A varmint load for the .338-378 Weatherby

I am so tired of those people who  suggest the Weatherby .338-378 isn’t a flexible cartridge. It’s mostly those wimps with  the heavy barreled .22 centerfire, or .243’s making all the noise. “whine, whine,  whine…muzzle brake…yap, yap, yap, stop, my ears are bleeding… ” It’s always  something.

Nosler Ballistic Tips look almost too good to shoot, but  every cartridge needs a varmint load for crows or prairie dogs, or maybe a little informal  Accumark plinking.

Cartridge: .338-378 Weatherby
Bullet: 200 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip SPBT
Powder: IMR 7828
Charge Wt.:111.5 grains
Primer: CCI #250
Cartridge C.O.L.: 3.700″
Muzzle Velocity: 3,500 fps
Best 100 yard group: 1.5″

I couldn’t get a group under 1.5″ but, for the day,  I was also seeing less than exciting results with standard Sierra 250 and 215 loads, and  factory Nosler Partition loads. Typically the gun can shoot Sierra bullets in groups half  that size. Recoil for the 200 grain loads was a thought stimulating 52 pounds, compared to  thought scattering 76 pounds for the 250 grain loads. A recoil reduction is always appreciated.

When I disassembled the  Weatherby for cleaning, I found very heavy copper deposits in the barrel, which could have  been my group spread problem. I, of course, will go back to some baseline loads and  recheck again. Cleaning may resolve the general issue of wider than normal groups,  however, that would not necessarily qualify the Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets as having  high accuracy potential in this setup.

Factory Partition ammo performance has been  less than exciting, and I have not been able to achieve the best accuracy with Nosler  Ballistic Tips in either .243 or .224 caliber. All of my guns seems to have a penchant for  cheap bullets, which actually works out to be a pretty good deal.

.30/30 165 grain Spitzer –  Sharper, and slightly faster than a pointed stick

This past week, I concluded with a reloading press full of these  pointed things,Hornady 165 SPBT bullets, pressed into .30/30 cases. I was trying for a  longer heavier bullet that I though might stabilize better in the Contender 1:10 twist.

Cartridge: .30/30 WCF
Bullet: 165 grain Hornady BTSP
Powder: Win 748
Charge Wt.:36.0
Primer: CCI #200
Cartridge C.O.L.: 2.720″
Muzzle Velocity: 2,125 fps
Best 100 yard group: .850″

Guess the day range day had some redeeming qualities, as  this load out shot the Weatherby at 100 yards, with several sub 1″ groups. Recoil  seems no greater than 150 grain loads, however reassuring that is, and only one case  showed minor signs of potentially high pressure – a slightly flattened primer.

This is my favorite Contender  cartridge / load combination and it’s enjoyable to shoot. Maybe I’ll have to revise my  thoughts on hunting with a single shot and try this on boar. I just can’t get over the  idea that a gun with a 14″ barrel can be so accurate (compared to my rifle shooting  anyway), especially with an old cartridge like the .30/30.

…..and still ticking

My favorite rifle is a 7MM Remington Magnum. I just  like the  wide range of bullets, the generally flat trajectory, and the magnum performance in a less  than deck gun size package. It’s also the most accurate gun I own. I probably work mostly  in the 140 – 165 grain bullet range, only because I’d move up to the .338 for anything  that would require a 175 grain 7MM bullet, or down to the .243 for anything requiring less  than a 140 grain 7MM. 160 grains is my favorite.

Cartridge: 7MM Remington Magnum
Bullet: 160 grain Sierra SPBT
Powder: Alliant Reloader 25
Charge Wt.: 67.7 grains
Primer: CCI #250
Cartridge C.O.L.: 3.290″
Muzzle Velocity: 3,010 fps
Best 100 yard group: .500″

Sierra bullets seem to work  well with just about everything, and they are typically the least costly of the major  manufacturers. Reloader 25 has been an excellent alternative to IMR 7828 and I’ve settled  in with Power Pistol for most of my .357 SIG loads. So I picked up a few pounds of  Reloader 19 to try with some of my .243 loads, and 7 MM loads with lighter bullets.

