Here’s an extreme range of .224-Caliber bullets: 35gr varmint bullet and 90gr match bullet. Of course, along with bullet length/design, you need to consider MV when choosing twist rate.
Even with the same caliber (and same bullet weight), different bullet types may require different rates of spin to stabilize properly. The bullet’s initial spin rate (RPM) is a function of the bullet’s muzzle velocity and the spin imparted by the rifling in the barrel. You want to ensure your bullet is stable throughout flight. It is better to have too much spin than too little, according to many ballistics experts, including Bryan Litz of Applied Ballistics. The late Glen Zediker put together some basic tips concerning barrel twist rates and bullet stability. These come from Glen’s book, Top Grade Ammo.
Choosing the Right Twist Rate
I’d always rather have a twist too fast than not fast enough. Generally… I recommend erring toward the faster side of a barrel twist decision. 1:8″ twist is becoming a “new standard” for .224 caliber, replacing 1:9″ in the process. The reason is that new bullets tend to be bigger rather than smaller. Don’t let a too-slow twist limit your capacity to [achieve] better long-range performance.
Base your next barrel twist rate decision on the longest, heaviest bullets you choose to use, and at the same time realize that the rate you choose will in turn limit your bullet choices. If the longest, heaviest bullet you’ll shoot (ever) is a 55-grain .224, then there’s honestly no reason not to use a 1:12″. Likewise true for .308-caliber: unless you’re going over 200-grain bullet weight, a 1:10″ will perform perfectly well.
Bullet Length is More Critical than Weight
Bullet length, not weight, [primarily] determines how much rotation is necessary for stability. Twist rate suggestions, though, are most usually given with respect to bullet weight, but that’s more of a generality for convenience’s sake, I think. The reason is that with the introduction of higher-ballistic-coefficient bullet designs, which are longer than conventional forms, it is easily possible to have two same-weight bullets that won’t both stabilize from the same twist rate.
Evidence of Instability
The tell-tale for an unstable (wobbling or tumbling) bullet is an oblong hole in the target paper, a “keyhole,” and that means the bullet contacted the target at some attitude other than nose-first.
Increasing Barrel Length Can Deliver More Velocity, But That May Still Not Provide Enough Stability if the Twist Rate Is Too Slow
Bullet speed and barrel length have an influence on bullet stability, and a higher muzzle velocity through a longer tube will bring on more effect from the twist, but it’s a little too edgy if a particular bullet stabilizes only when running maximum velocity.
My failed 90-grain .224 experiment is a good example of that: I could get them asleep in a 1:7″ twist, 25-inch barrel, which was chambered in .22 PPC, but could not get them stabilized in a 20-inch 1:7″ .223 Rem. The answer always is to get a twist that’s correct.
These tips were adapted from Glen’s popular 2016 book, Top-Grade Ammo. That work, now getting harder to find, has numerous helpful articles on technical topics. Berger Bullets also has a FREE online Twist Rate Stability Calculator, developed by Applied Ballistics.
Here is a simple technique that can potentially help you load straighter ammo, with less run-out (as measured on the bullet). This procedure costs nothing and adds only a few seconds to the time needed to load a cartridge. Next time you’re loading ammo with a threaded (screw-in) seating die, try seating the bullet in two stages. Run the cartridge up in the seating die just enough to seat the bullet half way. Then lower the cartridge and rotate it 180° in the shell-holder. Now raise the cartridge up into the die again and finish seating the bullet.
Steve, aka “Short Range”, one of our Forum members, recently inquired about run-out apparently caused by his bullet-seating process. Steve’s 30BR cases were coming out of his neck-sizer with good concentricity, but the run-out nearly doubled after he seated the bullets. At the suggestion of other Forum members, Steve tried the process of rotating his cartridge while seating his bullet. Steve then measured run-out on his loaded rounds. To his surprise there was a noticeable reduction in run-out on the cases which had been rotated during seating. Steve explains: “For the rounds that I loaded yesterday, I seated the bullet half-way, and turned the round 180 degrees, and finished seating the bullet. That reduced the bullet runout by almost half on most rounds compared to the measurements from the first test.”
