.22 br

Here's my loaded round using the 85.5gr Berger LRHT. I'm jumping .040 with a freebore of .130. Combined overall length on this is 2.325, bullet length is 1.169. The 95gr SMKs if I recall are like 1.335, with a more Tangent profile.



Thanks for the info...I may just stick to the 80/90gr bullets and forget about these 95smk and save them for something else with how much longer they are...
 
What are you using to measure your loaded neck??? Because my loaded lapua necks measure 0.248"...
A set of Starrett dial calipers. I don't have the exact model, they were my father's from when he was a machine tool planner at Beechcraft 50+ years ago. I sent them in to Starrett and had them refurbish them about 5 years ago.

I used a Redding 22BR die to size my brass initially and the a 6 BR Hornady match bushing die to re-size after the initial firing. I have a .247 and .249 bushing, but I don't remember which one I was using. I use the same bushings for my 223 depending on the brand of brass.
 
What are you guys trimming to??

I have 100pc of 4x Lapua 6BR that I've bumped back .001. They were fired in my Bartlein 6BR. They chamber perfectly in my new 22BR barrel now. Stepped necks down to .259 then .247 then opened back up .002 with 21st Century TiN mandrel. Leaves me .002 neck tension. Sizing was uneventful. No issues, they look great.

Most of the sized cases overall length measures 1.560"....I have some in there measuring 1.563-1.564"..

Debating trim them all to 1.560" now.... or firing these 100pc of converted brass then annealing, sizing and trimming them all to whatever shortest case is...or some standard 22br trim length everyone is using.. I don't trim 6BR very much...it doesn't grow...I suspect 22br will be the same but want to start load development with lengths uniform...

Have 28" Mullerworks cut rifled 4gr 1:7 .255 neck .100 FB screwed on my TL3 ready to go. May throat it out .030" but we will see after I shoot these first 100pc....
 
Got this formed brass loaded up with 88 ELD 0.02" off lands over 28.5gr Varget just to get some round down the new barrel and form this brass. I didnt trim the brass since they are all under 1.565". Ill trim them all to 1.555" after this first firing.

Once I put this 100rd down the barrel I'll do load development with 90smk


 
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Caught a nice 60F day and got out of the office early today to shoot these 100rd of formed brass.

4xLapua 6BR converted to 22BR
88 ELD-M
0.02" Off lands
28.5gr Varget
Wolf Small Rifle Magnum
28" Mullerworks 4groove 1:7
Bighorn TL3
XLR JV Envy Pro Comp Chassis
PVA 22BR .255neck 0.100" freebore reamer
All shots fired with Rugged Surge 7.62
Athlon Cronus BTR Gen2 4.5-29x56 APRS6


First 20 shots out of the gun just to get some chrono data so I could move over to 700yd to form the rest of this brass. First 20 shots 2966 SD 7 and shot really nice. I wasnt trying my best to shoot tight groups, just running it fast to get chrono data and they were stacking in there at 100yd with zero load development.

After I got my chrono data, I setup my Kestrel and moved over to 700yd. First round hit but a few inches below the center line, trued my MV in the Kestrel....4.1mil to 700yd dead center the next hit. Fired off a few more shots and they were dead center. Had a switching 5-10mph wind and this little cartridge just kept on stacking them in there on a 6" swinger. Shot some really small plates at 634yd then packed up and called it a day.

No recoil, no pressure, stupid accurate with zero load development and just about at 3000. Fed great in my AI 10rd with PR mag kit...Im very happy so far. Cant wait to start load development with these 90smk!







 
What's the specs??? so I can borrow it from you to cut this Bartlein 29" 1-7.5 219 5R blank I just bought.🤣🤣🤣
I leaned pretty hard on @Birddog6424 for the specs; 0.255 neck and 0.130 FB, 1:7 and whatever bore diameter comes standard from Bartlein, removable pilot. We’ll see how she shoots, can’t really wait!

When’s your barrel arriving? I gotta wait another two months per Manson, but they said sometimes they ship earlier than estimated. Happy to loan the reamer for a small wear-and-tear fee, not like I’m gonna wear it out myself anytime soon.
 
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Caught a nice 60F day and got out of the office early today to shoot these 100rd of formed brass.

4xLapua 6BR converted to 22BR
88 ELD-M
0.02" Off lands
28.5gr Varget
Wolf Small Rifle Magnum
28" Mullerworks 4groove 1:7
Bighorn TL3
XLR JV Envy Pro Comp Chassis
PVA 22BR .255neck 0.100" freebore reamer
All shots fired with Rugged Surge 7.62
Athlon Cronus BTR Gen2 4.5-29x56 APRS6


First 20 shots out of the gun just to get some chrono data so I could move over to 700yd to form the rest of this brass. First 20 shots 2966 SD 7 and shot really nice. I wasnt trying my best to shoot tight groups, just running it fast to get chrono data and they were stacking in there at 100yd with zero load development.

