Shooting
with the Winners
Winning
loads at the 2000 Internationals
By
Joe Tesmer
Ever
wonder about what loads the winning shooters used at the Internationals?
Fantasized that if you knew the winners' secrets you could be in the
winners' circle too? “No,” you
say; “It’s really all about
shooting talent and practice, the loads aren’t really that important.” But,
then, deep down inside the suspicion lingers that maybe there is something
different about these shooters' loads and why they use them.
So, I asked each winner what loads he used as well as info on case
preparation and the gun. They were all very helpful and gave me tons of
information—more than I could possibly put in this article. As a bonus I got
to talk with a whole lot of interesting and helpful folks! So, see for yourself
what these winners used. You are the judge—is it the shooter or load?
John
Weaver of Waco, TX won the Production category.
John shot a BF chambered in 300/221R. This is essentially a rimmed 300
Whisper. John used R&P 357 Max. brass. He says, “The brass was so hard it
would crumple in the die if not annealed first! The cases were trimmed .20 in.,
full-length sized in 300 Whisper dies and primed with WSR primers. The power
used was 15.5 grains of H116.” John points out, “This is NOT H110! A
dangerous overload could result if H110 were used! This powder is a special
purchase powder from Hodgdon. It is
virtually the same as AA1680 or WW680. I
believe it actually is WW680. The
price was too good to pass up at about $50 for an 8 pound jug.
John
said, "I don't believe benchrest type case prep helps enough to tell so I
don't do it. Not enough time, too
many guns to load for and test. The
only thing I do to this case is clean it in an RCBS Sidewinder liquid cleaner
for 3 hours, triple rinse to get all the soap out, dry in the oven on 150
degrees with the oven door open slightly, then check length, examine for cracks
and load. I use an RCBS Ammomaster
progressive press. I like RCBS
because if it wears out they replace it no questions asked."
"I
used 178 grain Hornady Amax bullet. At
least I think it's an Amax. It
actually is a bulk purchase I made through Midsouth Shooters Supply.
They were supposed to be blims, but they shot really good.
The price was right on the bullets at $7.55 per 100. The load is slightly
compressed. No moly,
.015 off the lands. They
have an overall length of 2.185” and chronograph at 1472 fps. I shot the same
load all the way through. Very light recoil.
Easy and fun to shoot.”
When
asked if he would change anything. He replied, “I don't think I would change a
thing. It shoots too good just the
way it is. When the 2000 count of 178 grainers runs out I will switch over to
some 168 grain bulk blems that shot almost as well.”
By
the way, John also got the gun used. I think he deserves the Silhouetter’s
“Bargain Hunter” of the Year Award!
Larry
Harris of West Liberty, OH won the revolver category. He comments that the load
process for his FA353 is the most complicated of any silhouette gun he owns. He
describes his loading process: “I neck size 357 Rem. Brass to just above the
level where the bullet base will be when it’s seated using a very long
decapping rod from a .308 Win. die in my Redding sizer die. Case mouth flaring
is normally done after brushing out powder residue buildup in the bullet seating
area. I use CCI400 primers followed
by 12.5 gr. of VihtaVouri N-110. Speer 200 gr TMJ silhouette bullets are seated
to the middle of the cannelure in one step and then crimped with a Profile crimp
die from Redding in a separate step. A medium crimp is used.”
“Muzzle
velocity is 1256 fps. At these velocities, this load shoots great groups, and is
very consistent, but ram knock down is marginal. (Author’s note: momentum at
the ram line is about .86 lb.-sec.) I’ve only rung one ram out of the 4-500
I’ve hit with it in the 3 years I’ve had the gun, but most go over real
slow. I’ve tried other, faster loads with this bullet, but it groups nowhere
near as well. A second in ’99 and a first at this year are nothing to force me
to change how I do business with this load!”
Larry
further points out that my statistics for unlimited guns in my Big Bore article
(December IHMSA News) can be
misleading. He notes that his “poor old” Rampro has a competitive factor of
1.73 and the 6TCU a factor of 1.65. Where does he get these factors? Well, he
shot the gun in all four unlimited freestyle categories. All with iron sights!
Let’s see, 85 rounds x 4 +33 (in shootoffs) equals 373. May be time to start
thinking about a new barrel.
Hal
Simpkins from Maryland won the Standing category.
He says, “I use the MOA because of barrel weight and the 357 mag
because it’s all I need.” Hal uses his hopper gauge for volume powder
dispensing below maximum loads, so he doesn’t have the charge weight of the
AA#9 he uses. Hal explains, “I use #9 because it cycles in my Dillon better
than H110.” He adds, “I use the
Speer 200 gr. TMJ bullet (no moly) because I’ve found it shoots the
straightest and hits the hardest. I use Starline brass because it is the best
made, However, I don’t do any case preparation; I’ve tried but it makes no
difference. The primers are WSR. The bullet is crimped in the cannelure and is
not even close to the lands. The velocity is, maybe, 1375 fps. I shoot this load
straight thru the match.”
Not
only did Hal win Standing; he also shot standing in several other categories.
See his column Just Standn’ Around
in the October 2000 issue of IHMSA News.
Richard
Mishler from California won the unlimited category with an XP-100 in 6.5BR with
a 1 in 8 in. twist. He uses Lapua cases that have been neck turned, 29.5 grains
of VihtaVuori N140 and CCI BR4 primers. The bullets are moly coated Sierra 142
gr. HPBT MK. The powder is not compressed, and the cartridge has an overall
length of 2.395 which is 0.002 off the lands. The muzzle velocity is 2312 fps
and he shoots through with this load. Richard comments, “The XP100 chambered
in 6.5 BR is one of the best choices for unlimited events. Its low recoil and flat trajectory make it a good choice for
full and 1/2 scale targets. With 140/142 gr. Bullets, it has good ram knock down
and very little wind drift. If I were to change anything on the gun it would be
to add a muzzle brake to make it even more pleasant to shoot.”
