Range Report Nosler 140 RDF's

[Bull81]

I know there were a couple topics on the scout forum but I can't find them so I'll start over. I've been doing some ladder test with these over this past week and comparing them to my current go to load which consists of 40.5 gr H4350 with Berger 140 Hybrids out of my 24 in 6.5x47. The Bergers gave me accuracy in the high 2's low 3's for 5 rounds pretty consistently, and clocked in a 2762 fps with an SD of 7.4 for 20 rounds. So far the RDFs are looking really good 500 yard ladder test show less than 1/2" of vertical for 3 round each of 40.6 and 40.8 and opened up to roughly 1" if you added the 3 rounds of 41.0. The RDF's have a longer bearing surface and longer base to ogive in comparison to the hybrids so my velocity is quite as high average of just 3 rounds was 2736 with 40.8 of H4350. So far for the price difference vs the hybrids I can live with 30 fps loss in speed so long as further testing works out. I'll update again after I have a chance to run some more.

Anybody wanting to add add any info or share their experience with these new Nosler pills please do so

 

[JC Steel]

This is good info, Currently my RDF bullets are roughly 10-15 FPS slower with the same load. Pretty much across the board.

 

[Bullet Pusher]

I am running these in a 6.5 creedmoore with 42.2 gr. of h4350 at 35'' off I will get out this weekend and crono them with my v3.I have 5 loaded up with 42.5 and 42.6 at 5'' thousandths off going to shoot them at a hundred and see how they group.

 

[Bull81]

I ran 40.6, 40.7,40.8, and 40.9 today at 100 yards. 40.8 and 40.9 had very low SD's 3.7 and 4.1 for 5 rounds. All 4 loads were just touching the lands and all 4 grouped in the high .6's low 7's. I'm going to take 40.8 and start working the seating depth back in .005 increments and try to tighten those groups up.

 

[Danattherock]

Just bought 500 tonight. Following

 

[AMAC79]

6.5x47 24" Hawk Hill. 37.4g Varget, .025" jump, 2,790 SD 3 ES 9. Used .330 G7 and it tracked out to 1245

 

[Bull81]

I have a couple pounds of Varget my .308 don't like I may give that a try and see if I can get better velocity numbers, if I can't get them up with the H4350 I've been using.

 

[shotdown]

I went out and tested them today. My numbers were pretty close at 42.3 and 42.5 gr of H4350. However, my 42.5 group was better and measured .440 MOA. I'll be loading some more around those charges and play with seating depth. I loaded everything to .030 off the lands.

6.5 Creedmoor
Benchmark 24" Barrel
Fed 210M

42.3
2843
2826
2843
2829
2828

Avg: 2834
ES: 8.5
SD: 17

42.5
2847
2847
2846
2829
2842

Avg: 2842
SD: 7.9
ES: 19

 

[308Gunner]

I have 10 loaded up to check pressure my regular load is 43.5gr of 4350, I am going up to 43.9 this is in a 6.5 Super LR I will post results when I shoot them

 

[luv2hunt6]

Following

 

[NovaHunter]

I have 200 on order to try in my .260 AI.

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[canezach]

My normal load for 140 grain bullets in a 6.5 Creedmoor is 42.0 grains of Reloder 16. MV is 2832 to 2847, depending on which bullet I use, with BR2 primers. SD for all my loads is under 10, usually in the 7 range, and ES is 20 or less. With the RDFs, my SD was down to 5.6 and ES was below 15, but MV jumped up to 2860 range. No pressure signs, though. Maybe some slight cratering around the firing pin indent, but it's VERY slight. Accuracy was very good too at 300 yards, but I'm thinking I'll drop them down to 41.8 grains and test some more.

