Load for Sako 75 Varmint in .223 Rem.

[maximus otter]

On Sunday I headed off to the 100-yard range to test my first batch of 50 reloads for my new (to me) Sako 75 Varmint in .223 Rem. Conditions were less than ideal:

The temperature was 32°F; the wind was gusting at up to 15-20 mph.

Despite incipient hypothermia I managed to produce this final target with the load I may well settle on:

(The two diamonds to the right were fired under poor conditions using cartridges with a random selection of powder charges and seating depths).

The load is:

Lapua Match .223 brass
CCI BR4 primers
40 grain Hornady V-Max bullet
0.248" bushing in my Redding Type S full length Match dies
Seating depth: 10 thou off the lands
25.9 grains of Vihtavuori N133 powder (Max. recommended load in the manual).

Using my MagnetoSpeed V3 an admittedly small number of rounds fired gave me an average of 3,524 fps and an SD of 15.6.

(Note: The previous owner shortened the barrel to about 20").

An overall average of about 0.33 MOA looks very promising at this stage. I look forward to refining the load further.

maximus otter

 

[stonecreek]

That is fantastic grouping, particularly under those conditions. Remember, the pursuit of perfection is the enemy of the enjoyment of excellence. Maybe you should stop with your load development right where you are!

 

[maximus otter]

That is fantastic grouping, particularly under those conditions. Remember, the pursuit of perfection is the enemy of the enjoyment of excellence. Maybe you should stop with your load development right where you are!

"Doin' right ain't got no end..."

Terrill, The Outlaw Josey Wales



maximus otter

 

[maximus otter]

Famous last words.

I continued my load development, but encountered problem after problem. The one I detail above using the 40-grain V-Max proved to be disappointingly inconsistent; besides, 40-grain bullets are illegal for the two small species of invasive deer I stalk near my home. English law requires at least a 50-grain bullet, either JHP or JSP, for muntjac and Chinese water deer.

Back to the drawing board...

To cut a long and expensive story short(er), I tried Vihtavuori N133 and N140. I tried two different types of primers. I tried reloading 40gr. V-Max, 53gr. V-Max, 52gr. Berger HPs and 50gr. (?) Speers. I seated bullets deeper into and farther out of cases. I trimmed. I cleaned. I tightened screws to different torques...

After several months and at least £150 in components, frankly I was more than fed up. I was seriously considering selling or re-barreling the rifle. Then, a very simple idea occurred to me: Try it with the moderator off. The result?

Groups immediately tightened from about 1.02" to 0.4"!

Yesterday (4.11.18) I returned to the range with a box of this load, and settled down to do my best off the concrete bench using a bipod and back bag. The result:

Average of all four 3-round groups (including the flier from the cold bore shot in Group 1) was 0.244 MOA. If I cheat and exclude Group 1, the average is 0.19 MOA!

Average muzzle velocity will be in the order of 3,465 fps.

The final recipe is:

Lapua .223 Match brass
0.248" bushing in my Redding Type S full length Match dies
CCI BR-4 primers
25.9 grs Vihtavuori N133 powder
50gr. V-Max seated 20 thou off the lands
COAL 2.280"

I have consigned the errant Wildcat Evo 8 moderator to a mate of mine who has a lathe. He's going to check it for concentricity, then probably ream the holes out to 7mm or even 8mm. I'm happy to lose a couple of dB in noise reduction to regain accuracy.

maximus otter