Steve recorded run-out measurements on his 30 BR brass using both the conventional (one-pass) seating procedure, as well as the two-stage (with 180° rotation) method. Steve’s measurements are collected in the two charts above. As you can see, the run-out was less for the rounds which were rotated during seating. Note, the change is pretty small (less than .001″ on average), but every little bit helps in the accuracy game. If you use a threaded (screw-in) seating die, you might try this two-stage bullet-seating method. Rotating your case in the middle of the seating process won’t cost you a penny, and it just might produce straighter ammo (nothing is guaranteed). If you do NOT see any improvement on the target, you can always go back to seating your bullets in one pass. READ Forum Thread..
Peterson Cartridge Company (“Peterson”) has released a lengthy, authoritative guide to the 22 Creedmoor cartridge, a popular wildcat based on the 6.5 Creedmoor or 6mm Creedmoor necked down to .224 caliber. We think the .22 Creedmoor would be a great long-range varmint cartridge, similar to the .22-250 Rem, but with a more modern, efficient cartridge design. In addition, some PRS/NRL competitors may turn to the .22 Creedmoor because it has less recoil and is flatter-shooting than the 6mm Creedmoor. In addition, .224-caliber match bullets are typically less expensive than heavier 6mm and 6.5mm projectiles. Less recoil, and less cost — what’s not to like?*
Along with load data, this article has specific sections dedicated to: Primers, Rifling Twist Rates, and Reloading Supplies. If you are considering building a .22 Creedmoor, we recommend you download the full Peterson .22 Creedmoor article, which is available in PDF format.
Peterson states, “Since its inception in 2007… the 6.5 Creedmoor has seen some pretty meteoric growth in popularity. That growth continues as of this writing, as the cartridge has now gone mainstream with hunters and shooters alike. As the popularity of the 6.5 Creedmoor has increased, so has the number of wildcat cartridges based off of it. Some of those popular wildcat cartridges are the 6mm Creedmoor, the .25 Creedmoor, and now the .22 Creedmoor. This data sheet will cover the .22 Creedmoor.
To help our customers, and anyone else who shoots .22 Creedmoor, we decided to create this Data Sheet and distribute it. [In this LOAD DATA Document] you will find four (4) common bullets, and four (4) common rifle powders used when handloading the .22 Creedmoor cartridge. We then took the different bullet and powder combinations and loaded them up to the SAAMI Maximum Average Pressure (MAP) for the 6.5 Creedmoor and 6mm Creedmoor cartridges, which is 62,000 PSI. [O]ur goal was to provide a wide spectrum of bullet weights and the powders used with them.
All of the following data was gathered by our ballistician in our indoor ballistics lab located in our factory in Pennsylvania. Although we were able to gather pressure and velocity data in our lab, we have NOT tested these loads for accuracy. Again, these loads are just designed to give shooters information regarding what velocity, a given bullet and powder charge combination, will produce the SAAMI Maximum Average Pressure (MAP) of 62,000 psi.”
Sample 22 Creedmoor LOAD DATA
IMPORTANT — Pressures can vary significantly with different Cartridge Overall Lengths (COAL). In addition, ANY change to ANY load components — primers, bullets, brass, powder — can affect pressure. Always load conservatively. In addition, because of variances in bore dimensions, some barrels may show higher pressures than others. Again, always start with conservative loads, well below MAX pressures.
*Actually there IS a potential downside — reduced barrel life. We expect that a .22 Creedmoor running hot varmint loads would experience shorter useful barrel life compared to a 6.5 Creedmoor. This is based on what we’ve observed with .22-250 and .22-250 Ackley barrels compared to our 6.5 CM barrels.
Here’s inspiration for rimfire shooters out there. The video below shows some mighty impressive .22 LR iron sights lever gun shooting by a very talented young lady. In this video, Kirsten performs a classic Annie Oakley trick shot, cutting a playing card in half with a bullet. We hope this display of marksmanship brings a smile to our readers.
Kirsten Joy Weiss is a phenomenal off-hand rifle shooter. Splitting a playing card would be hard enough with a scoped rifle shot from the bench. But Kirsten makes this amazing shot from standing position, shooting over iron sights, with an inexpensive rimfire lever gun. Trust us, that’s not easy. It did take Kirsten three tries, but we’re still impressed.
