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View Full Version : 358627 clone GB range results



Ron.D
08-10-2009, 07:48 AM
This mold is from a GB that was done by Lee 2 yrs. ago. Most of my work is 2000 mi. from home, so range time's scarce. Perhaps it's that this boolit resembles the original, that nobody's bothered to report on it. I thought it was different enough and my range results were encouraging enough to take the liberty. Glen Fryxell reported in his excellent article that he had problems getting this boolit over 2000'/s but had good results otherwise.
I don't know if it's because this clone has a larger diameter (.360") or my 358 Win. 16" twist or this boolit liked the gentle push that Varget gave it but my results over the past 2 days were surprisingly good. It should be added that this GB was done when Lee was trying to get our attention and was doing a good job for us. The boolits started casting well as soon as light frosting appeared. No Leementing was done and boolits were given only a visual inspection, with 80% making the grade.
The boolit casts right at .360, cast from Lyman #2 and weighs 213 grs. lubed and checked. Lube was FWFL, checks were Hornady, CCI 200 primers. OAL was 2.49 lightly crimped in the rear crimp groove. Cases were Win. .308 Win. necked up . I started at 38 grs. of Varget and worked up from there. The gun is a rebored Savage99 with a 19 1/2" barrel.
38 grs. vel. was ave. of 1680'/s E.S. 39'/s 10' from muzzle
39 grs. vel. was ave. of 1775'/s E.S. 28'/s
40 grs. vel. was ave. of 1850'/s E.S. 24'/s
41 grs. vel. was ave. of 1960'/s E.S. 19'/s
This concluded my first outing. I didn't clean my gun during this time, all groups were under 2 1/2" at 100 yrds. and tightening as the charge increased. All shots in total were in a 5 1/2" circle. There was no leading but the barrel was very dirty.
Second session included only a 42 gr. load as that's as high as I need to go for any deer out to 200 yrds. I fired 2, 5 shot groups.
42 grs. vel. was ave. of 2070'/s E.S. 28'/s for 10 shots.
The 2, 5 shot groups were 2" and 1 3/4" The gun is light. the rest mediocre, a 2-7 scope and 62 yr. old eyes. Those are my excuses. The boolit performed admirably. There was still no leading and the barrel was much cleaner, I believe this resulted from the Varget being burned at a pressure closer it's designed range.
This gives me a velocity of 2080'/s at the muzzle from a 19 1/2" barrel. I believe I've found my go-to load for deer and black bear. Looking at that big meplat I can't help but wonder if the estimated B.C. of .280 is a little optimistic, but others here have more knowledge on that than I do.
Please remember that these are my loads in my gun. If any are tried please use the usual cautions in working up to them and at your own risk. Thanks. Ron.D