250's and N120

[whislpig]

I saw on the thread where in one place it reccomends using 65-69 grains of powder. Yet on the next page it states to use 60 grains for "any" 250 grain bullets. I have 2 questions, if you all don't mind please. One, why such such a difference? And 2 which sabots? I also have reloader 7, I also see LIL GUN will work as well. Any one use it? Guess that was 3 questions...

 

[GM54-120]

Lil Gun has not been recommended for ages. Its too fine grained,

N120 has never been recommended for a 250gr bullet. Too temp sensitive with bullets under 275gr. Reloder7 has only recently been recommended with a 250gr. Both of those powders are quite slow for a 250gr bullet.

 

[whislpig]

Thank you so much! What would be a good powder for that bullet?

 

[GM54-120]

Upto 41gr of N110 but i would start around 39gr first. Old book loads went higher but N110 is hard on sabots. Great powder but rises to peak quick. Extremely clean and temp stable too.

Any book load of SR4759 if you can find any. Its no longer made.

You can surely try Reloder7. Its safe. Even 65gr wont hurt the barrel but the fps wont be all that great. About the same speed as a max load of N110. The same amount of N120 will be screaming at over 2500fps but that speed may not last when temps drop. Extreme spreads probably wont be great either.

Re7 was one of the original powders used in the first Savage ML. It was not listed in later manuals. Now Savage lists is again in the approved loads. IMO they list it because it pretty safe. Not because its a good powder for a 250gr bullet. Its quite good for bullets in the 300-325gr range though. A bit dirty but very reliable with 300gr-ish bullets. Personal favorite load was 63gr Re7, MMP Orange sabot and a 325gr FTX. Black crushrib and the newer 458 crushrib from Harvester might also work.

 

[GM54-120]

Here is an example of why i dont care for the slower powders and a 250gr bullet. You got to burn LOTS of powder and you still only get N110 type MV. Peak pressure however looks really good. Much less than N110 at that speed.

 

[whislpig]

That says reloader 7. Is that pretty close to the same burn rate?

 

[GM54-120]

No, N120 is slightly faster than 4198 and Re7 is slightly slower but Re7 is a double based powder.

 

[whislpig]

Sorry I missed that whole "here is an example". I do apologize. And I REALLY appreciate your knowledgeand willingness to share.

 

[whislpig]

Went to the range a couple of weeks a go with some N110 and Barnes T-EZ in 250 grains. The supplied sabots(light blue) were easy to load. Any idea if or what the MMP's would equate to? This is in a Savage smokeless 50 cal.
Used 39 grains of N110 and I believe we have a winner. Sorry I did not take any pictures of targets... Also lucked in to some Federal 209's. got a 1000. Again I really appreciate all the info you all are willing to share.

 

[GM54-120]

HPH-24
Its the same sabot

 

[Kim]

Many years with 2 savage 45's shooting 60-62 gr N-120, 195 Barnes, sabot, in all weather conditions in Ohio and never an issue hitting and killing what I shot at out to 225 yds. Just a reference about temperature sensitivity and N-120. I get the pressure trace numbers but real world, where I hunt, not an issue at all.

 

[GM54-120]

Pretty big difference though comparing a 50cal shooting a 250gr bullet vs a 45cal. The 45 will easily make 34Kpsi with your load if not more. I never had a problem with it either or if N120 was used with a 300gr in the 50. Speed loss in the 50s was extreme when N120 was used trying to crank up the 250s. Like over 400fps loss.

 

[Kim]

Makes sense.