!85 Berger Juggernaut and OTM Tactical

[chefcam864]

I just got 200 of the OTM tactical, but haven't started development yet. My local range is closed untill July, so I have to drive a good ways to shoot (ie I don't shoot much between matches at the moment) The question is are these fairly jump tolerant? I know Berger says they are, but I want to know what others experience has been with these bullets. I'm hoping to avoid the tedious tuning associated with the VLD's, but I want that .560 BC at distance.
I'll be using RE 17 in Win cases and should get around 2,700fps. I've measured the "dead length" of these in my Rifle, and I have plenty of room to jam if need be.

Thanks, Casey

 

[glock63]

I don't have any good info for you, but plan to develop an identical load using RL17 and the 185 berger in a Lapua case when time allows. I will be looking forward to your results. Should be an outstanding LR load at 2700 fps.

 

[plh]

For me yes, on the 185's not so much for the 175's, though my definition of tolerant may not coincide with yours.

 

[glock63]

How far off the lands are you seating the 185's? I have some loaded up at .005 off. It barely fits in my AICS mag, and required modding the feed ramp. Havent had an opportunity to shoot them yet.

 

[plh]

Myself,.020" seems to be optimum, but dispersion patterns at .03 to .04 suggests there's room for further jump and load tweaking if mag fit were an issue. I'm single feeding.

 

[chefcam864]

I'm going to load some workups .010" jammed, find the best accuracy, and then I'll start tuning depth. I just got an invite to some private land near my house, so I'll be able to shoot a little more often than I thought last night. I didn't go with the 175 because, compared to the 175 SMK and 178 A-Max, they don't offer any advantage. I can get A-Max's for $32/box. That is a lot better than nearly $50 for the Berger. I'm sure the Berger is a better made bullet, with regard to tolerances, but I don't see any shooting them at matches. Seems like the TR guys like the 185's and the Palma/Fullbore guys shoot a 155 something or other, or the 215 Berger.

Have any of you guys shot these at 800-1,000yds? How do they fly? Judging from the scores I've seen shot with them, I'm assuming very well.

 

[1lnbrdg]

I'm shooting them .040" off the lands.

 

[plh]

Report back if you get a chance. I began on the lands but ran into pressure so never went long on seating. As to 1k, they've been a real treat and fly far better than I shoot.

I'm going to load some workups .010" jammed,...

 

[chefcam864]

Will do. I'm hoping to get on the property tomorrow, but it's turkey season so I'm not sure.

 

[chefcam864]

I shot loads from 44.0-47.0 today. They shot pretty well, and I got into a nice node at 47.0gn. Zero signs of pressure so far. My next move will be to play with the seating depth and see where they like to be shot. After that's figured out, I'll start fine tuning the charge. It's shaping up to be a good load in my rifle though. I brought the chrony, but couldn't set it up due to the lay of the land (needed a shorter tripod). However, at 47.5gn RE17 with a 178 A-Max I get 2680 fps Sd=8.8.

All loads:
185 Berger OTM Tactical @ 2.249"(ogive) Jammed .010"
RE17
Win brass necks turned to .013", uniformed, deburred, and weight sorted
Fed 210(M)

Here's the best group of the day. It was in the mid-3's

The entire target

 

[plh]

Looks like a keeper, with a good number of shiny Bergers left over. I may have to revisit the 'jam' option.

 

[chefcam864]

Looks like a keeper, with a good number of shiny Bergers left over. I may have to revisit the 'jam' option.

So far, so good. I don't know what was going on at 46.5 grains, but I broke all 3 shots cleanly. They somehow managed to land 1-1/2" apart... Must've had some strange harmonics going on there. Luckily, I got right back into the node at 47.0, and I have room to go up from there. I haven't chronographed any of these yet, but I'm hoping to get 2,700-2,720fps out of these with a 26"bbl.