Nosler let down.

Just got back from the range. Imr 7828ssc gave interesting results. Retumbo was about the same except for the 88gr charge. 88 is book max but shows no sign of pressure. I may creep it up from there and see if things tighten up or itwas a fluke group. That is the best group I've fired out of the rifle so far. About 3/4". 20230527_120425.jpg
 
Loaded 4 rounds in .3 increments from 88.3 - 89.2 to hit pressure to see how much further I had. Ran out to the farm and fired them. At 89.2, I still had 0 pressure signs. Case head and primer look the same at the 87gr charge. Ill load a few and see what groups look like pushed a little harder. Ill get a speed if anything looks good.
 
I give up. I dont know what to try or do next. I'm just shy of 100 rounds through this rifle now with not a single group giving me any hope. Today I ran it up to 90gr. of retumbo to see if I could hit pressure signs... nothing. I used my magnetospeed on a 89.5 and 90gr load to see where I was at. Velocity was 3649fps at 89.5 and dropped a little at 90gr. Ill call that far enough. I only chronoed the last group at 89.2gr because I was over shooting for good groups. Just a remi Der, all these groups I've posted still shoot better than the factory ammo nosler used to supposedly shoot a .64" and a .7" group. I dont see it. I've spent enough money on components and barrel life that I could have had a new barrel screwed on and had something to be proud of. 20230528_184130.jpg
 
I'm sure you checked all the mounting screws for action and optics. Including pic rail or direct mount rings. Did you try a diff scope?
 
rworm said:
Yes. Back in earlier posts, I swapped to my nightforce nxs 3.5x15 with the same results.
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I thought so. One more grasp at a straw. Is the rifle fouling? Ok, one more. Have you been able to actually get to the point of pressure where there is no mistaking that it was TOO far? Hard to open bolt or even a blown primer? Don't get me wrong, I don't advocate blowing primers in load development. I just want to know where too much pressure is. Then back off enough to be comfortable. Some rifles will settle down right at that edge.

I have always been the guy that doesn't try to make a rifle like what I want it to like. Easier said than done in times of limited components. If I run a one shot one charge ladder and it shows a poor group I might try 2-3 shots of the same charge at the top end I am likely moving on if it is not sub moa. One thing we learned from @RichCoyle is sometimes a simple primer switch can make a huge difference. We now try switching to another primer before abandoning the combo. We had a rifle with a perfect load that shot 6" at 200y. Switched primers and it shot 1".

I am probably beating a dead horse here. It sounds like you have been very thorough in trying to iron this rifle out. Some just won't shoot. Get another barrel.
 
Steve Davis said:
I thought so. One more grasp at a straw. Is the rifle fouling? Ok, one more. Have you been able to actually get to the point of pressure where there is no mistaking that it was TOO far? Hard to open bolt or even a blown primer? Don't get me wrong, I don't advocate blowing primers in load development. I just want to know where too much pressure is. Then back off enough to be comfortable. Some rifles will settle down right at that edge.

I have always been the guy that doesn't try to make a rifle like what I want it to like. Easier said than done in times of limited components. If I run a one shot one charge ladder and it shows a poor group I might try 2-3 shots of the same charge at the top end I am likely moving on if it is not sub moa. One thing we learned from @RichCoyle is sometimes a simple primer switch can make a huge difference. We now try switching to another primer before abandoning the combo. We had a rifle with a perfect load that shot 6" at 200y. Switched primers and it shot 1".

I am probably beating a dead horse here. It sounds like you have been very thorough in trying to iron this rifle out. Some just won't shoot. Get another barrel.
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I don’t want to beat a dead horse here either but to clarify, @rworm stated that he’s shooting the 140 hammer hunter/140. My question is are you shooting the 143HH or the 140 Absolute hammer?

If rworm is shooting the 140 absolute, is his powder selection fast enough? In the CA 28 nosler I loaded for I started getting ejector marks at 82.5 grains of retumbo with CCI 250 and nosler brass. I’m aware that CAs tend to pressure out early and I didn’t push this rifle. Rworm is well above this without significant pressure. Is it because he’s using the absolute and needs a faster powder?

Kneedeep
 
kneedeep said:
I don’t want to beat a dead horse here either but to clarify, @rworm stated that he’s shooting the 140 hammer hunter/140. My question is are you shooting the 143HH or the 140 Absolute hammer?

If rworm is shooting the 140 absolute, is his powder selection fast enough? In the CA 28 nosler I loaded for I started getting ejector marks at 82.5 grains of retumbo with CCI 250 and nosler brass. I’m aware that CAs tend to pressure out early and I didn’t push this rifle. Rworm is well above this without significant pressure. Is it because he’s using the absolute and needs a faster powder?

Kneedeep
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I didn't catch that. @rworm what bullet are you running?
 
Sorry guys. 143 HH's. I've yesterday to hit a flat primer or sticky bolt. 90gr of retumbo was slower that 85.5 so I beleive I'm at the point of no more return. 3650 fps has got to be a hot load. No need it pushing it harder than that. I cant make it even get close to their 1 moa guarantee with their ammo. So I'm done with it. I'll try to get a hold of someone tomorrow and see if we can work something out. As far as fouling, I see some carbon in the grooves 3/4 of the way down the bore. But I've cleaned it real often and I've let it get 20 rounds dirty and shot groups. Doesn't seem to make a difference.
 
I will be real interested in how Nosler treats you.
I had my own quality issue albiet on a much smaller scale, brand new premium brass cracking with very safe handloads. All they did for me was send me 10 free samples even though my whole order of brass was defective. That issue during load development cost me quite a few Hammer projectiles and unicorn primers to figure out it was the brass. This is nothing compared to your rifle, but I want to know how well they take care of their customers...
 
I would start at top of their food chain where hopefully more receptive to defending or protecting their "Brand" with better Customer Service than you have gotten so far. Company Leadership is more likely to look at big picture of their product reputation as well. You got nowhere with their first line.
 
Muddyboots said:
I would start at top of their food chain where hopefully more receptive to defending or protecting their "Brand" with better Customer Service than you have gotten so far. Company Leadership is more likely to look at big picture of their product reputation as well. You got nowhere with their first line.
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Muddyboots said:
I would start at top of their food chain where hopefully more receptive to defending or protecting their "Brand" with better Customer Service than you have gotten so far. Company Leadership is more likely to look at big picture of their product reputation as well. You got nowhere with their first line.
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We'll see what happens tomorrow. I'll ask and see if there is a supervisor or upper management person I can speak to. I'll keep it posted.
 
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