Further testing takes place

So about four months later we get the chance to do further testing
round powder weight projectile and weight muzzle velocity at fifteen feet comment Hand load 32 120 grain sp 2606 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 grain sp 2632 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 grain sp 2658 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 grain sp 2594 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 grain sp 2601 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 grain sp 2570 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 grain sp 2576 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 grain sp 2598 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 grain sp 2647 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 grain sp 2557 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 grain sp 2610 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 grain sp 2695 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 grain sp 2662 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 grain sp 2673 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 grain sp 2688 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 grain sp 2544 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 31.1 140 gn SP 2439 Hand load 31.1 140 gn SP 2491 Hand load 31.1 140 gn SP 2497 Hand load 31.1 140 gn SP err FTF Hand load 31.3 140 gn SP 2440 Hand load 31.3 140 gn SP 2547 Hand load 31.3 140 gn SP 2600 Hand load 31.3 140 gn SP err FTF Hand load 31.3 140 gn SP err FTF Hand load 31.5 140 gn SP 2559 Hand load 31.5 140 gn SP 2591 Hand load 31.5 140 gn SP 2469 Hand load 31.5 140 gn SP err FTF Hand load 31.5 140 gn SP err FTF Hand load 31.7 140 gn SP err FTF Hand load 31.7 140 gn SP 2592 Hand load 31.7 140 gn SP 2617 Hand load 32 120 Barnes TSX 2762 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 Barnes TSX 2649 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 Barnes TSX 2700 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 Barnes TSX 2702 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 32 120 Barnes TSX 2673 N133, maximum load for this bullet Hand load 34.9 140 gn SP 2572 Reloader 15 Hand load 34.9 140 gn SP 2672 Hand load 34.9 140 gn SP 2650 Hand load 34.9 140 gn SP err FtF Hand load 34.9 140 gn SP err FtF Hand load 35.1 140 gn SP err Hand load 35.1 140 gn SP 2579 Hand load 35.1 140 gn SP 2569 Hand load 35.1 140 gn SP 2529 Hand load 35.1 140 gn SP err FtF Hand load 35.9 140 gn SP 2663 Reloader 15 Hand load 35.9 140 gn SP 2652 Hand load 35.9 140 gn SP 2684 Hand load 35.9 140 gn SP Err FtF Hand load 35.9 140 gn SP 2664 Hand load 36.1 140 gn SP 2740 Hand load 36.1 140 gn SP 2730 Hand load 36.1 140 gn SP 2780 Hand load 36.1 140 gn SP 2547 Hand load 36.1 140 gn SP Err FtF
round powder weight projectile and weight muzzle velocity at fifteen feet comment Hand load 30.5 140 grain sp 2510 N133 Starting load for this bullet Hand load 30.5 140 grain sp Error Shot too far to right to register Hand load 30.5 140 grain sp Error Shot too far to right to register Hand load 30.5 140 grain sp 2523 Hand load 30.5 140 grain sp 2446 Hand load 30.7 140 grain sp 2475 Hand load 30.7 140 grain sp 2520 Hand load 30.7 140 grain sp 2564 Hand load 30.7 140 grain sp 2475 Hand load 30.7 140 grain sp 2490 Hand load 30.9 140 grain sp 2529 Hand load 30.9 140 grain sp 2550 Hand load 30.9 140 grain sp 2547 Hand load 30.9 140 grain sp 2577 Hand load 30.9 140 grain sp 2579 Hand load 31.1 140 gn SP err misfire Hand load 31.9 140 gn SP 2443 Hand load 31.9 140 gn SP 2552 Hand load 31.9 140 gn SP 2574 Hand load 31.9 140 gn SP 2580 Hand load 32.1 140 gn SP 2572 Hand load 32.1 140 gn SP 2660 Hand load 32.1 140 gn SP 2610 Hand load 32.1 140 gn SP 2600 Hand load 32.1 140 gn SP err FTF Hand load 32.3 140 gn SP 2583 Hand load 32.3 140 gn SP 2600 Hand load 32.3 140 gn SP 2679 Hand load 32.3 140 gn SP 2590 Hand load 32.3 140 gn SP 2684 Hand load 140 gn SP Hand load 140 gn SP Hand load 140 gn SP Hand load 35.3 140 gn SP 2530 Hand load 35.3 140 gn SP err Hand load 35.3 140 gn SP 2569 Hand load 35.3 140 gn SP 2544 Hand load 35.3 140 gn SP 2467 Hand load 35.5 140 gn SP Err FtF Hand load 35.5 140 gn SP Err FtF Hand load 35.5 140 gn SP 2698 Hand load 35.5 140 gn SP 2624 Hand load 35.5 140 gn SP 2493 Hand load 35.7 140 gn SP 2714 Hand load 35.7 140 gn SP 2733 Hand load 35.7 140 gn SP 2661 Hand load 35.7 140 gn SP 2748 Hand load 35.7 140 gn SP 2644
Ok, if that lot makes any sense then well done, the testing completed the 120 grain loads and also finished the 140 grain loads. Reloader 15 and Vhitavouri N133 proved to be good powders. I sadly ran out of Reloader 15, not sure if its available anymore over here, I must investigate. We did however take away good maximum loads for loading up on our live game testing. That follows on a later day. Well posting wise anyway, it actually took place before I seem to recall but I'll check before I post next.