 

[Bull81]

I've run a couple seating depth test from the lands out to a jump of 0.015. Accuracy has improved each time the further the jump has been. I'm going to load some more up at .020 through 0.35 and see how it goes. What seating did are yal using? I'm using a Whidden die and am getting inconsistent seating depths. I have to seat long and work each one down to the correct depth one at a time for testing. I sent Whidden some bullets and they are cutting me a new stem for the RDF's so hopefully that fixes the problem. I've had bad luck when it comes to seating stems with the RDF's. I am trying them in a 223 whylde and ran into the same problem with my Hornady dies, and had to order a different stem for it as well.

 

[canezach]

I seated mine 0.30" off the lands, and I found it gave me some really tight groups out to 300 yards. I haven't shot them further yet. In the old Scout thread, the consensus seemed to be they like to jump A LOT and 0.030" seemed to be the most common distance

 

[Bull81]

Yea I have heard that but I figured I'd run a test from the lands out to make sure I didn't miss anything in between.

 

[JC Steel]

The 140 RDF should not be jump sensitive. Try them at your standard 20 thou off, they should shoot well there

 

[Gohring65]

Tag

 

[canezach]

The 140 RDF should not be jump sensitive. Try them at your standard 20 thou off, they should shoot well there

Has that been your experience, Jake? I ask because there seems to be a lot of "My groups really tightened up the more they jumped" talk. I seated at 0.030" jump and accuracy was VERY good, but I've only loaded 10 of them so far.

 

[Bull81]

Has that been your experience, Jake? I ask because there seems to be a lot of "My groups really tightened up the more they jumped" talk. I seated at 0.030" jump and accuracy was VERY good, but I've only loaded 10 of them so far.

I ran some seating depth test yesterday and found that the further I jumped them the better the accuracy got. I'm at .025 jump right now with 5 rounds at .331, up to that point it was hovering around .5 or so. At this point I'm calling it good, I could probably waste some more time, powder, primers, bullets, and barrel life and tighten those groups up to the high .2's but for me the low 3's are fine.

 

[shotdown]

I tested 42.5 gr (H4350), .030 off the lands and got a .330 MOA group. Also, my SD was 3.7 and ES was 10. So I guess I'll stick with that load.

 

[Walker TR]

I tested 42.5 gr (H4350), .030 off the lands and got a .330 MOA group. Also, my SD was 3.7 and ES was 10. So I guess I'll stick with that load.

What was your FPS with that load?


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[JC Steel]

Has that been your experience, Jake? I ask because there seems to be a lot of "My groups really tightened up the more they jumped" talk. I seated at 0.030" jump and accuracy was VERY good, but I've only loaded 10 of them so far.

The 6.5 140 RDF are pretty insensitive in my findings. I will update this thread with some recent results next week. But they do not need a big 80 thou jump by any means.

 

[shotdown]

What was your FPS with that load?


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2860 fps with a 24" Benchmark barrel

 

[NovaHunter]

Well, I loaded up 9 different loads to ladder test today. It was training day at Peacemaker, so spent most of the day shooting fireforming loads from different barricades.

After that was done I headed to the 100 yard bench to shoot the RDF's over the Chronograph. Opened the first box of the loads, shot them, then opened my 2nd box and "@#>�;@
Well, I shot the two loads I had with me. Info on my rig:

Action: Shilen DGR
Barrel: Pac-Nor pre-fit 3 groove 1in8 twist 28in in length
Stock: Mcree Chassis
Scope: Vortex Gen1 Razor
Brake: APA little B*stard
Caliber: 260 Ackley 40 degree shoulder

Standard load I shoot is:

Case: Fireformed Lapua 260 brass
Primer: Fed GMM
Powder: 44.2gr RL 17
Bullet: 142 SMK
Average velocity with this load is 2980 fps in warm weather.
COAL: 2.850 which is .010 off the lands in my rifle.

Weather today was sunny and 42 degrees.

All the RDFs were loaded the same; only change was the powder load.