After I got my chrono data, I setup my Kestrel and moved over to 700yd. First round hit but a few inches below the center line, trued my MV in the Kestrel....4.1mil to 700yd dead center the next hit. Fired off a few more shots and they were dead center. Had a switching 5-10mph wind and this little cartridge just kept on stacking them in there on a 6" swinger. Shot some really small plates at 634yd then packed up and called it a day.

No recoil, no pressure, stupid accurate with zero load development and just about at 3000. Fed great in my AI 10rd with PR mag kit...Im very happy so far. Cant wait to start load development with these 90smk!








Interesting to see the differences with your load.
I'm at 3086fps with:
88gr ELD
30.2gr Varget
Lapua 2x fired
Federal 205M AR
28" Krieger 4 groove 7 twist .218 bore
.255 neck .195 freebore
 
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I was just asking because it looks like Padom is getting a higher velocity per grain weight. Which is what I figured you were getting at. But he's also close to the lands. I know I get a higher velocity/ more pressure with a close jump vs a long jump. Thought maybe you were losing some speed with a real long jump.
Yeah, it could be several things. .218 vs .219 bore, different primer, larger gap between powder column and bullet, maybe even land design since mullerworks barrels have a R style land vs the traditional squared land with the krieger. Could be a combination of all of these differences and not just 1 or 2.
 
Hi guys,
Havent participate in a while, got my second 22br ready for prs season.
Finished my load dev yesterday, here is a small group of 5 rounds with my final load.
Sd of 4, es of 8. Gonna work for sure.
Shooting 95gr at 2920fps, 0.010 jam.
barrel is a benchmark gain twist from 6.75 to 6.25. (Neck are turned but i think my chamber use a 254nk and my smith passed a unithroater)
20220212_103028.jpg
 
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Hi guys,
Havent participate in a while, got my second 22br ready for prs season.
Finished my load dev yesterday, here is a small group of 5 rounds with my final load.
Sd of 4, es of 8. Gonna work for sure.
Shooting 95gr at 2920fps, 0.010 jam.
barrel is a benchmark gain twist from 6.75 to 6.25. (Neck are turned but i think my chamber use a 254nk and my smith passed a unithroater)
View attachment 7816891

What was your load development? Powder? Final charge?
 
What was your load development? Powder? Final charge?
I tried rl16 and varget.
Tested rl16 from 29 to 31gr by .1gr increment.
Tested varget from 28 to 30gr by .1gr increment.
Varget being harder to find I kept the rl16 as main powder but found promising stuff with the varget.
Ended at 30.4gr to be my load with the 95gr. There is also one at 30.9 (2970fps) but got better group with the lower node.
 
No. I haven't shot my(your) BR in a while. Trying to burn out a Dasher first. I've got 10 lb of n150 standing by waiting for the br when I get to it.

Ah the Krieger. Nice. I shot mine early this week for the 1st time in a long time to shoot up the rest of the 4x lapua to convert to 22br.... had 107smk loaded on the shelf and they shot lights out. Love my 6br

I'll post up my vv results when I get them loaded
 
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Anyone shooting the newer pointed 90gr smk? I know a few guys out east shooting them in 22creed and 22gt and say the BC is actually quite good, around 285, higher and more consistent than the 88eldm for them.
 
Reading some posts from back in 2018, this is when it sounds like Sierra started pointing these 90 grain bullets. So it would be safe to assume that all recent lots of these bullets would be this pointed version? Or is there a specific part number I should be looking for? Thanks
 
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Reading some posts from back in 2018, this is when it sounds like Sierra started pointing these 90 grain bullets. So it would be safe to assume that all recent lots of these boats would be this pointed version? Or is there a specific part number I should be looking for? Thanks

Same part# but yes if purchased NEW in past 18-24minths and not old inventory or from someone sitting on old version they are all pointed... that goes for 80smk too...

I have pictures showing old vs new around here somewhere I'll post...very obvious pointing at the tip vs non-pointed older 90smk
 
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8 months later and my 22BR OBW shipped from PVA. Debating if I should shoot virgin brass with 88/Varget or 69/TAC to somewhat fireform the barrel and speed it up.

I always like to put 100rd down a barrel before starting any load development or pay any attenion to velocities... I put 100rd of virgin/newly formed brass down my new 28" MW PVA 0.100 barrel last week with 88ELD 0.02" off over 28.5gr of Varget. They shot lights out....
 
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What have people seen with respect to collapsing shoulders when necking down 6BR brass? Got a new Forster FL die and ran a few pieces of new Lapua through, bulged/collapsed all three shoulders and saw significant belling of the case neck mouth too.

Sent the die off to get honed to 0.247” (talked to them on the phone, they said they’ll hone more than their order form says, they just don’t recommend it). Hoping that’ll fix it (I’m necking down something like 30 thou with the raw die, the honing should make that more like 20 thou), but just wondering if I’m gonna need a step-down die. Really don’t want one, since I’m not running a bushing die.