Actual testing results 1st attempt

Well the first few days of testing were a little disjointed. All of our gear worked well enough but we had issues with the ammunition. The biggest initial problem was failures to feed. More on this later. The biggest issue regarding consistent results was variance in neck turning, more on this later.
In testing creating consistent loads is just about the first thing you must concentrate on. As these were mainly my early conversions of various 308 based cases. Thankfully this is no longer a problem, does anyone want a bucket of converted cases?

round	powder weight	projectile and weight	muzzle velocity at fifteen feet	comment	mean average
RG factory 7mm Mk1z	uk	140 grain Fmj	2479fps	factory round to establish parameters
Hand load	30 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	error	unable to meter round
Hand load	30 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2485
Hand load	30 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2553
Hand load	30 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2520
Hand load	30 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2499
			10057		2514
Hand load	30.2 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2561
Hand load	30.2 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2537
Hand load	30.2 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2471
Hand load	30.2 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2506
Hand load	30.2 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2532
			12607		2521
Hand load	30.4 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2553
Hand load	30.4 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2513
Hand load	30.4 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2518
Hand load	30.4 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2521
Hand load	30.4 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2538
			12643		2528
Hand load	30.6 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2567
Hand load	30.6 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2539
Hand load	30.6 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2550
Hand load	30.6 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2527
Hand load	30.6 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2529
			12712		2542
Hand load	30.8 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2566
Hand load	30.8 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2525
Hand load	30.8 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2492
Hand load	30.8 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2533
Hand load	30.8 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2509
			12625		2525
Hand load	31.0 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2551
Hand load	31.0 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2571
Hand load	31.0 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2541
Hand load	31.0 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2603
Hand load	31.0 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2576
			12842		2568
Hand load	31.2 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2592
Hand load	31.2 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2572
Hand load	31.2 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2591
Hand load	31.2 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2599
Hand load	31.2 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2622
			12976		2595
Hand load	31.4 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2619
Hand load	31.4 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2625
Hand load	31.4 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2655
Hand load	31.4 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2678
Hand load	31.4 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2612
			13189		2637
Hand load	31.6 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2621
Hand load	31.6 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2594
Hand load	31.6 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2612
Hand load	31.6 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2630
Hand load	31.6 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2638
			13095		2619
Hand load	31.8 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2644
Hand load	31.8 gns N133	120 gn Sierra SP	2637
			5281		2640

Testing starts to take place

Time for some video diversions courtesy of You Tube;

The first video shows Pauls Rifle undergoing magazine testing for functionality of feed of various rounds at Bisley. I did it at Bisley as I was there shooting that day anyway, the second shows a test with a different magazine;

I also managed to film a bit of the actual cartridge velocity testing we did too:

Original testing before we fitted the moderator

The scope mount is also sub optimal too, weaver rings on a pic rail. I changed this asap for dedicated Rem 700 2 piece mounts

Caution old fart alert

Testing was for velocity however we managed to achieve a mean group at 100 for both loadings that allowed us leeway for taking it stalking

Minute of deer pass! 

Accuracy was improved when we changed the mounts and fitted the sound moderator

More testing of ammo later including the 150 grain testing

A year or two down the road and its time to renew my Dealers license

My FEO visits, checks my stock and gets down to the matter of the .280 and is it for sale. Well its been on my stock for testing and maybe I have tested it on enough deer to make a start in sales. So I did. I sold it to my best customer, myself.

Last time my personal firearms license was renewed I met some resistance to adding the .280 to my certificate as I already had 2x 6.5 and a 7x57 as well as a number of .22 centrefires. All of them capable of the same job albeit with less overlap so I bit the bullet and banged up for sale a .243, a 6.5 and a 7x57.

The 6.5 can be found here: http://www.tcswoodlands.com/sporting-rifles-for-sale.html

In fact all of them can. So I sent in my FAC and discussed the calibre with the Deputy Manager (a nice chap) and a few days later back it came along with the 400 rounds allocated (although the chance of buying them is as slim as ever!) and the 2 additional moderators that I wanted. 

