Cold Range

[TMB]

41° this morning. Went to the range to try the handloads I put together last night. I loaded 20 rounds of 225 gr LEVERevolutionn, 4 each of 8.0gr, 8.3gr, 8.5gr, 9.1gr and 9.5gr of AA#5. They were slow 850 fps to 1000 fps. None shot well. I also loaded 40 RNFP over 9.5 gr of AA#5. 20 in Hornady cases and 20 in Starline cases. None of them shot well either. I could not predict where they would go. At 50 yards they were all over the paper. I had 8 Buffalo Bore 260gr JHP +p. I shot them and all 8 went right where they should. I'll have to load more of the RNFP only hotter and see how they shoot. After I recover from my surgery.

[bdbrown66]

If you want +p loads, take a look at Accurate #9 instead of #5. It's a slower-burning powder, so you get more velocity for the same pressure.

[TMB]

I saw that in the manual. I was actually trying to slow things down some. I may have to go to the faster load. I'm not at the top of the regular loads yet. Next time I go I'll be past my prostate and cataract surgeries so I'll be able to see better.

[Greyhawk]

41° this morning. Went to the range to try the handloads I put together last night. I loaded 20 rounds of 225 gr LEVERevolutionn, 4 each of 8.0gr, 8.3gr, 8.5gr, 9.1gr and 9.5gr of AA#5. They were slow 850 fps to 1000 fps. None shot well. I also loaded 40 RNFP over 9.5 gr of AA#5. 20 in Hornady cases and 20 in Starline cases. None of them shot well either. I could not predict where they would go. At 50 yards they were all over the paper. I had 8 Buffalo Bore 260gr JHP +p. I shot them and all 8 went right where they should. I'll have to load more of the RNFP only hotter and see how they shoot. After I recover from my surgery.

I have had very good luck with 2400 in cold weather. (-30 to -40 below 0) Take a look at my post from last year titled: .45 Colt Cold Weather Torture Test.. These were .45 colt Ruger Only loads but I haven't had any temperature issues with 2400 in lighter/standard loads either. Hope all goes very well with the surgery!

[TMB]

Thank you Greyhawk. I don't want to shoot high speed if I can help it. I want to shoot hard cast boolits. If I can't get a good shooting load in the 900 to 1100 fps range I'll look at the Ruger/Thompson load data. I know that the Buffalo Bore +p loads shoot great at 50 yards. They leave a little on the table at 100 yards.