Kingzero

Obviously this has nothing to do with the fact that barrels shoot better when fouled than squeeky clean. When you shoot a new barrel you are "breaking it in"........the whole shoot and clean mess is a waste of time and materials. I run patches through a new barrel to clean out oil and crud from the manufacturing process and then don't touch them till the accuracy drops off.

Just shoot and have fun. Everything else is a waste of time and money.

Where was it ever said the barrel was infact burned up? Maybe it is, but thats an expensive guess. I would confirm it with a bore scope before dropping the money on a new barrel.

Try Tim at Arizona Custom Machine......(602) 568-9680. He's in Gilbert around Gilbert and Houston area. Great guy.

I would try a copper remover and get that barrel as clean as you can. Be sure to foul it before more load testing. Try some slower powder like Retumbo, H1000 or Ramshot Magnum. You said you are getting pressure signs a few grains before max.....are you seating bullets deep enough (not jamming them)? Depending on round count and maintenance it might have built up a carbon ring in the throat. ......or the barrel might be toast. I bought a used Savage in 7mag and it wouldn't group better than 3" at 50 yards no matter what I did. I spun on a new barrel in 260 and tomato staked the old one.

I shot 120gn Barnes TTSX's over H4350 in my 260 using necked up 243 brass......I miss that rifle.

I love it. The only thing I wish was different was that you didn't need an allen wrench to adjust the cheek piece.

Set up at an area that I had scouted on Google Earth and it turned out to be 1169 yards. Got a first round hit and 4 consecutive hits......missed the 5th. My buddy hit once with my rifle and sent 20 rounds of 223 with his AR and got really close, but no hits. I think I can get to 1250 at this spot and will try soon. Target is the red dot. Target through the spotting scope. Lowest hit is my buddies.

Yes, wind sucks but luckily it was only around 1.5 mph that morning. I shoot 105 Amax's.

When you say "they load a bit tight" I am assuming you meen the bolt is a little stiff to close when chambering a round. If that's the case, you need to screw your die down to bump the shoulder back a little more. A slight "crush" fit is good for brass life but not what you want with a hunting rifle. I would switch up the powder and try something different. I like the Hodgdon Extreme series of powders as they are less temp sensitive than most others. Forget the book listings for OAL. You are making custom rounds for your gun, so using generic measurements doesn't make sense. Get a Hornady OAL gauge and figure out the dimensions of "your" chamber. If you can load to that dimension and still fit in your mag/ internal box then start there. If they dont fit, load 3 dummy rounds and continue to seat them deeper till you get reliable cycling. Start your load development based on powder charge and when you find one you like, seat the bullets deeper 0.005" at a time to fine tune. Load development can be quick and painless or be long and a pain in the a$$. It comes with the territory. Good luck. EDIT: Your rounds will also chamber hard from your bullets being seated too far out. Chamber a round and eject it and make sure there are no grooves or marks on the bullet from contacting the lands.

Thats pretty slick looking. Good luck to her.

Up

Brand new Bushnell XRS 4.5-30x50.....never mounted. Paid 1549 plus shipping. 1500 bucks. Brand new Flatline Ops Recon 34mm level. SOLD.

Still available

I upgraded and need to move my 6-24x50 PST in MOA. It was on a 260 and a 6mm Creedmoor for around 700 rounds. It has a few faint marks but is in great overall condition. Just took it to 1169 yards on Saturday and it performed flawlessly. I have the original box and everything that came with it. I tested the illumination when I got it and then removed the battery and never used it again. Comes with TPS low rings, Flatline Ops level and Buttler Creek caps.......700 bucks. Located in Apache Junction and work in Gilbert.

Ok, mile high shooting is the same. They have the XRS's for the same price. I called them and they didn't charge shipping.

I would order it, they seem to be solid scopes. They are heavy as heck and the turrets feel good. I think the XRS I got was a fluke. Where were you going to get it from?

Not sure yet. It went back to Bushnell because the turret marks didn't line up with the mark on the housing. Supposed to get a new one shipped out next week. They sent me an ERS as a loaner till the XRS's came back in stock, but two days after I mounted it they emailed and said to send it back cause they were going to get the XRS's next week. Kinda sucks spending that much money on something and have to send it back.

Bushnell XRS with G2 reticle.

Up....need to move this.

68gn Retumbo with 150 Barnes TTSX gives me 2935 fps in my T3 superlite.

I have a 6-24x50 PST in MOA sfp. Have a set of TPS rings and Flatline Ops level too. 700 for the whole set up.

I got tired of the rattle can paint jobs on my predator killers so I decided to try some Cerakote. It was pretty simple and I think they turned out pretty good. 10.5" SBR and Mossberg in Patriot Brown. Trim on the AR is Graphite Black.

Not in a hurry, trickling 100 rounds just takes forever. While I enjoy reloading, sitting eye to eye with my 505 watching powder fall and waiting for those marks to line up gets old quick. Especially when the air conditioning kicks on and blows the scale around. Everyone makes mistakes when they start but I am far from a beginner. I have a routine I follow and has kept me from things like overcharging and the dreaded squib. I reload mostly for my rifles where precision is the main goal and concistancy is paramount. I agree that beginners should take their time and not be focused on speed and quantity.

Don't know anyone in Tucson but Phoenix Custom Rifles in Tempe are good to go.