I loaded another four loads for this weekend's testing with the aim of further testing both types of projectiles in both my m1895 Spanish Cavalry Carbine and my Israeli K98. All loads were fired at 50m with sights set higher.
I now have a .311 lee sizing die to resize the .312 Hawkesbury River projectiles down a bit and also install the gas checks. All of my loads using this projectile have been resized to .311 and gas checks installed. I also wanted to try pushing the velocity up on the Hawkesbury River .308 SIL projectile just to see where it would go before becoming unstable. Load 1 & 2 were fired in the K98 and Load 3 & 4 were for the m95 Spaniard.
Load 1 (Israeli K98)
HR 180gr .312 projectile sized to .311
Hornady gas check
CBC fireformed brass
AR2206H powder / 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32gr x 5 each
C.O.L 2.57"
Results:
27gr - 1.1" (4 shots in 0.4")28gr - 2.52"
29gr - 1.25"
30gr - 1.85"
32gr - 1.82"
- IMG_0118.JPG (98.8 KiB) Viewed 6092 times
Load 2 (Israeli K98) This is an extension of last weeks load with the aim to find a higher velocity load
HR 170gr .308 SIL projectile
Hornady gas check
Lapua neck sized brass (light crimp)
AR2206H powder 30, 32, 34, 36gr x 5 each
C.O.L - 2.71"
Results:
30gr - 1.73"
32gr - 1.9"
34gr - 1.75"
36" - 1.8" (3 shots in the same hole)
- IMG_0119.JPG (92.54 KiB) Viewed 6092 times
Load 3 (m95 Spanish carbine)
HR 170gr .308 SIL projectile
Hornady gas check
Federal neck sized brass (Light crimp)
AR2206H powder 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 , 32, 34gr x 5 each
C.O.L - 2.771"
Results:
26gr -3.04"
27gr - 2.47"
28gr - 2.76"
29gr - 2.35"
30gr - 1.6"
32gr - 2.73"
34gr - 3.16"
- IMG_0120.JPG (98.89 KiB) Viewed 6092 times
Load 4 (m95 Spanish carbine)
HR 180gr projectile sized to .311
Hornady gas check
Lapua fire formed brass (light crimp)
AR2206H 27, 28, 29gr x 5 each
C.O.L - 2.726"
Results:
27gr - 1.65"
28gr - 1.52" (six shots on target as I mistakenly fired one from the 29gr load)
29gr - 1.89"
- IMG_0121.JPG (98.65 KiB) Viewed 6092 times
Summary:
The K98 is definitely getting better results than the m95, but that is consistent with the better accuracy with jacketed rounds also.
The K98 will shoot both Hawkesbury River projectiles, whereas the m95 favours the oversized projectile.
All of my loads are printing groups now with the gas check installed, whereas without the gas check, I was lucky to get rounds on target.
The lower velocity / lighter charge seems to be the accuracy load for both rifles with either projectile, but a faster load may still prove to be more useful for what I need with an accepted accuracy loss.
I need to reload more of the .308 36gr loads for the K98, taking extra care with my shooting technique. I think this is going to be the higher velocity load for this rifle (more range time).