To accomplish this trick shot, Kirsten’s horizontal aim had to be ultra-precise. A playing card is only 0.25mm thick (about 1/100th of an inch). That leaves almost no room for error.
GIF Animation Shows Bullet Slicing Card in Half:
We know top benchresters can put five shots in one ragged hole at 100 yards, used a scoped rifle sitting on a stable rest. But make those folks stand on their hind legs, hold the rifle, and aim over primitive iron sights, and some of those benchrest aces would be lucky to hit a dinner plate at 100 yards. Kudos to Kirsten for making this great shot.
Shiny brass — it may not shoot more accurately, but it does make you feel better about your hand-loaded ammo. While it’s not necessary to get brass “bright and shiny” after every firing, it is a good idea to clean powder residue, grime, and grit off your brass before you run cases into sizing dies. There are many ways to clean cartridge cases. A quick wipe with solvent on a patch may suffice for recently-shot cases. Older brass with baked-on carbon may require lengthy tumbling. Ultrasonic cleaning is another popular option that gets your brass clean inside and out.
Sinclair International has a series of helpful videos on brass cleaning. These short “how-to” videos, hosted by Bill Gravatt, former head honcho at Sinclair Int’l and Creedmoor Sports, cover the various processes you can use — tumbling, ultrasonic cleaning, chemical cleaning, and cleaning by hand.
Video ONE — Cleaning Brass in Vibratory or Rotary Tumbler
TIP: Brass that has recently been shot will clean more easily than brass that has been sitting many days or weeks. If your tumbling media is fresh the job should be done in an hour or less. It’s your choice whether to tumble with primers removed or with primers still in the cases. If you choose to tumble with primers out, we suggest you deprime with a depriming die, rather that put dirty brass into your sizing die. Some people like to add a teaspoon of liquid polish to the media. This does work, cutting tumble time, and making your brass more shiny. However, if you add liquid polish, do that BEFORE you add the brass and let the tumbler run for a 15 minutes to get the polish completely mixed into the media. Otherwise you can else up with gooey gunk inside your cases — a very bad thing.
Video TWO — Ultrasonic Case Cleaning
TIP: There are many different types of solutions you can use. Soapy water suffices for some folks, particularly if you add a little Lemi-Shine. The Hornady and Lyman solutions work well, and can be used multiple times, provided you strain the solution to remove dirt and grit after cleaning sessions. Many ultrasonic cleaning machines have timers. Experiment with dwell time to see how long you need to immerse your brass. A very small amount of Ballistol in the solution will help lubricate your necks on the inside. This can make bullet seating go more smoothly, with more consistent neck tension.
Video THREE — Chemical Cleaners (Soaking without Ultrasound)
TIP: After using chemical cleaners, such as the Iosso solution, you need to water-rinse your brass thoroughly. A kitchen strainer helps with this (see video at 0:20). Also, don’t forget your brass in the chemical solution — follow the manufacturers recommendations and don’t exceed the recommended dwell time. Chemical cleaners work surprisingly well to remove grease and grime, and the solution can be re-used multiple times. However, if you want your cases to look bright and shiny (like new brass), you will probably have to tumble. [Editor: A very effective new chemical cleaner is the Brass Monkey product from the makers of Wipe-Out and Carb-Out. Add a teaspoon to a gallon of water then soak your brass for 20-30 minutes. It really works — the cases clean up dramatically].
Video FOUR — Manual Cleaning (By Hand)
TIP: Keep some oversize patches in your range kit. At the end of your shooting sessions, wipe off your fired brass with a patch dampened with a mild, non-corrosive solvent (once again Ballistol works well). Before the carbon sets up on your brass it is very easy to remove. For tougher jobs, you can use 0000 Steel Wool (as Bill recommends in the video). You may find that timely hand-cleaning lets you avoid tumbling altogether — or you may choose to tumble (or ultra-sound) your brass only after a half-dozen or so firings.
