Hornady 174 gn rn and Varget?

[aprayinbear]

My .303 #1 MKIII Varget range report

Began testing my .303 (1917 vintage) with reloaded S&B brass, CCI BR large rifle primers, Hornady 174 RN bullets, and varget powder. Cartridges were crimped at the canellure for an OAL of 2.93. Listed below are my 5 shot results at 50 meters, open sights, from bench and bags.

32 grains Varget 2 "
33 grains Varget 2 1/4"
33.5 grains varget 2"
34 grains Varget 1 1/2"
35 grains Varget slightly under 1/2"

That's right .... less then 1/2" with 35 grains. I think I found my sweet spot!

Here's the pics.... remember these are 5 shot groups.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...r/IMG_2453.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...r/IMG_2454.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...r/IMG_2459.jpg

I'm a happy camper!

Happy Shooting!

Information

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[vintage hunter]

Dump the S&B brass, it is very thin and won't last long before you start having head seperations. Get some PRVI brass, good stuff. O BTW, nice shooting.

[aprayinbear]

Thanks for the PRVI brass suggestion. I'm going to order some asap. I had heard that the S&B stuff was pretty poor, but I found the ammo for verrrrry cheap and just hope to get several reloads by neck sizing only. By then I'll have a stash of PRVI.

Thanks Again

[Ro-bert]

...35 grains Varget slightly under 1/2"
...
[url="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f341/aprayinbear/IMG_2459.jpg"]http://

Great!!
After few attempts I have also noticed that apparently Varget could be a good choice.
Regarding S&B, I fully agree with the "vintage hunter": too much work on brass that do not hold long. I have a batch of cases, where it is necessary to deepen every single primer pocket (to use with non S&B primers) .. and after 2x reloading - most of them are already cracked
PPU (prvi partizan), HXP, Federal, Winchester would be much better choice.
BTW after first firing i do always use only neck sizer (LEE Collet )