Case: Fireformed Lapua 260 brass
Primer: Fed GMM
Bullet: 140 RDF.
COAL: 2.850

I don't have a comparator so not sure how far off the lands this COAL is, but comparing the RDF to the 142SMK the ogive on the RDF looks further back so I am guessing the jump is a bit more.

Results Group 1 42.1 RL17:

Shot 1: 2781 fps
Shot 2: 2779 fps
Shot 3: 2768 fps

Avg: 2776 fps
STD Dev: 7.0



Results Group 2 42.4 RL17:


Shot 1: 2826
Shot 2: 2948
Shot 3: 2839

Avg: 2837 fps
Std Dev: 11.06




3 shot groups were quite good. These bullets show some early promise.

I have 7 additional loads increasing in .3gr increments to 44.5 gr of RL17.

Am definitely interested in seeing how they shoot.

I'll be back out at the range in 2 weeks, so I'll shoot the rest of the groups then and post results.

Thanks,
Ryan

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[Bull81]

I think Nosler hit a home run with these. I'd like to see them add a few other weights and calibers to the RDF line.

 

[308Gunner]

I give up on the RL26 I am waiting on some RL23 which should be just about right for the 6.5 SLR, as a side note the 43.7gr of H4350 and the RDF's group as good as anything I have shot.

 

[Potss]

A little off topic, but I'd love to know if anyone has or can gel test any of the RDF bullets including the 140s. I'd be willing to ship a block if needed.

 

[BallisticPrimate]

Tag for 6.5x47 info

 

[Walker TR]

Ran some 140 Grain RDF's through my 6.5 Creed today. Results were surprising 42.5 of H4350 was the magic load...... ran 2790 out of my 24 inch Hawk Hill with 9 SD. They were loaded 30 thou off and grouped very tight.

 

[blacknwhite11]

I have good success with the 140gr RDF out to 1480 yards so far.

Savage 12 lrp
lapua brass
cci br2
140rdf
.030" jump
42.5gr H4350

2846fps average
SD 7
ES 18

1/2 moa groups at 300 pretty regular
best being .28 moa at 300 yards.

 

[Gohring65]

I have good success with the 140gr RDF out to 1480 yards so far.

Savage 12 lrp
lapua brass
cci br2
140rdf
.030" jump
42.5gr H4350

2846fps average
SD 7
ES 18

1/2 moa groups at 300 pretty regular
best being .28 moa at 300 yards.

What BC are you using? I had to input .69 g1 to get hits at 1000.

 

[blacknwhite11]

What BC are you using? I had to input .69 g1 to get hits at 1000.

using a G7 of .337 I'm 520ft above sea level DA of about 840ish

 

[317millhand]

To further add to the data list here, I tested these against the Hornady 140 eldm today. Both .015 off the lands in a 6.5x47 Lapua.

The RDFs are exactly 30fps slower but seemed to have a little better ES and SD.

Hornady 140 ELD-M avg 2807 sd8 es20
Nosler 140 RDF avg 2777 sd5 es13

 

[Shanerbanner10]

I've almost 1500 140 RDF's. I've always ran .330 G7 bc and have done quite well at every competition I've shot finishing in the top 23% at ever single one (except one where I had a gun issue).
I am running them with 4451 in Prime brass with S&B primers. Charge weight is 42.6 grains. In my rifle they are jumped 20 thou (2.195" BTO) Charges are thrown on 3 chargemasters and I am averaging a 6.4-8.3 SD. With ES ~15-25 fps.
This load shooting sub 2" at 400 yards and had about 2" of vertical at 890 yards.
Pre-carbon ring I was running them at 2740 fps for the first 550 or so round on the barrel. Post carbon ring - 2830 fps. Still a good ways from pressure as tested with a bottle of water in the mag and shot quickly.
<a href="http://s1055.photobucket.com/user/Shane_Keeley/media/IMG_4203_zpsqni5qy5a.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/s502/Shane_Keeley/IMG_4203_zpsqni5qy5a.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_4203_zpsqni5qy5a.jpg"/></a>

Here's 3 quick shots just screwing around at 400 yards. Group ended up being around 1 1/2".
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eMZNb8bj0I4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[BallisticPrimate]

A little off topic, but I'd love to know if anyone has or can gel test any of the RDF bullets including the 140s. I'd be willing to ship a block if needed.

