350 W/the same chamber pressure. Just be aware that you will have to increase the charges 2-3 gr from predicted. RL-17 reacts well to compressed loads shrinking standard deviation.

One of the features I use most is the ability to use a given pressure ceiling/load density spec to explore what powders will yield the most Mv. You must 1st establish the COAL of your cartridge & it helps to know the H2O capacity of a fired case so your chamber can factored in.

I have a Pact. It doesn't "integrate" W/anything but it gives me the data I need.

Get a Chronograph, preferably one that that reads out Standard deviation.

Generally speaking, the most relevant reloading manuals are published by either the bullet or the powder manufacturers. Which way you choose to go is up to you. You need a manual that has specific data for both the bullet & powder you are using for your particular cartridge. Since I started out using Nosler Bullets, I bought a Nosler manual (#4) & purchased a 2nd later edition of the Nosler manual (5th edition) that had additional bullets & data for newly released cartridges. The Nosler manuals have good advise on safety practices, but if they don't have data for the particular bullet you are using, they would be of little use for you.

4064 was on the list, just way down. RL-17 is gaining popularity so most Gun Shops are beginning to stock it. Problem is, it is getting so popular, that stock runs out quickly. RL-17 was designed for the "Short Magnums" but it also works extremely well in edium case capacity cartridges W/medium (for caliber) weight bullets. IMO, you should try to locate some & give it a try. I use it for 8X57IS W/200gr bullets, 7mm-08 W/140gr bullets & 30/40 Krag W/160gr bullets. I get Mvs of 2730, 2912 & 2500fps respectively. In the Krag, I am going to boost the charge to achieve about 2650fps which will match the 308 Marlin Express that is loaded for lever actions @ similar chamber pressure to the Krag. I will be using the Hornady FTX buklet designed for that cartridge as it has a heavier jacket than the bullet I currently use. I used the 160gr FTX designed for the 30/30 last year, but even @ 120yds, I was exceeding the design envelope of that particular bullet & it fragmented on bone. It did drop the buck in its tracks, but a heavy shoulder bone hit might not have resulted in the same effect.

Quickload suggests about 67K. You are gettung into the danger zone. This is probably why the softer Herters brass exhibited pressure signs. Your load seems to be "on the edge" & the harder RP brass wasn't yet pushed to the point of deformation while the Herters brass gave in. I ran a prediction W/20" barrel & here are some other powders that will yield better predicted Mv @ 63K max pressure. Cartridge : .243 Win. Bullet : .243, 85, Sierra HPBT 1530 Useable Case Capaci: 49.067 grain H2O = 3.186 cm³ Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 2.590 inch = 65.79 mm Barrel Length : 20.0 inch = 508.0 mm Predicted Data for Indicated Charges of the Following Powders. Matching Maximum Pressure: 63000 psi, or 434 MPa or a maximum loading ratio or filling of 107 % These calculations refer to your specified settings in QuickLOAD 'Cartridge Dimensions' window. C A U T I O N : any load listed can result in a powder charge that falls below minimum suggested loads or exceeds maximum suggested loads as presented in current handloading manuals. Understand that all of the listed powders can be unsuitable for the given combination of cartridge, bullet and gun. Actual load order can vary, depending upon lot-to-lot powder and component variations. USE ONLY FOR COMPARISON ! 140 loads produced a Loading Ratio below user-defined minimum of 90%. These powders have been skipped. Powder type Filling Ratio Charge Charge Vel. Prop.Burnt P max P muzz B_Time % Grains Gramm fps % psi psi ms --------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Norma MRP 106.0 50.0 3.24 3233 98.3 63000 14689 0.965 Near Max Alliant Reloder-17 95.5 45.3 2.94 3211 100.0 63000 13368 0.960 Near Max IMR 7828 SSC 106.1 49.3 3.19 3201 95.4 63000 14294 0.953 Near Max Vihtavuori N560 107.0 49.5 3.20 3190 94.6 61389 14620 0.973 Near Max Hodgdon H414 94.7 45.3 2.93 3167 98.3 63000 13546 0.968 Near Max Winchester 760 94.7 45.3 2.93 3167 98.3 63000 13546 0.968 Near Max Ramshot Hunter 100.1 46.8 3.03 3166 98.9 63000 13494 0.967 Near Max Alliant Reloder-22 107.0 48.9 3.17 3165 96.5 60746 14206 0.982 Near Max Accurate MAGPRO 107.0 51.5 3.33 3163 92.8 61009 14499 0.983 Near Max Alliant Reloder-19 104.6 47.3 3.07 3161 96.8 63000 13677 0.962 Near Max Given that RL-17 usually runs 2-3gr behind predicted Mv/pressure, a 100% load density charge would probably equal the Mv predicted above & that might be a good option if you decide to try another powder. I am not the only one observing this scenario & it is common practice to load RL-17 a few grains over the QL suggestions. Then of course Norma MRP shows promise too and it would be difficult to over charge MRP.

Quickload predicted 3155fps @ 56863psi for 43.6gr IMR 4350 for 24" barrel, pretty close to your actual results 3087fps for 22" barrel. If you are getting 3180fps in a 22" barrel that indicates pressure in the 63K range.

What is the Cartridge Over All Length? I need that to determine available case capacity of the loaded cartridge. This is .243 right?

IME, you can't stuff enough MRP into a 280 Remington case to get over pressure W/140gr bullets. I was getting chronograph verified 3250fps W/139gr Hornady Interbonds over MRP in my M700 CDL in 280..Heeis what a close in shoulder blade hit did to the Interbonds at that Mv. Penetrated the whole deer diagonally before coming to rest under the hide on the opposite hindquarter. When MRP became impossible to get I went to RL-22 but contrary to popular belief, it isn't the same. I had to watch for pressure & 3150 wa sthe best I could get W/RL-22. Even W/the blown out Improved case, the 8mm-06 Ackley has to be loaded to almost maximum compressed load to get to just under 63K which is a good max working pressure for the Ackley Improved case. I'm anxious to get my barreled action back from Dennis Olson to try MRP in the 8mm-06 Ackley. I had not yet discovered that particular powder when I was loading that cartridge previously. I should be able to reach the doorstep 3100fps W/180gr BTs & 2950 W/200gr Hotcores. The 180gr NBT are devastating on deer, sucking lungs out on broadside hits. The previous best for thse was 2960 out of a 23 1/2" barrel with conventional powders that I was playing with at the time. Even then, I think I was way over pressure as I had no data to compare too.

My 1st few strings of 3 shots over the chronograph are for verification of Mv being under max and to get a feel for how far off the predictions might be. As I work up to max and approach it, I start running 5 shot strings paying particular attention to standard deviation. W/the powders I use I usually get the most consistent standard deviation as the loads become moderately compressed. Over the past few years I have worked exclusively W/high energy powders such as Vv-N550, Vv-N560, RL-17. For larger case capacity/bore ratio cartridges, Norma MRP. For a while MRP was hard to get but now Midway stocks it & if you buy several #s of powder, The hazmat will be less than sales tax on local purchases. I paid a total of just under $30 for shipping & hazmat on 7# of powder. Given that the prices were less than local to start, it was cost effective. Vihtavuori powder has become tyoo expensive. I use RL-17 (in place of Vv-N550) in 8X57IS, 7mm-08 & 30/40 Krag. I will be using Norma MRP (in place of Vv-N560) for 8mm-06 Ackley, 8X68S & 6.5X55 Mauser W/130gr bullets.