Time to do the paperwork and send in another notification!

Thats what I'm about to do so I will actually be testing my own rifle soon!

Time for gratuitous .280 porn:

 Above the original testing day, below dressed with correct scope mounts and moderator

 First deer with this rifle, a Muntjac doe in Suffolk

 The next morning the exit wound on a Muntjac Buck:

 A gold medal head Roebuck taken in Sussex last may:

Oh and the dealers license was renewed.

Time for something different

Way Way back in the mists of time, well the 1990's I had a brief love affair with a French personage. This was a model of 1936 7.5 x 54 mm MAS. It was lovely and simple even with a trigger pull measured in days rather than pounds, it was a superb battle rifle that didn't get the chance it needed.
7.62 x 51 mm NATO was 30 years later than this magnificent cartridge. I loaded up 6.5 x 55 Swedish cases that I had necked out by 1mm with 48 grains of IMR 4895 and a 148 grain Nato MG ball bullet and away it would go at the correct sight settings to appear in the bull out beyond 400 yards. 2700 feet per second was on the chrono when we finished testing.
Sadly we parted company, I needed to fund something else in my life (a mortgage I think) and I sold all of my military bolt action service rifles, My P14, Ross M1910, SMLE No1 MkV and the MAS 36.
Of all of those I liked the Mas the most, simple effective and with a great cartridge.
I decided to keep an option for the round alive on my certificate and arranged to keep a slot open for a 30 calibre rifle with a 55mm case. The Swedish case whilst 1mm longer then the French 54mm case fitted well, maybe it shrank slightly in length when expanded or maybe (more likely) the military chambers were generous to say the least.

Ok it seems an odd chambering to call it but Rigby Anglicised the 7x57 Mauser by naming it the .275 Rigby so why not!
So eventually a donor rifle was found, in this case a reasonably scarce Remington 700 ADL in 6.5 Swedish (means no changes required to the bolt) for a good (cheap) price and it was sent off with the rifles designated to become .280's to a Riflesmith.
Ok Its Riflecraft again but at the time in for a penny, in for a pound.
I specified a lightweight sporter barrel, screw cut for 1/2" unf and left about 4 rounds so they would measure for the reamer and use for proof.

Oh foolish me. Whilst I was about to pull the plug on the .280 project PTG did eventually send the reamer.
I authorised the work and paid the balance.
Oh foolish me.
I waited at home for my satin stainless sporter weight barrelled rifle to arrive. It did and as I unwrapped the shorter than expected package to find that they had sent it stripped not assembled (more later) and that the package had been jumped on by at least two parcel force employees on the way.
As I unwrapped the bubble wrap I found this;

 Yup the trigger was snapped, in two places, takes some doing that

 I sent these pics by email there and then and they promised to send me a new trigger!

Ok, I thought I would be getting a replacement trigger unit, after all who here has ever replaced a trigger blade in a Remington 700? You need 3 hands and thirty fingers to do it. Oh yes they sent a blade.
I tried but ended up sending the rifle back. Why did I give up? Well they couldn't have shipped the rifle assembled (parcelfarce would probably have broken the stock anyway) because the oversized fat barrel that was fitted wouldn't fit in the beautiful slim sporter stock that the donor rifle came from.

So I couldnt test it, the barrel was shiny (almost in the white) but at least the screw cut muzzle was the correct thread this time. I couldn't test the trigger but I could test the chamber by dropping in the ammo or at least drill rounds I had made.
Well I tried, the drill rounds went in about 3/4's of the way and that was it, live rounds too wouldn't chamber even some of the factory ammo I had left wouldn't chamber.
So I asked. I have yet to receive a satisfactory answer as to why the reamer is smaller than the test  ammo I provided for measuring and proofing. I have no idea how they proofed it, frankly I'm not even convinced they did.
Another trip up there this time to collect the rifle with replacement trigger fitted and the barrel channel reamed so it would assemble.
Frankly it was a dog to pull the trigger on. It has taken a year and a half of frustrating work to get the trigger bedded in and I'm not convinced yet it still pulls a steady pull within an ounce or two of the same weight each time.
I may yet have to spend another £200 later on to put in a drop in unit.
As for ammo, well back to basics, I fired off a handful of 6.5 x 55 Swedish factory loads to fire form them. That meant I had the right material to start with. I loaded up some 150 grain fmj .30 calibre bullets and found some 130 grain hollow points and loaded up some test rounds with 48 grains of IMR 4895. In theory I was back where I was in the 1990's but with a great sporting rifle fitted with a nice 8x56 Schmidt and Bender.