I'd love to see this too.

 

[davere]

I'd love to see this too.

https://www.snipershide.com/shootin...istics/6297414-nosler-rdf-terminal-ballistics

 

[BallisticPrimate]

https://www.snipershide.com/shootin...istics/6297414-nosler-rdf-terminal-ballistics

Excellent, thanks

 

[Patty]

My 6.5 Creedmoor load for 140 RDF is 43.0gr of RL16, hornady brass,CCI BR2, 40 thou off lands. gave me 2905fps, SD of 7.8 no pressure signs. ill be testing various seating depths hopefully this weekend.

 

[Shanerbanner10]

My 6.5 Creedmoor load for 140 RDF is 43.0gr of RL16, hornady brass,CCI BR2, 40 thou off lands. gave me 2905fps, SD of 7.8 no pressure signs. ill be testing various seating depths hopefully this weekend.

Pour a bottle of water in a mag of 5 loaded rounds and shoot them. i'd bet you'd see pressure.

 

[Patty]

Pour a bottle of water in a mag of 5 loaded rounds and shoot them. i'd bet you'd see pressure.

why would i do that? i went all the way up to 43.4 with no pressure signs.

 

[Shanerbanner10]

why would i do that? i went all the way up to 43.4 with no pressure signs.

It will simulate rain which is where most people have problems. You can't shoot 43.0 grains all day long, but a drop of water gets in there and you may need a crowbar to open the bolt. Hell you may be good to go, I just would want to be sure before I took the gun to a match or something, rain fell and the gun blew up, or pressure was too much to operate the gun. I've seen it happen at 2 matches in April.
Its a simple test- Just load 5 rounds in a mag, take some water dump it over the mag and then run those 5 rounds as fast as you can. You'll quickly see if that load is too hot or not.

 

[Patty]

It will simulate rain which is where most people have problems. You can't shoot 43.0 grains all day long, but a drop of water gets in there and you may need a crowbar to open the bolt. Hell you may be good to go, I just would want to be sure before I took the gun to a match or something, rain fell and the gun blew up, or pressure was too much to operate the gun. I've seen it happen at 2 matches in April.
Its a simple test- Just load 5 rounds in a mag, take some water dump it over the mag and then run those 5 rounds as fast as you can. You'll quickly see if that load is too hot or not.

thanks for the tip, never thought of doing that before

 

[Shanerbanner10]

thanks for the tip, never thought of doing that before

No problem man. I use it for developing loads and typically try to stay shy of 43 grains when shooting 140's in 6.5's and below 44 grains with 130's.

 

[Patty]

No problem man. I use it for developing loads and typically try to stay shy of 43 grains when shooting 140's in 6.5's and below 44 grains with 130's.

is that specific to RL16 or a general rule of thumb that you use? Because the book max for RL16 and a sierra 142gr is 43.6

 

[Shanerbanner10]

Thats actually for the more general powder used with the 6.5's - H4350 and 4451.

 

[Patty]

Thats actually for the more general powder used with the 6.5's - H4350 and 4451.

Got it, I thought you were speaking directly about my load since I said I was using RL16.

 

[Shanerbanner10]

Got it, I thought you were speaking directly about my load since I said I was using RL16.

Ya i forgot you stated you were using RL16. I would still check it with that water test just to be sure.

 

[Semperriddle]

Anyone shooting with rl17?

 

[Patty]

Ya i forgot you stated you were using RL16. I would still check it with that water test just to be sure.

i will do that, it is solid advice for any load

 

[BallisticPrimate]

Any more info with 6.5x47 and the RDF's with H4350?