Yikes! A market Microsoft missed ?

Interesting contrast between two companies. Load From A Disk ballistic software is a  well thought out and well executed package. The math for trajectory and projected load  performance looks good, in comparing the programs output to long standing published  ballistics tables, as well as to handloads I’ve worked with and chronographed.

Other areas, like calculating blank range,  produce some odd results. As an example, if you specify 5″ as the max variance from  zero, then plug the resulting zero range into the trajectory calculator, you’ll get plots  that significantly exceed 5″ at various points along the curve. Also the max is  5″. Not earth shaking errors, but enough to make me want to do further verification  before trusting starting load data in areas I do not have personal experience.

Being able to add loads, bullets, calculate  wildcat case capacity, and dream wheel results are a big plus. Within an half hour of  having this capability, I had designed the .22/.357 SIG, the .22/.378 Weatherby and the  .375/.22 Rim Fire. On a less creative, but more productive note, I also gained a bunch of  different starting loads for the .338-.378. The interface is very easy to use, and the  bullet, powder database is very complete and current.

The program installed easily. Although the  files are actually only large enough to fill a couple of floppy disks, making the CD-ROM  unnecessary, the CD-ROM is more convenient and more durable as archive material. Maybe the  author will develop the product site so the software could be distributed, and  subscription updated, over the Internet. With bullets, and even powder types, being  released every few months, it would be a natural fit to provide routine updates.

Within a couple of hours, I had scrounged  through all of my lists and notebooks and transferred a pile of my own data to the Load  From a Disk program. Unlike the Sierra product which remains on the CD, the ballistic  software program installs to hard disk and opens the door to user and custom file.

The Sierra loading manual on CD-ROM is a  little bit like the old notion of putting recipes on a computer. Static data on a  computer, except in very large amounts, is somewhat of a waste of time. In the case of the  Sierra manual, I’d almost rather thumb through a hard copy manual, with clear fonts and  easy to scan tables, then try to peer through a multitude of blotchy small on screen  windows. Sierra set all text files in the Times New Roman in Rich Text Format. This would  have done nicely as an Acrobat application. The program is a little over 3 megabytes of  space on 650 megabyte’s of storage medium.

I think for just about everyone who produces  data that has a shelf life measurable in months, they should put the manuals on a web  site, or at least the frequent updates on bullets, cartridges and load data. Charge a  monthly or annual fee, but make it convenient for users to get current information. I  think the time for manuals on CD has come and gone. I’m not even sure why bullet or powder  companies charge for what amounts to a product data book.

Little things Mean a Lot

Ever walk around a gun shop, and notice some guys have  one arm like Popeye, and the other like Olive Oyl ? Those are the guys who use a manual  case trimmer. And if they have skinned knuckles, they are also the guys who didn’t buy the  accessory plate that increases the trimmer’s clearance between the crank handle and the  counter top. I was handloading some of my favorite stuff this evening –

I had the little case kicker turned too far to the  outside of the shell plate, and it jammed on a case. I was trying to manually index the  plate, when it suddenly popped free, rotated, and ran the kicker into my index finger.

I don’t mean it bumped into my finger, I mean the exposed  3/4″ of tempered wire ran up into my finger tip, and stayed there until I realized I  probably should remove it. It was a squirter, so I grabbed a bench rag and put direct  pressure on the small puncture. Unfortunately it didn’t register, that moments earlier, I  had saturated the rag with Nitro Solvent and used it to wipe out a set of dies. I thought  I might just stick my finger back on the wire, to recreate a time when I was only wounded,  and not also chemically on fire. I was hopping around pretty good, and I started  thinking….maybe a little late in the process….

Why don’t I clip a small piece of plastic  tubing from my fish tank air pump, and slide it over the wire kicker. Then I’d avoid those  impromptu inoculations and, maybe, have fewer jammed cases.

