advice from a stranger

[mr.big]

picked up a box of 50 Sierra 300 gr 338 Cal Match King bullets today,,for the price difference bought in bulk against the Lapua and Berger bullets I had to give the SMK a try,,
I have a pretty good load with H1000 and the 300 Scenar bullet,so I just grabbed a can to go,but there was a guy standing there maybe 60-65,,he said he been loading them 300 SMK bullets since they started making them,he said for the most consistant results in any weather or conditions to try this Ramshot Magnum powder,,he said to start about 85 grs and work up one gr at a time and when I get heavy bolt lift to back down 2 grs and load them all..I was hesitant as I know how H1000 shoots,,this guy said to put it back and he would pay for the Magnum powder,,I told him if he was that sure of it I would try it,but he wasn`t paying for it,,

we will see,,I hope it works out,,it would sure be a bunch cheaper to shoot with that load,,

 

[WGK]

I am sure they are very proud of those lapua and Berger bullets. Hope it works for you BIG.

 

[mr.big]

on paper they may be better,,but as with my CZ 223 in field conditions the 69 SMK has proven up to anything I can do with the 70-75 Berger bullets,,

all I require from the 338 load is to shoot good enough to hit 1.5 MOA size steel targets,,the BC of the 300 SMK is "only" .768 compared to .808 of the Lapua,,but if it will shoot as good for 20% less $$ I can add a click or two to my dope pretty easy..the Magnum powder is 5$ a pound cheaper also,,

might get down under a dollar a shot if it will perform,,

 

[Kimberman]

I have become a fan of Ramshot powder. I load TAC in my .358, it gets me 2500 FPS with a 225 gr Accubond, and right at 1" groups. My recently acquired 222 shot 3 different charge weights of Ramshot Xtermintor into a 1/2 inch or less with a 50 gr Blitzking, which made for very short load work up with that rifle. I also tried Ramshot Magnum in my 264. I think it would be "the" powder if I were shooting 140 gr bullets, but I couldn't get speed with it with 130 gr Swift SIIs. It was very accurate however. The guy I bought my 264 from kept meticulous records of all of the different loads he shot out that gun, and Ramshot Magnum was the only powder that he could reach 3200 FPS with a 140 gr bullet safely.

 

[paincave_2000]

There's a Lapua group buy over on Snipers Hide but I think it ends later today.

 

[mr.big]

at powder valley 8 lbs of Magnum is 127 and 500 300gr SMK are 276,,which would get me down around 90 cents a shot,

man I hope this works,,Sierra recommends at least a 10 twist and the Big Savage has a Nine so I should be good,

looking at some lload data the Magnum powder is a little slower than Retumbo and slightly faster than Kingfords charcoal,,