Finally got the "new to me" long rifle to the range. Made a box of handloads using IMR4895 varying from 43 to 45.5 grains pushing 150 grain Speer softpoints. The best group was the 45 grain group measuring about 1.5 inches at 50 yds.

I did notice though that there seemed to be a fair amount of soot on the cases. I don't see any signs of bulging or splitting anywhere. The primers don't seem to be popping or flattened.

This is my first Japaneseicon rifle and I haven't seen sooted cases like this on my other rifles, so I'm curious if there is an issue with the chamber or headspace. It did seem to get better as the loads got heavier.

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