Today’s showcase shows how CCI, Federal, and Remington .22 LR rimfire ammunition types are produced in large American factories. CCI and Federal, until very recently, were part of the Vista Outdoor Kinetic Group. In December 2024 CCI and Federal along with other Vista ammo brands were sold to a Czech company, CSG.* Most CCI rimfire is produced in Idaho, while most Federal rimfire ammo is produced in Anoka, Minnesota. Here we feature videos from CCI, Federal, and Remington ammo plants. Watch and learn how rimfire ammo is made.
The Manufacturing Process for .22 LR Rimfire Ammunition Shooting Sports USA explains: “Rimfire cartridge cases are the oldest self-contained cartridge in existence, having been in continuous production since the mid-1850s. Rimfire cases are drawn from a thin piece of brass and formed with a hollow rim. A priming compound is then forced into the case using centrifugal force, where it is charged with powder and a bullet is seated in the mouth of the case. The case is then crimped around the bullet to ensure sufficient push and pull when the round is fired. When the firing pin strikes the thin brass rim of the case, the hollow rim is crushed and the primer is ignited.” Source: SSUSA.org 9/2/2017.
.22 LR Ammo Production at Federal Ammo Plant in Minnesota
Note to Viewers — After Starting Video, Click Speaker Icon to HEAR audio!
A while back a Field & Stream writer toured the Federal ammunition production facility in Anoka, Minnesota. This large plant produces both rimfire and centerfire ammunition. While touring the plant, the reporter was allowed to capture video showing the creation of .22 LR rounds from start to finish. This is a fascinating video, well worth watching. Click speaker icon for sound.
22Plinkster Tours CCI/Speer Idaho Factory
Trickshot artist and YouTube host 22Plinkster was able to tour the CCI/Speer production facility in Lewiston, Idaho. This large plant produces both rimfire and centerfire ammunition. While touring the plant, 22Plinkster was allowed to capture video showing the creation of .22 LR rounds from start to finish.
This revealing video shows all phases of .22 LR ammo production including cupping, drawing, annealing, washing, drying, head-stamping, priming, powder charging, bullet seating, crimping, waxing, inspection, and final packaging. We really recommend you watch the video from start to finish. Well worth watching, this excellent video has logged 3.2 million views on YouTube.
Remington Factory Produces Millions of Rounds of Rimfire Ammo
Billions of .22 Long Rifle rounds are produced every year, and Remington Ammunition in Lonoke, Arkansas produces a significant share of the rimfire ammunition used worldwide. This “American Rifleman Television” feature shows the full ammo production process. At the start, brass cups are stamped out of large sheets of brass, and the cups then move on to have the headstamps applied and rims formed. Next, the rounds move on to be annealed and rinsed. Then the cases move onto priming. A wet priming pellet is then pressed into each empty .22 case, and the case is spun rapidly, spreading the pellet mix into the inner cartridge rim. The primed cartridges are then sent to a drying house, where they’ll sit for several days to allow the priming mixture to dry. The Remington factory is very efficient, with “some of the fastest rimfire-making equipment on the planet”.
*In December 2024, Vista Outdoor completed the $2.23 billion sale of the company’s “Sporting Products” division — which is known as the Kinetic Group and includes American ammunition brands CCI, Federal Premium, Hevi-Shot, Remington, and Speer — to the Czechoslovak Group (CSG), a Czech conglomerate. READ Full Story of Vista Outdoor Kinetic Group ammo brands sale.
At the request of our readers, we provide select “Deals of the Week”. Every Sunday afternoon or Monday morning we offer our Best Bargain selections. Here are some of the best deals on firearms, hardware, reloading components, optics, and shooting accessories. Be aware that sale prices are subject to change, and once clearance inventory is sold, it’s gone for good. You snooze you lose.
NOTE: All listed products are for sale to persons 18 years of age or older. No products are intended for use by minors.
Graf & Sons — Major Berger Bullet Sale
⏺️ » Great savings on ultra-high quality Berger Bullets
When it comes to competition, Berger Bullets are among the very best with countless wins in PRS, High Power, F-Class, and other disciplines. Berger also makes great varmint and hunting bullets. Now you can stock up on these winning bullets for the matches you’re planning this year. Save now with this major Graf’s sale instead of paying more later.