In fact, it was a good day for clearing up a lot of  annoying little things that always seemed to take away from the enjoyment of handloading.

 

The 29 cent trimmer accessory  plate

I have my bench drilled for the trimmer and the  APS press. I use wing nuts to hold them in place when I need them, making them quick to  install and remove, and I get a flat bench top when they are stowed away. The only two  problems are; the standard trimmer locates the handle too close to the bench so I’m always  scuffing my knuckles, and the three point mounting pads offer little support, and allow  the trimmer to wobble.

I didn’t want to spend $25 for an accessory  base, and I wanted a mount that would provide support for the whole underside of the  trimmer, not just at the three pad points.

Using the mount pads as a template, marked the  spots, and used a Forstner bit to bore clean, sharp edged, half inch holes in a piece of  redwood. I wanted the mount pads recessed tightly into the holes so they would carry the  lateral load of the trimming motion, rather than the small 1/4″ 20 bolts. Keeping the  trimmer steady would make for a more uniform cutter motion.

After the 1/2″  holes were bored, I ran the block through the jointer and planer until it was nice and  square, and press fit the trimmer to the block so they would stay together even when  removed from the bench.

I picked up an 1 1/2″ more crank  clearance, and a really solidly mounted trimmer, with an investment of 20 minutes and a  piece of scrap wood.

Too many holes in a funnel

If this scene looks  familiar, you’ve got ants in your reloading area, or you’re reloading anything based on  the .378 Weatherby case.

The wide case shoulder prevents the funnel from seating against the case mouth, so when the funnel is pulled  away, all of the case grains trapped between the neck and the funnel tube spill out on the  bench. It makes a mess and it’s a pain when you have a few boxes of the stuff to load.

At $6 – $12 a pop, you  can spend all day buying .22 – .45 cal reloading funnels, but they’ll all do the same  thing. So you may want to take advantage of this special offer.

For only $45, I can deliver these custom fit  funnels. A set of three, they cover most popular calibers: .22-.30, .338 – .40, and .45 –  “Jeez, you’ve got to be kidding me”.

The funnels have a sharper taper than  typical reloading funnels, tend to not block or bridge, and powder flows through much  faster. If you’re in a real hurry to get them, you can also pick up a set at your local  supermarket’s kitchen utilities aisle for about a buck.

Fabricating an autoclasperometer

Sometimes I rely on  expensive, ultra high tech fracture detection methods, such as the autoclasperometer. It  is inserted into the case, hook end toward the case wall, until it comes in contact with  the interior case head. Light pressure is then applied to the hook, as the hook is slowly  pulled along the interior case wall, right up through the neck. The tip needs to be shaped  into a point with a small jeweler’s file, or emery board, so it will pick up even a fine  line inside the case.

The inspection checks for interior ridges or  radial fractures approximately .250″-.500″ above the case head that would  indicate the brass is a candidate for case head separation, and you may have a need to  check that load data. Probably isn’t necessary to show the clip and case in cutaway view,  however, it is one more example of why I absolutely needed that high speed bench belt/disk  sander.

Just be careful out there

I think most people  would assume, these cases have been reloaded too many times, or are the result of heavy  powder loads. Actually, the cases had been reloaded only once before, and with light to  moderate powder charges.

I’m not sure exactly what caused this early case failure,  although I have a suspicion it was the result of excessive case length, poor case  preparation and resulting higher pressures.

When I’m doing things correctly, I always decap, size,  and tumble clean all cases prior to inspection. Removing carbon buildup, and pulling the  case back into shape, help to bring visible defects to the surface. Some bright light and  a magnifying lens aid in the process.

In this example, a  routine check of overall case length showed an out of spec condition at 2.058″. The  .243 has a max case length of 2.045″, and is trimmed to 2.035″ when found to  exceed the maximum limit.

The check was done after sizing. It is very common to  have a case exhibit a minimal increase in length when fired, then increase .003 – .004  when when the neck expander plug is pulled through.