@Birddog6424 you said you neck down in one step, what OD are you going to when you do, and using what die setup?
 
What have people seen with respect to collapsing shoulders when necking down 6BR brass? Got a new Forster FL die and ran a few pieces of new Lapua through, bulged/collapsed all three shoulders and saw significant belling of the case neck mouth too.

Sent the die off to get honed to 0.247” (talked to them on the phone, they said they’ll hone more than their order form says, they just don’t recommend it). Hoping that’ll fix it (I’m necking down something like 30 thou with the raw die, the honing should make that more like 20 thou), but just wondering if I’m gonna need a step-down die. Really don’t want one, since I’m not running a bushing die.

@Birddog6424 you said you neck down in one step, what OD are you going to when you do, and using what die setup?
Eric Miller @ Aem Uses a max bore forster fl non bushing 22br die for first neck down, then recommend a 6br fl bushing die with bushing to achieve desired neck tension.
 
Eric Miller @ Aem Uses a max bore forster fl non bushing 22br die for first neck down, then recommend a 6br fl bushing die with bushing to achieve desired neck tension.

I use a SAC BR sizing die with a 0.258 bushing then .247 bushing then my mandrel in last station on my 650 with Lapua brass and Imperial...not a single piece of damaged brass. I spray with homemade lanolin and just run the .247 bushing and mandrel for all other sizings after
 
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I used a Redding fl 22BR die to size mine down with one pass and didn't lose any. I used plenty of one shot with that set up. I only did 500. I use a Hornaday 6Br bushing die for everything after that.
 
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I just sized down 150 pieces of 6BR Lapua to 22BR with one pass. Using SAC Modular BR Die, .247 Bushing, .222 mandrel, and lanolin lube. Very little force required; didn't lose any. I was previously using Imperial Wax based on Primal Rights recommendation. Decided to try my ole trusted lanolin mix and I won't go back to wax.
 
I used a Redding fl 22BR die to size mine down with one pass and didn't lose any. I used plenty of one shot with that set up. I only did 500. I use a Hornaday 6Br bushing die for everything after that.
Heavy on the 1 shot lube is the key to that for sure. i came up with the same process as well with the redding FL die. When trying to use imperial wax first i crushed 10 out of 100. I also use the bushing die afterwards
 
Sounds like people are using necks/bushings in the same range as what I’m asking Forster hone to, hopefully I’m good. Thanks for the info on lots of One Shot too.
 
Loaded up all my 1x 22BR Lapua brass that was annealed, sized and trimmed after initial fire forming (I converted 4x Lapua that was fired in my 6BR)...

Im done messing with 90 smk and Varget. The combo does not shoot like it does in my 220TB... Good speed and ES/SD on the 3 highest charge weights but just doesnt want to group from jam to .030 off with ease like it does in my 220TB... No worries, I have plenty of other rifles that love Varget so Im glad this 22BR liked other powders I dont really use in my other guns. 28.5gr Varget and 88 ELD shoot lights out though.

I did this initial OCW and when I had no pressure, I did the second OCW from 29.4 - 30.0gr...







I decided to test out some other powders today so next up, I tested VV N550. It shot really good with good accuracy, pretty good SD's and speed. 31.3gr stacked them right in there and is right at 3000 with SD 6.. Zero pressure, so I could probably test some higher charges but I really like this 31.3gr load.







Lastly, and the most suprising, was IMR 4166. I have a TON of it and dont shoot it in any other rifles so happy to see it really consistent with the 90smk. This OCW, all charge weights are 5 shot groups as I wanted to load up the rest of my 1x brass so I could clean everything and process after this range trip.

29.0 and 29.3gr shot tiny little nots other than the 5th shot in each of those groups. I ran out of tiny and hurried shooting the 5 shot of each charge weight (round robin) as I had to get back to the office. Both of those 4 shot groups were just under 0.25" before I yanked those last 2 shots. very promising, Ill play around with those charge weights after I process this brass.


 
Much appreciated!
Have seen #'s on net , all over the place on capacity, nice to have direct comparison.

I knew my PPC wildcat was close to either/or from your velocities you posted in your testing with 220TB and velocities on this thread.

29.0 gr Varget/88ELDM is right at 3000 fps
29.6 gr of IMR 4166/88ELDM is av. 3013 fps from my rifles for comparison.

Case holds 40.3 gr of CFE223
 
CFE233 in the 22 Dasher.

I fireformed a bunch of this today at a local match I was MD'ing. It was good fun shooting a bulk Hornady 75gr BTHP at 2770fps with a whopping .180 BC. It was like an underperforming 223 🤣



Interesting! Thats a significant increase in Capacity over 220TB and 22BR... I have a 29" Bartlein HV 1:7.5 blank sitting here debating what to chamber it in.....hmmmm
 
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