Amazon — RCBS Rebel Master Reloading Kit, $470.95
⏺️ » Complete kit with press, powder measure, scale, tools and more
For folks getting started with hand-loading, a great basic package is the RCBS Rebel Master Reloading Kit which is on sale for only $470.95. This RCBS Package features pretty much all you need to load rifle and pistol ammo: Rebel single-stage Press, Uniflow-III Powder Measure, 1500gr digital scale, hand priming tool, powder funnel, powder trickler, hex key set, accessory handle with case neck brushes, primer pocket brushes, deburring tool, loading block, and case lube. You even get a Speer Reloading Manual.
As an Amazon affiliate, this site can earn revenues through sales commissions.
In the past the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit published a series of reloading “how-to” articles on its USAMU Facebook page. One “Handloading Hump Day” article covered two basic case prep chores — uniforming primer pockets and deburring flash-holes. Visit the USAMU Facebook page for other tips.
Primer Pocket & Flash-Hole Conditioning
This week, we’ll address a question that frequently arises: “Do you uniform primer pockets and deburr flash-holes?” As we tailor our handloading methods to the specific needs of each instance, the answer, not surprisingly, is “Sometimes!” However, don’t flip that dial just yet, as what determines our approach may be helpful in deciding how to address one’s own techniques. Moreover, we have a buried “Easter Egg” morsel that may bring a chuckle, as well as useful safety information!
Generally, the USAMU Handloading Shop does not uniform primer pockets (PP) or deburr flash holes (FH) of our rifle brass. We’re certainly not against it… Rather, this reflects the very high volume of ammunition we load, the fact that very few cases are ever re-loaded for a second firing, and the types of brass we use. However, as a need is perceived, we DO deburr flash holes. Of interest, we have fired many very small, 1000-yard test groups and aggregates using weight-selected, domestic brass that had not had PPs uniformed or FHs deburred.
Before and After — On the left is a fired, deprimed 7.62×51 case with primer residue intact. On the right the primer pocket has been uniformed to SAAMI specs. Note the shiny finish at the bottom of the pocket — evidence of the the removal of metal when uniforming the primer pocket.
As to the type cases we use, many thousands of our long-range 5.56mm cases come to us from the arsenal with the primer of our choice pre-installed and staked-in, per usual practice. Obviously, we cannot uniform either FHs or PPs on this live, primed brass. However, after careful sorting, inspection and preparation, we do obtain match-winning results with it.
Shooters who reload their brass several times may decide to uniform PPs and deburr FHs, especially on their “300-yard and beyond” brass. Here, they will use the cases many times, while the uniforming is performed only once. Also, most handloaders only process moderate amounts of brass, compared to our multi-thousand round lots.
Having high quality Long Range (LR) brass helps. Many of the better brass manufacturers [make] their flash holes so that no burrs are created. Still, it does pay to inspect even THESE manufacturer’s products, as occasional slips are inevitable. Very rarely, some of the best makers will have a significant burr in, say, 1 per 1000 or 2000 cases, and it’s worth catching those.
Exceptions can always be found. Recently, we began processing a large lot of match brass from a premier manufacturer. We were startled to find that every case had a significant burr in the FH — something we’d never before seen from this maker. We then broke out the FH deburring tools and went to work.
Some observers have noted that it can be difficult to truly verify the contribution to accuracy of these procedures — particularly when firing from the shoulder, in conditions. Members of this staff, as individual rifle competitors, do often perform these operations on their privately-owned LR rifle brass. One could ascribe this to the old High Power Rifle maxim that “if you think it helps, then it helps.”
However, a World Champion and Olympic Gold/Silver medalist here commented on his own handloading (for International competition, which demands VERY fine accuracy). He noted that he did seem to see a decline in accuracy whenever he did not uniform FHs, deburr FHs and clean primer pockets before each reloading. (One might be tempted to counter that only a truly World Class shooter could reliably detect the difference.) However, with the wisdom of decades experience, our Champion also remarked that “It could have been that I just wasn’t shooting as well that day.”
For those who do opt for these procedures, note that various tool models may have adjustable depth-stops; pay attention to the instructions. Some FH-deburring tools (which enter the case mouth, not the primer pocket) are dependent upon uniform case length for best results.