Its a very good looking rifle but by god it weighs something awful and its very unbalanced. That said I have yet to test it on game yet as I cant guarantee that the thing will shoot properly.

I have however been able to test the ammo I loaded. Hmm, that tight chamber means I get better MV for the same loading, 48 grains of IMR 4895 pushes 150 grain bullets along at 2900 feet per second. Its becoming a barrel burner. Which if it does burn out the chamber may mean I can chamber the original ammo or get a new barrel and get it chambered properly.

When I queried the overtight chamber the smith accused me of blowing out my Swedish cases to almost a 308 case dimension.

When I pointed out that it was immaterial, the reamer should have been made to cut a chamber to chamber the sample cartridges I delivered. This was the only chamber reamer Pacific Tool and Gauge delivered to our smith that year, you might think they would get it right, that the smith would check and the proof house would ask? No nothing they are all cunts the lot of them, lying bastards who failed to deliver the services paid for.

Next time I'm going to pay through the nose for a decent smith!

The build saga aka how to mark time for two years whilst no one seems to give a damn

You may recall how we dropped off the donor rifles and 4 rounds of original ammo. We also dropped off a number of converted cases a little later so the proof house could load their test ammo using these. The order to Pacific Tool and Gauge PTG had gone in for a reamer set in .280 British and a custom one based on several identical loaded rounds I had given for this purpose, these were a 6.5 x 55 case necked out to take a 150 grain .308 bullet. Essentially similar to the French M1929 7.5 x 54 round. Now in theory my stash of 7.5 Handloads would feed out of this giving me a ready supply of brass. Wait whats this you say deviation?
Yes I am deviating however this is also an important occurrence in this thread.
Six months went by and not a peep from Riflecraft. My oppo decided to e myther them, for those of you unfamiliar with the term its to bombard repeatedly by email until you get a response.
Guess what? Yup no reply. We ended up driving up to visit and discuss the matter. We had by now paid in full and were getting more than a little fed up with it all. Paul managed to find out that Brock and Norris had a .280 Reamer and were willing to loan/rent it out.
Job jobbed and as we paid up our final dues the man at Riflecraft announced my .30-55 reamer had arrived and did I want to continue. This was the clincher as we were about to ask for a full refund. Anyway we didn't, the rifles were rebarrelled and sent for proof.
Interestingly this is where it gets complicated.
As a dealer I have to account for ammunition in my register so these live rounds were booked out. More of that later.
Problems started to appear when the rifles went for proof. Pauls Remington failed inspection due to a defect with the bolt which was replaced. Then the proof house said they had loaded the test cases and they wouldn't chamber.
That taught me to learn about case neck turning for which I went to my Kiwi mate John a hand loader and Match Rifleman of some repute.
The problem was I had issued the live ammo so if there was a problem they could use those. The Proof House claimed that they didn't have them and hadn't been issued them!
Oops, Riflecraft were adamant that they had and had a signature.
Cue Norfolk and Suffolk Police. I had to report them as lost/stolen. A visit was made to Riflecraft by the Police and their books checked. The Proof House was warned and hey presto I  received an email stating they had "Found my ammunition" and at the same time had turned down the necks of the proof rounds and both rifles had now passed proof.
FFS 2 years this had been going on and I still didn't have either the .280's or my 30-55 in my hands.
Then almost as if out of the blue the call came, how did we want these two .280's delivered? I said without hesitating that I would collect them.
I really almost didn't believe it.
There they were, both rifles and yet he had still dropped the ball. I had specified a slim sporter barrel and screw cut at the muzzle for 1/2" unf. Nope he did some effing oddball thread on a fat heavy barrel.
He also fitted a bridge rail mount when I specified separate two piece mounts, nothing worse than a chunky rail getting in the way of sorting out a misfeed.
Anyway I was just happy at last to see both of the rifles and here they are at last;

 Paul giving mine the once over and seemingly happy with it, the screw cut muzzle is covered with a thread protector neatly made from barrel offcut so it looks seamless:

 Dressed in the correct mounts and with a Brugger und Thomet sound moderator fitted:

 This is almost too good to believe proofed rifles in .280!

 Pauls rifle next to the .30-55 still not rebarrelled:

 Pauls rifle looking very attractive in the AICS chassis stock:

Eventually the 30-55 was delivered, that deserves a blog post of its own what a sodding saga, anyway we were ready to start testing the rifles and ammo and had our die sets going full tilt;

 The projectiles we loaded up with (above) and the loaded rounds (below)

 The rounds provided for proof and neck turned by them;

 Two hand loads next to an original factory round;

 Reddings superb die set:

 Inside with the case forming die and two dummies

Oddly enough if you didn't neck turn the excess brass from the .308 style cases they would run through the dies but still wouldn't chamber. Infuriating when you didn't have the rifles but were converting at least 100 cases a month for two years!