Excessive case length  can very easily cause high chamber and case pressures. High pressures, in addition to the  obvious safety risk to firearms and person, may only   do something as simple as  fatigue and fracture brass. Proper trimming of cases can increase the margin of safety,  and greatly extend case life.

Case trimming can be relatively monotonous. There are  powered trimmers to shorten the task, and special dies available from most manufacturers  that dramatically minimize the frequency of the task.

There are a couple of  steps in the process, after the brass is removed from the trimming tool. The first case on  the left is untrimmed, and the next is trimmed as it leaves the tool, complete with a  large burr. The third case has been deburred with an inside out side hand chamfer tool.

Where brass has thickened considerably, neck turning will  bring a case back into spec.

I mentioned that  trimming can quickly become a boring proposition, but probably of greater importance,  uniform torque and cutting motion of a powered trimmer would yield dimensionally more  uniform cases.

That sparkling yellow stuff isn’t gold. I ran a little  over a hundred cases and had a pile of brass that spread out all over the place. You want  to make sure it’s cleaned from cases, flash holes in primer pockets, and not left on the  bench to find it’s way into tools, guns and other assemblies.

There are numerous  areas to address in case preparations. Primer pockets and flash holes should be cleaned  and clear of obstructions. Primer and powder residue can prevent a primer from properly  seating and cause a misfire. Flash holes blocked from residue, or even tumbling medium,  can cause erratic ignition.

I wouldn’t recommend cutting up too many cases like this.  You’ll find they all look the same inside, and it really gets quite difficult to keep the  powder from falling out.

In preparation for a group of us target shooting on the  weekend, I went ahead and ran about 150 cases through preparation. It’s nice to start  reloading with clean, properly dimensioned brass. During the process I picked up another  piece of information that has proven helpful.

Juggling Drop Tubes

IMR 7828 yields pretty  exceptional results in loads, from heavy bullets in .243’s up, through the large magnums.  Unfortunately, it’s difficult to uniformly feed with a mechanical powder measure,  frequently hanging somewhere between the measuring cylinder and the drop tube.

The three drop tubes pictured cover .22 – 270, 7mm – .45  cal and pistol. While the .22 – .270 tube would not feed, the pistol tube metered  uniformly to the .243 case, within .2 grains.

Unfortunately the .243 case, much longer than a pistol  case, drove the drop tube up into the clear plastic extension tube, blocking the view of  powder dropping from the measurer into the drop tube. A little disconcerting, not to have  that visual check.

Use of a powder level  checker restored the safety check, and left me with a  little more confidence in the  process.

I scale checked every 10 rounds, but never  had to make an adjustment.

Good to a fraction of a  grain…what fraction would that be ?

I’ve been using a press  mounted Uniflow dispenser for most of my reloading. I also do a lot of short run loading,  off the progressive Ammo Master, and use a scale to measure all of these charges.

I thought I would set up a second powder  measure on the bench to use for these short runs, and save on frequent change over of the  press mounted measure.

The Uniflow and  piggyback bench mount are easy to install. In fact, the dispenser shares the same foot  print as the APS press, so I was able to use the quick detach mount holes already drilled  through the bench top.

The dispenser came with  installation hardware and two drop tubes, .22 – .270 and 7MM – .45 cal. It also came with  a bracket that would permit mounting the dispenser at bench level, rather than on the  piggy back mount.

The green plastic drop tubes are for the  bench mount, the three metal drop tubes fit into the extension tube used on the press  mount. The weight of metal tubes is necessary for them to reliably follow the motion of  the cartridge case as the shell plate is being raised and lowered in the press.

New dispensers, like new dies and almost  anything else that contains machined parts, are shipped with a petroleum based rust  inhibitor. These items need to be disassembled and cleaned before use, or else any powder  passed through the measuring cylinder will meter erratically and/or become oil soaked and  ruined. Contaminated powder burns erratically, and with unpredictable results.

Fortunately,  dispensers are simple assemblies. A bushing is removed, the measuring screw is pushed out  of the top of the hopper, and the measuring cylinder, or drum, slides out.