Above is a flash-hole deburring tool on an RCBS powered case-prep unit. These case prep machines can save a lot of pain and misery, helping one perform various functions quickly and efficiently.
Mother of All LR Primer Tests
If you shoot a .308 Win, or any cartridge that uses a Large Rifle (LR) primer, you should read an important article by Laurie Holland in Target Shooter Magazine. Holland, a talented shooter from the UK (and Accurate Shooter Forum member), tested no less than sixteen (16) different large primer types using a custom F-TR target rifle shot from the bench. Laurie loaded .308 Win ammo* with 16 LR primer varieties and then tested for average velocity, ES/SD, and group size. This may be the most comprehensive and thorough LR primer test ever done. Here are the primer types tested:
1. CBC Magtech 9½
2. CCI 200 LR
3. CCI BR2 Match
4. CCI 250 Magnum
5. Federal 210
6. Federal 210M Match
7. Federal 215M Magnum Match
8. Fiocchi Large Rifle
9. Kynoch Large Rifle
10. Murom KVB-7 (PMC LR)
11. Norma Superflash LR
12. PMC LR Magnum
13. Remington 9½ LR
14. Remington 9½ M Magnum
15. Sellier & Bellot LR
16. Winchester WLR
Test Rig: Osprey Rifles-built F-TR rifle with Savage PTA action, 32″ Bartlein 1:12″-twist ‘Heavy Palma’ barrel, and Dolphin Gun Company modular stock with an F-Open/Benchrest fore-end.
Some of Laurie’s results may surprise you. For example, would you guess that Sellier & Bellot primers had the lowest ES, by a significant margin? And get this, among ALL the primers tested, Rem 9½M Magnum primers produced the lowest velocity, while Rem 9½ LR (non-magnum) primers yielded the highest velocity. (The total velocity spread for all primers was 35 fps). That’s counter-intuitive and it’s odd that Rems were at opposite ends of the speed spectrum among ALL primers tested.
“The rationale for doing side-by-side tests is to see what effect primer choice has on ballistics, i.e. average velocities and MV consistency. There are a great many views on the subject, a few based on tests (including primer flame photography) but most apparently hearsay.” — Laurie Holland
Every serious hand-loader should definitely read the full test results to understand Laurie’s methodology and get all the details. This is an important test, with significant findings. But if you can’t spare the time right now, here are some highlights below:
Primer with Lowest Velocity: Remington 9½ M Magnum (2780 fps)
Primer with Highest Velocity: Remington 9½ LR (2815 fps)
Primer with Lowest ES/SD: Sellier & Bellot LR (12/3.1 fps)
Primer with Highest ES/SD: Remington 9½ M Magnum (47/14.0 fps)
Primer with Smallest Group Size: Remington 9½ LR (0.43″ average, three 5-shot groups)
Primer with Biggest Group Size: CBC Magtech 9½ (0.7″ average, three 5-shot groups)
Editor’s Comment: Laurie shot three, 5-shot groups at 100 yards with each primer type. The average group size for the top six primers varied by only 0.10″ (0.43″ to 0.53″), so one can’t conclude that one type is much better than another. Total group size variance (from best to worst) was 0.27″.
“The biggest surprise to me … came from an elderly (at least 10 years) lot of Czech Sellier & Bellot standard caps with an ES of 12 and SD of 3.1 fps, way below those of the nearest competitor. By contrast to the Fiocchis, they were an almost slack fit in the cases and this may have contributed to their consistent performance.” — Laurie Holland
NOTE: Values in chart are based on 15-Shot strings. The ES/SD numbers will therefore be higher than is typical with five-shot strings.
All ES/SD Values from 15-Shot Strings
Testing 16 primer types was a huge task — we commend Laurie for his hard work and thoroughness. This extensive test is an important contribution to the “knowledge base” of precision shooting. Laurie’s findings will doubtless influence many hand-loaders who hope to produce more consistent ammunition, or achieve better accuracy. Credit should also be given to Target Shooter Magazine for publishing the results. Well done gentlemen…
*Reloading method for Test Ammo: “Test batches consisted of 16 or 17 rounds for each primer, charges thrown by an RCBS ChargeMaster and checked on lab-quality electronic scales, adjusted if necessary to within ± 0.04gn, so any charge weight variation would be under 0.1 grain which equates here to 5 fps.”
