Browning A-Bolt

[badding0]

I searched the forums on here and have come to the conclusion that this is not the rifle that people spend 2 days waiting out in the cold to buy on black Friday.

anywho, my dad and I are starting to develop loads for his Browning A-Bolt that he purchased 20+ years ago and he wasn't happy with the groups he was getting from handloads he received from an old relative. roughly 1.5" at 100 yards. its a 7mm Rem mag with a 26" stainless barrel and receiver stuffed inside a composite stock.


we opted for 154 gr. SST's behind IMR 4831 and federal magnum rifle primers.
I know that each gun is different but I was wondering if anyone on here had experience with this gun and has a seating depth/ powder combo that worked well in their similar A-bolt.


Also reading the Hornady reloading book, it appears that the maximum published velocity is only around 2900 fps. to me, being a magnum load, this seems weak. considering a .308 is only behind it 200 feet per second with factory ammo.

 

[Unclenick]

Some Hornady data errs on the light side (but not all of it, so don't count on that to be true in every instance). I always suggest looking at three sources of data to get a better idea what's possible.

One thing to watch out for with those not-so-rigid synthetic stocks is flex on the bags. Try setting the front bag under the magazine floor plate instead of putting the front of the stock down on it. See if that helps. You can cut out a piece of thick polyethylene plastic drop cloth to use as a lube sheet between the rifle and he bag to prevent scuffing the finish.

 

[badding0]

thanks for the suggestions, Unclenick. I guess once I do some load testing ill post my results just in case someone else is looking for the same information later on.

 

[std7mag]

I'm with Unclenick..

Also experiment with seating depths.
Powder can make a great difference too. RL25 gives great speed, accuracy... not great...

Check with a torque wrench to be sure the action screws are tight too.