Measurement with a mechanical dispenser is  based solely on volume. The metering screw (#1) is adjusted in and out of the measuring  cylinder to alter the volume of the cavity. The handle rotates the cavity under the powder  in the hopper, and the cavity is filled. Then the handle is rotated back to the original  position, rotating the measuring cylinder until it empties the powder into the drop tube.  Any powder caught between the cylinder and hopper, on rotation, is sheared.

The standard measuring screw has a  flat on one side and is indexed with relative numbers. While the measuring screw may be  adjusted to create a specific size cavity in the measuring cylinder, the physical  difference in powder types make any index only an approximation.

IMR4895 is extruded, or stick  powder. Win 748 is spherical or ball powder and has a much higher density for a given  volume. 

I changed the powder type in the measure,  but made no other metering adjustments. The Uniflow went from dispensing 40 grains of 748  to dispensing only 32 grains of 4895. The settings are reasonably repeatable, however,  within the same powder type. If setting the metering screw to 10 on the scale yields 37  grains of Win748 today, it will yield approximately the same a month from now. The  standard scale is a little difficult to read and is not indexed for fine increments.

RCBS offers micrometer  type metering screws for their powder measures, one for a measuring cylinder with a large  cavity, and one for small, or the small Vs. the large end of the quantity spectrum.

The scale resolution for each is about the  same, 50 clicks to the thimble and 10 + half increments on the barrel, but this scale is  still only relative. The finer increments closer logging of historical settings for  quicker set up in the future and are, for this purpose, easier to use than the standard  metering screws. More important, these look really impressive on the bench, particularly  to the uninformed.

So after all of this preciserocity, how well  does a mechanical dispenser measure or, what is a good reason not to start at maximum  loads, and why should charges be scale checked at least at every 10 throws ?

Measures are usually  spec’d as “meter within a fraction of a grain”. I just never knew what the  manufacturer had in mind when they wrote that statement, 1/10 or 9/10 ? I set up two  powder measures, one press mounted and one bench mounted, then basically metered a bunch  of powder to check them for accuracy and consistency.

I kept drop tubes consistent throughout the  checks. The new measure was disassembled and cleaned before starting the process, and I  ran through a pound of powder before logging scale checks. An RCBS 10/10 scale was used to  verify each of the powder throws. I used large capacity empty cases for collecting powder  output from the press, to insure the actuation of the measure would be the same as in  normal use.

Well, absolute accuracy, as  measured in tenth grain increments, probably isn’t as important as over/under percentage  of charge. I believe the bench mounted measure was consistently more accurate in powder  throws – I don’t know why. I do know that powder measures depend upon consistent lever  actuation and cycling, to maintain uniform density of powder residing in the hopper and  above the measuring cylinder. The jarring of the progressive press may cause irregular  compacting of powder in the hopper, A good reason to never have a vibratory cleaner  running on the same counter as a powder measure.

As much as I’ve read about ball powder  feeding so much better than other types, I see nothing that would indicate this to be the  case. There was a serious problem with IMR 7828, that I believe is unique to this specific  type of powder. It has long cylindrical granules, and a tendency of getting stuck  somewhere in the pipeline. In this case, half the charge obviously got hung up between the  cylinder and the drop tube, then fell free on the next cycle. The   problem would  have been detected by a powder level checker in the press, but the error is still  disconcerting.

I asked IMR for a measuring device  recommendation for 7828, they indicated there really was none, other than a scale, but the  benefits of 7828 offset the inconvenience. Interesting. There really is a solution to the  IMR 7828 dispensing problems, that would be Reloader 25, or Hodgdon H870, or…..

I think I need to keep looking for a method  that will maintain 1% or less variance within a powder type. I may also look at ways of  pre-compacting powder in the hopper, or using a constant pressure source. Think I need to  check out a combo electric dispenser / scale set up…

More “A varmint load for the .338-378 Weatherby”:

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Handload Data 338-378 Weatherby Magnum

Thanks
Joe