Can you hit an egg at 600+ yards? We mean hit it reliably — not just by luck. To do that you’ll need good shooting skills and a very accurate rifle. How accurate? Well, a chicken egg is, on average, 2 1/4 inches (57 mm) long and 1 3/4 inches (44.5 mm) in diameter. That means to hit an egg (on demand) at 600 yards, you’ll need a rifle capable of 1/3-MOA accuracy (or better). Forum member DukeDuke has such a gun, and he demonstrated its egg-busting prowess in this short video. DukeDuke’s rifle is chambered in 6BRX (a 30° 6BR Improved) and it’s loaded with DTAC 115gr bullets pushed by Alliant Reloder 17. In the video, the eggs are placed on top of poles set 616 yards from the firing line.
See Egg Hit at 38 second mark…
As you can see in the video, that’s a heck of a nice shooting range where DukeDuke scrambled those eggs at 616 yards. The range is situated just outside of Lake Jackson, Texas. As for the gun… the action is a Rem 700 SA BDL, blueprinted and bedded in a Rem/HS Precision PSS stock. The 31″ barrel is 1:8″-twist Broughton. The “P3″ on the barrel stands for Porter’s Precision Products, Lake Jackson, TX. The rifle was built by Kenneth Porter. The load was 33.5 grains of RL-17 at 2950 fps, with 115gr DTAC bullets touching the lands. Cartridge OAL is 2.400″.
The 6mm BRX was developed by Bob Crone. Retaining the 30° shoulder of the parent 6mmBR case, the BRX has a little less capacity than a 6mm Dasher. Bob told us that his original design for the 6mm BRX always had a .100″ longer head space than a 6mmBR Norma and that he never deviated from that. But after Bob developed the first 6mm BRX, Bill Shehane made a 6mm BRX version that had a .120″ longer head space, and thus some confusion started. In truth, the original 6mm BRX always was (and still is) a chambering with a head space .100″ longer than a 6mm BR Norma.
Increasing Barrel Length Can Deliver More Velocity, But That May Still Not Provide Enough Stability if the Twist Rate Is Too Slow
Shiny brass — it may not shoot more accurately, but it does make you feel better about your hand-loaded ammo. While it’s not necessary to get brass “bright and shiny” after every firing, it is a good idea to clean powder residue, grime, and grit off your brass before you run cases into sizing dies. There are many ways to clean cartridge cases. A quick wipe with solvent on a patch may suffice for recently-shot cases. Older brass with baked-on carbon may require lengthy tumbling. Ultrasonic cleaning is another popular option that gets your brass clean inside and out.
Can you hit an egg at 600+ yards? We mean hit it reliably — not just by luck. To do that you’ll need good shooting skills and a very accurate rifle. How accurate? Well, a chicken egg is, on average, 2 1/4 inches (57 mm) long and 1 3/4 inches (44.5 mm) in diameter. That means to hit an egg (on demand) at 600 yards, you’ll need a rifle capable of 1/3-MOA accuracy (or better). Forum member DukeDuke has such a gun, and he demonstrated its egg-busting prowess in this short video. DukeDuke’s rifle is chambered in 6BRX (a 30° 6BR Improved) and it’s loaded with DTAC 115gr bullets pushed by Alliant Reloder 17. In the video, the eggs are placed on top of poles set 616 yards from the firing line.
As you can see in the video, that’s a heck of a nice shooting range where DukeDuke scrambled those eggs at 616 yards. The range is situated just outside of Lake Jackson, Texas. As for the gun… the action is a Rem 700 SA BDL, blueprinted and bedded in a Rem/HS Precision PSS stock. The 31″ barrel is 1:8″-twist Broughton. The “P3″ on the barrel stands for Porter’s Precision Products, Lake Jackson, TX. The rifle was built by Kenneth Porter. The load was 33.5 grains of RL-17 at 2950 fps, with 115gr DTAC bullets touching the lands. Cartridge OAL is 2.400″.