I
note that Richard’s recoil comfort zone may be different than for us mere
mortals. First, his email address does start with “308.” Then there’s
something about winning at the Cholla Challenge….
Jerry
Wagner from Texas won the UAS category. Jerry
writes, “I was UAS champion in ‘97 and last year at the Internationals using
the same gun and load. The gun is a bone stock XP100 barrel and action in 7BR
(no muzzle brake), H-S Precision stock, Dell Taylor trigger, and B&L Elite
3000 2-6 scope.” As for the load he reports, “I use R-P cases (nickel);
Sierra 150 HPBT bullets (uncoated); 27.0 gr. of AA2015 powder and Fed 205M
primers. I do not neck turn any brass. I trim them after the 1st firing and
deburr the flash holes. I’m not sure about the velocity, never chronographed,
but according to the Accurate Manual it should be 2100+ fps. I do seat the
bullets to just touch the lands so overall length will vary gun to gun.”
I’ve
noted from the 2000 International Match results that UAS is probably the most
competitive category. You better bring along a lot of ammo if you’re going to
win this category. In Jerry’s case: five sighters, eighty rounds for the match
followed by, let’s see, 20 rounds in the shootoffs!
Unlimited
Standing
George Duggan from Oklahoma won this category shooting a T/C with a 14 in. Bullberry barrel chambered in 7 US Bench Rest.
The
cases were made from Winchester 30-30 brass and were neck turned, primer pocket
reamed and flash hole deburred. The
cartridges were loaded with 24.7 grains of H-322, CCI 200 primer and uncoated
120 gr. Hornady Spirepoint flat-base bullets. The load
was not compressed and overall length was 2.440 in. The bullets were seated with
the bullet base even with the shoulder. Muzzle velocity is 1800 fps.
George
points out, “I shoot the same load all the way through. The gun has low recoil
and BR specs. I don’t intend to change anything. Very accurate!”
Jerry
Ray of California won both of these categories!
Jerry
used an XP-100 in 25x39 to win the UHS category. The load consisted of IMI
7.62X39 brass primed with CCI BR2s and filled with 25 gr. of AA2015.
Uncoated 110gr Berger (flat base) bullets were seated .002 in. off the
lands. The load is not compressed. No case prep other than fire forming was
done. The cartridge OAL was 2.465 in. Muzzle velocity is approximately 2400 fps.
The same load is used all the way through. Jerry says, “I chose the 25X39 for
its BC in the 120 gr. weight range and the cheapness and availability of cases.
Gun shoots consistent 3/4-in. groups at 200 yd.!”
To
prepare for the UASHS category Jerry had a lot more “fun”. Jerry relates
this story as background for his UASHS win: “The odyssey of the 6.5 TCU
started in January of last year when I decided to build a new gun for UAS. (I'd
been using an old 6.5X39 Wichita.) I had 1/2 of 6.5 Hart barrel in my gun safe
along with an XP 100 that still had the original .221 bolt face (the receiver
dates back to the 1960's when the XP's first came out.)"
"I
already had dies, and the reamer for the 6.5 TCU turned out to be a stock reamer
with
most of the major manufacturers so I ordered a reamer and got together with
Mike
Dewey (local machinist and gunsmith). Mike agreed to put everything together
along with one of his muzzle brakes and trigger. I had already put an H&S
Precision
stock on the gun and was happy the way it handled. We had started putting it together not long after the Cholla
Challenge (around April)."
"After
a bluing hang-up we finally got everything done at the time of the NRA Nationals
where we found that after the scope and mount were installed the gun was 4 oz.
overweight! Mike took the gun back to the shop and worked on it during the week
after the Nationals and got it in my hands the day before I was supposed to
leave for Ft.
Stockton.
The loads were thrown together without any testing (other than two rounds
fired to check pressure) based on prior experiences with a TC barrel."
"I
brought the gun, along with my old 6.5 Wichita, to Ft. Stockton not even sure
that it would make weight (turned out to be 1/4 oz. under) and no sight settings
other than what I had from similar cartridges.
With the help of a couple of local Ft. Stockton shooters I was able to
fire a few rounds at a local range, and it appeared that accuracy was pretty
good. I opted at that point to
shoot the 6.5 TCU rather than the 6.5X39 for both the UAS events.
The rest is history.”
The
6.5 TCU load consisted of IMI .223 brass primed with Remington 7 1/2s and filled
with 25.5 gr. of VihtaVuori N135. Moly coated Sierra 140 gr. Match Kings were
seated .002 in. off the lands. The load is not compressed. Again, no case prep
other than fire forming was done. The cartridge OAL was 2.750. Muzzle velocity
is approximately 1900 fps.
Jerry
goes on to say, “The 6.5 TCU was chosen because I had the dies already, the
reamer was cheap and I didn't have to alter the bolt face on the old .221
Fireball XP I was using.”
I
bet Jerry voted for the weight increase in the referendum!
I
find it interesting that such a wide variety of techniques and components are
used. As you can see there are many paths to the winner’s circle. Your's could
be just as good as these winners! I thank all the winners for taking the time to
help me compile this article. By the way, have we answered that question: is it
the shooter or the load?
Neither the IHMSA News, the contributing shooters nor the writer assume any responsibility for the safety of these loads. Neither IHMSA, Inc nor the writer has control over the firearms or components used, or the manner in which they are utilized. Therefore, no liability is assumed by either IHMSA, Inc, the writer, the contributors or the IHMSA News for any damages that result from information printed in this article. Always consult standard reference manuals before duplicating loads or attempting any reloading procedures.