JohnH
02-17-2006, 11:46 PM
Well, it seems that faster is better. Did a search over a accuratereloading.com and came up with a touch of load data for the 9.3x57. 41 grains of IMR 3031, fella gives a velocity of 1900 fps with a 286 grain bullet. Interesting. I'm using the Lyman 379449, right around 270 grians ready to shoot.
All the data I find for the JDJ has heavy bullets being pushed with 4895/4064/Varget. Following the "slower is better for cast" axiom, I've been shooting powders in speeds from IMR4350 to WC860 trying to find a sweet spot. Don't happen. H-205 (a tad faster than 4350) shoots ok at 45 grains, gives 1660 fps, and decent accuracy, 2" at 50 yards, nothing I want to depend on as yet. The duplex load using WC860 I've been shooting shoots very good, 1" at 50, 3 of 10 will be flyers, but the first three are always in 1" of each other. Load clocks at about 1530 fps, plenty fast and accurate for muzzle blast distance deer killing.
But I really like the 1700-1900 I was getting from my 38-55 NEF, which I've traded off at this point, so I keep searching for that sweet spot. May have found it with the 3031. Of 2 five shot groups I fired this afternoon, I was rewarded with 4 of 5 in 1 1/4" the first three in the 1 1/4" each time. Gonna do some more spearmenten'. First 5 were with 38 grains 3031, second 5 were with 40 grains 3031. Groups are almost identical. To date, one charge of a powder will shoot decent, move up or down even by 2 grains, group will fall apart. First time group has remained the same. I'll take it that the barrel likes or is close to liking this combination. Also the laod is shooting to the point that the 2000 fps load s I was shooting over last weekend were hitting, fellas data is pretty accurate, a 200 fps
differece shows about2 1/2" of change in POI of the bullet.
I've yet to crop off the first bit of barrel with the tooling marks on the lands. Instead I repeated what I'd done on another barrel, made up a tight patch, coated in heavy with fine lapping compound and swabbed the bore. I'd do ten strokes, clean it, feel a tight patch in it, do it again if nessicary. 30 strokes later, the bore was slick pushing a tight patch through, left no lint. Didn't alter the groups I was getting, but the leading I was having at first is gone. I began shooting .379 diameter bullets, but these were difficult to chamber and leaded like crazy. I made up a .377 sizer and that helped the chambering, but still leaded. All those bullets were 10 BHN, and I figured two things were going on, the size was still too large, and the bulelts were soft, so I emptied my pot and filled it up with a 15 BHN alloy. Still got the leading. Prolly should have followed BA's advise and shot some jacketed through it, but not being of high finance, for the $28.00 I would spend for 100 jacketed bullets, I can buy primers to fire almost 2000 cast bullets. Economics won out so I "lapped the barrel"
At this point that is where things stand with my 375 JDJ. But I got a couple questions,
It looks like 2230-C is between 3031 and 4895 in speed. In shooting the stuff, which of these is it closer to?
All the exterior ballistics I run show that 1500 fps with a 270 grian bullet is all I will ever need on a white tail. The bullet will make more than enough juice for the job even at 200 yards, prolly 4 times what I'll ever shoot one at, so why the obsession with 1700-1900 fps?
All the data I find for the JDJ has heavy bullets being pushed with 4895/4064/Varget. Following the "slower is better for cast" axiom, I've been shooting powders in speeds from IMR4350 to WC860 trying to find a sweet spot. Don't happen. H-205 (a tad faster than 4350) shoots ok at 45 grains, gives 1660 fps, and decent accuracy, 2" at 50 yards, nothing I want to depend on as yet. The duplex load using WC860 I've been shooting shoots very good, 1" at 50, 3 of 10 will be flyers, but the first three are always in 1" of each other. Load clocks at about 1530 fps, plenty fast and accurate for muzzle blast distance deer killing.
But I really like the 1700-1900 I was getting from my 38-55 NEF, which I've traded off at this point, so I keep searching for that sweet spot. May have found it with the 3031. Of 2 five shot groups I fired this afternoon, I was rewarded with 4 of 5 in 1 1/4" the first three in the 1 1/4" each time. Gonna do some more spearmenten'. First 5 were with 38 grains 3031, second 5 were with 40 grains 3031. Groups are almost identical. To date, one charge of a powder will shoot decent, move up or down even by 2 grains, group will fall apart. First time group has remained the same. I'll take it that the barrel likes or is close to liking this combination. Also the laod is shooting to the point that the 2000 fps load s I was shooting over last weekend were hitting, fellas data is pretty accurate, a 200 fps
differece shows about2 1/2" of change in POI of the bullet.
I've yet to crop off the first bit of barrel with the tooling marks on the lands. Instead I repeated what I'd done on another barrel, made up a tight patch, coated in heavy with fine lapping compound and swabbed the bore. I'd do ten strokes, clean it, feel a tight patch in it, do it again if nessicary. 30 strokes later, the bore was slick pushing a tight patch through, left no lint. Didn't alter the groups I was getting, but the leading I was having at first is gone. I began shooting .379 diameter bullets, but these were difficult to chamber and leaded like crazy. I made up a .377 sizer and that helped the chambering, but still leaded. All those bullets were 10 BHN, and I figured two things were going on, the size was still too large, and the bulelts were soft, so I emptied my pot and filled it up with a 15 BHN alloy. Still got the leading. Prolly should have followed BA's advise and shot some jacketed through it, but not being of high finance, for the $28.00 I would spend for 100 jacketed bullets, I can buy primers to fire almost 2000 cast bullets. Economics won out so I "lapped the barrel"
At this point that is where things stand with my 375 JDJ. But I got a couple questions,
It looks like 2230-C is between 3031 and 4895 in speed. In shooting the stuff, which of these is it closer to?
All the exterior ballistics I run show that 1500 fps with a 270 grian bullet is all I will ever need on a white tail. The bullet will make more than enough juice for the job even at 200 yards, prolly 4 times what I'll ever shoot one at, so why the obsession with 1700-1900 fps?