My first V Node test was done with my Aero Precision M5 with 308 upper.
I tested Sierra 168 grain Match Kings and Reloader 15.
I took the max book load of 43.6 grains and reduced 1.5 grains for a starting load of 42.1. I loaded one round each with .2 grain increments until I had ten rounds loaded. Results are as follows.
42.1- 2491 fps
42.3- 2504
42.5- 2507
42.7- 2521
42.9- 2532
43.1- 2556
43.3- 2560
43.5- 2583
43.7- 2598
43.9- 2600
Velocities measured with a LabRadar.
The most promising V Node i will focus on is between 43.1 and 43.3 grains with a velocity increase of only 4 fps. The Node between 43.7 and 43.9 grains had an increase of only two fps but these are already over the book max of 43.6 so I will steer clear of them. Besides, the middle Node contains the same
Velocity I was getting from Federal Gold Medal Match ammo which used the same 168 SMK’s, of 2545 fps. These shot extremely well for me. I expect my best V Node Load to be be very close to matching this ammo.
One other very interesting thing I found while doing this V Node test was the resulting groups size. Throwing out one known flyer from the pack, and with two different people taking turned shooting each load with the appropriate 2 minute cool down period, we ended up with a 9 shot group of only 1-3/8”!! That’s through a velocity range of 109 fps!! That seams amazing to me. See below.
I’m now going to focus on the middle V Node of 43.1 to 43.3 by loading a string at .1 grain increments between 43.0 to 43.4 grains and see what happens. At that point I will pick a final load based on this results and see how they perform. Any comments or suggestion would be appreciated.
I tested Sierra 168 grain Match Kings and Reloader 15.
I took the max book load of 43.6 grains and reduced 1.5 grains for a starting load of 42.1. I loaded one round each with .2 grain increments until I had ten rounds loaded. Results are as follows.
42.1- 2491 fps
42.3- 2504
42.5- 2507
42.7- 2521
42.9- 2532
43.1- 2556
43.3- 2560
43.5- 2583
43.7- 2598
43.9- 2600
Velocities measured with a LabRadar.
The most promising V Node i will focus on is between 43.1 and 43.3 grains with a velocity increase of only 4 fps. The Node between 43.7 and 43.9 grains had an increase of only two fps but these are already over the book max of 43.6 so I will steer clear of them. Besides, the middle Node contains the same
Velocity I was getting from Federal Gold Medal Match ammo which used the same 168 SMK’s, of 2545 fps. These shot extremely well for me. I expect my best V Node Load to be be very close to matching this ammo.
One other very interesting thing I found while doing this V Node test was the resulting groups size. Throwing out one known flyer from the pack, and with two different people taking turned shooting each load with the appropriate 2 minute cool down period, we ended up with a 9 shot group of only 1-3/8”!! That’s through a velocity range of 109 fps!! That seams amazing to me. See below.
I’m now going to focus on the middle V Node of 43.1 to 43.3 by loading a string at .1 grain increments between 43.0 to 43.4 grains and see what happens. At that point I will pick a final load based on this results and see how they perform. Any comments or suggestion would be appreciated.