Brass conversion (AKA the post from hell or how I wasted hundreds of hours one long summer)

As there was absolutely no boxer primed brass made for this cartridge it made sense to start converting some likely candidates.
No1 task was to acquire dies. Redding in the USA listed them and case forming dies so a few e mails later I was registered as a UK supplier of Redding dies.
Quality doesn't really describe these dies, top quality but in CAPITALS would be better. I have broken Lee (yes I know), RCBS and one or two others, RCBS were my favourite because even if you were to blame they would replace them free of charge.
Redding though are top quality. Short of making them (having them made for me) myself these are the best option.
No2 task is brass selection. The logical (at the time) solution was to work backwards from the original case.
The .280/30 was built using the T65 case for the 7.62 x 51 aka .308 Winchester. Logic says then you should look at this case and any derivatives. This means the following cases were considered and used where available:
1. 308 Win
2. .243 Win
3. 22-250
4. 7mm08
The easiest to get hold of here were the .308 and .243. Things to consider were overall length and case wall thickness.
No3. Annealing, its not as simple as just popping a case into a forming die, well not with used brass anyway. First I annealed the brass using a gas torch, a case holder and a cordless drill.

The case was heated to about half of its current length until it discoloured. Various sources say cherry red, dark blue etc but frankly I swagged it (Sophisticated Wild Assed Guess) and sources also said to quench, not to quench etc. I tried both, neither method seemed to have any difference.

No4. Resizing/case forming  in the die. I used the Redding case forming die in my Redding Boss press.

Firstly lubricating with Imperial sizing die and then passing it through in a single stage. The image below shows the case in the press, you can see how far down the case I have annealed;

Below you can see the neck of the .308 case protruding from the die. I needed a taller shell holder as I had to seat the die lower than the locking ring really allowed;

That gave us a series of necked down cases with the shoulders set back to match the .280, below you can see a few of them, firstly a .243 it gives a weird looking double step on the neck, .243 is smaller than .280

Below is from left to right, .308 Win, .308 win necked down to .280/30 and an original 7mm Mk1z (.280/30) round 1970 RG production

You can see in the picture above that there is a fair amount of brass to be removed from the resized case. This is the next step and was resolved using the cheapest tool I had so far acquired.

No5. Case trimming. Using the case holder and the cordless drill I span a resized case through a cheap copper pipe trimmer (about £3 each from my local plumbers supplies) and tightened it up gradually until each case was trimmed (actually there were cut, trimming is different but will suffice) to roughly the right length and then finished in my Lyman case trimmer.

 Some of the cutting was close enough for government work, some did require case length trimming.

I have a bag of 7mm brass offcuts, about 8mm long, not sure but I'm wondering if I can make surfers beads from them?

The case trimming when needed was done with one of these:

Its a stock picture but it works, it also can be used for case neck turning as I found out earlier

No6. Case neck Turning. This is a right royal pin mainly due to the difficulty of getting hand held tools to be consistent. I had some case neck turning tools I had bought for the job. Things to note; They aren't very robust, I am a ham fisted cretin and I can break just about anything invented by man.

I splashed out and bought a Sinclair kit, nothing wrong really with the kit, neck turning though I have found is easier using the trimming tool

Still we all live and learn. Whilst this was going on my partner in crime Paul was busy trying to achieve the same result using different materials.

After you have turned the necks you need to resize the cases for the neck and the full length just in case. Then pop them through a tumbler to clean them and each case takes about an hour to convert.

You can see below various cases all neck turned interspersed with original live rounds. The results are variable which caused issues later. Getting this consistent is important for neck tension on the bullets, this affects pressure and muzzle velocity. All things I learned along the way, that and converting brand new Lapua Brass does make a grown man cry!

Of course almost all of this was unnecessary. Paul had been busy. The original case converted for the T65/7.62x51/.308 Winchester was in fact the .300 Savage not the .30-06 as often touted. There happens to be a good supply of not too eye wateringly expensive new .300 Savage Brass and its a commercial case which means that its a thinner case wall reducing the amount of work needed. In fact Paul didn't anneal, he didn't neck turn, his resized and trimmed .300 Savage cases fit right first time.

That is how you waste a long hot summer.

Next up is the rifle build, without those we couldn't even hope to start testing our hand loads.