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Old May 4, 2013, 07:18 AM   #4
Mike / Tx
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Join Date: April 8, 2000
Posts: 2,101
Whenever I set up a new load using new bullets I will usually just go by the max magazine length I can get to start with. Then I will set up a couple or three dummy rounds at that length to make sure I get a good feed when cycling the bolt or action.

There are some of the plastic tipped bullets that simply will not feed as good as their lead tipped counterparts. The plastic tips will sometimes grab the front lip of the magazine and hang up so they have to be seated just a bit more to alloy them to start up before hitting anything.

I will also throw this out as well. A lot of folks will go with the max lenght they can get expecting better accuracy. This is all well and good. However with calibers like the RUM where your possibly loading long for caliber bullets on top of copious charges of powder, you can get pressure issues a LOT quicker than with some other calibers. Keep that in mind as well. One other thing my friend and I found while working on his 300 RUM was that after trying a number of powders at around .035" or so off the lands, he finally just used one OAL that was listed in a manual and it dropped his group sizes by more than a half. He is using the Berger 185gr and ended up like .125" off the lands but is getting benched and bagged groups of less than an inch at 300yds.

Also if your just getting started with this round I highly suggest trying some Hodgdon H-1000. While Retumbo and RL-25 both excelled in velocity, they also had issues with pressure spikes in the temperature changes we experience here in Texas. It came as quite a shock, to have worked up perfectly functioning loads in 75'ish degree temps only to have a stuck bolt when it got 10-15 degree warmer. Not to mention the gigantic increase in muzzle blast and ruined primer pockets. Unfortunately for me, I was the one behind the trigger at the time, and I have NEVER experienced a concussion like that, and hope I never do again. I literally thought the action blew, and after I knew I could still seem, I seriously though I was going to have my nose and or ears bleed from it. The ear plugs felt like they were driven into my head. Not a fun experience at all. Just something to think about IF you go with RL-25 and any charge weights over around 82grs, it gets quirky quick in the higher temps.

Luckily for us we had only loaded up about 10-15 rounds in order to try them out on some hogs, so it wasn't a big deal to pull the other remaining bullets. We have not seen any issues what so ever with the H-1000 loads in temps running from the lower 30's up to the lower 100's. It is a very good powder for this round for sure. He has been using it for close to 8 years now with much satisfaction.

Hope this helps.
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Mike / TX
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