[deereman7]

Hello I'm an excited new rfb owner. I have got to shoot it twice and not real happy with the groups yet, but am going to start reloading tom. Wondering if someone could help with a reload they prefer for this rifle. Thinking of starting with a berger 165 target seated to 2.785 with win case and primer and 39.5 of imr 4895. Would rather shoot 150 gr and all I have now is the Hornady gmx which didn't shoot good today with 42 gr 4895 and 39 gr imr 3031. Two shots touching and one 5" flyer with both loads. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[ormandj]

Hello I'm an excited new rfb owner. I have got to shoot it twice and not real happy with the groups yet, but am going to start reloading tom. Wondering if someone could help with a reload they prefer for this rifle. Thinking of starting with a berger 165 target seated to 2.785 with win case and primer and 39.5 of imr 4895. Would rather shoot 150 gr and all I have now is the Hornady gmx which didn't shoot good today with 42 gr 4895 and 39 gr imr 3031. Two shots touching and one 5" flyer with both loads. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Give up on 150gr would be my suggestion. I didn't spend a lot of time doing load development with ~150gr bullets, but what little I did was enough to decide I was wasting my time.

168gr Hornady A-Max for target, 168gr. Barnes TTSX for game, 2.795/2.800 COAL (find what works best, always work up from lower powder loads), 43gr Varget (start lower), Lapua brass (trimmed, chamferred, deburred, flash hole uniformed which usually isn't necessary on Lapua brass, but I do it first loading just in case), and CCI 200 or Wolf (my preference, harder) primers.

I have great results. Search for my threads, here's one with velocity data: http://www.thektog.org/forum/showthread.php?t=242919 . There's others with more load information. Waiting on my suppressor before I spend more time working up loads. Good luck, but I'd suggest looking at heavier bullets. The barrel twist rate will favor them, and you'll have better performance at longer ranges, in addition.

 

[Bullitt2075]

I found that the RFB really likes bullets heavier than 150gr. I use 168gr HPBT Match Grade bullets I bought in bulk from Wideners $359 per 2000

http://www.wideners.com/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=8440&dir=278|281|1081|1161

Once-Fired Lake City Brass that I process myself. $189 per 2000

I tumble them to get the crud off of them then deprime, Swage the primer pocket, size, lube, trim and chamfer/deburr. Last step I do is wet tumble the brass in stainless media and the brass is like new. It's a lot of work but the rounds are very consistent.

http://www.wideners.com/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=100000363&dir=278|282|909|980

Tula Lead-Free Primers that I great deal on from Graf's

42.5gr Ramshot TAC powder.

OAL 2.795

 

[lastontos]

Is a heavy crimp required ?

 

[4sfed]

I found that the RFB really likes bullets heavier than 150gr. I use 168gr HPBT Match Grade bullets.

Tula Lead-Free Primers that I great deal on from Graf's

42.5gr Ramshot TAC powder.

What velocity do you get with that combination?

Thanks,

 

[mad_scientist]

I load Nosler 165 grain Hunting (green tip) with 44 grains of Varget and 2.795 COAL. CCI Large rifle primers, Taper crimp only

 

[Bullitt2075]

What velocity do you get with that combination?

Thanks,

My averaged Velocity is 2575.

 

[lastontos]

I load Nosler 165 grain Hunting (green tip) with 44 grains of Varget and 2.795 COAL. CCI Large rifle primers, Taper crimp only

Thank you.

 

[ronmar]

I found the chamber on my RFB is rather "generous" in the area right at the top of the shoulder/base of the neck. I started looking at how hard I was working the brass after I had a neck separate right at the top of the shoulder on just the third reload of LC brass in my RFB. The first thing I noticed was how physically hard it was to resize the brass in the press. What I found was that the brass at the base of the neck was getting blown out perhaps .007" in diameter when it fire forms to the chamber. The change is easilly seen with a dial calliper comparing diameter at the base of the neck between new/sized brass with that fired in the RFB. The neck in this area was of course getting crushed back that same distance during a FL resize which explained the added work involved during the resize.

I havn't reloaded for the RFB for a little while since that neck failure as I hadn't had a chance to get my brain around why it happened at the time. Now that I understand what is going on, I am no longer full length resizing the brass I use in the RFB. It is just too hard on it. I am only neck sizing just enough to allow the neck to grip/hold the bullet when seating, then I use a factory crimp to lock it in place... And all my RFB brass is going to pass thru an annealer to "reset" the neck elasticity before it gets reloaded again...

FWIW, your chamber and mileage may vary...

 

[lastontos]

I know this is 'somewhere' in here but how does one, 1- clean the chamber? M-14 type bore brush? and 2-get a live round out of the chamber or a bore sighting lazer, bullet type? They just, what, drop out the bottom of the empty mag well? Thinking it wont go out the ejection chute with the 'bullet' still at home, or will it?

I've now had this rifle for over 2 weeks and happenstance has kept me from shooting it yet.. makin me crazy.

 

[lastontos]

I found the chamber on my RFB is rather "generous" in the area right at the top of the shoulder/base of the neck. I started looking at how hard I was working the brass after I had a neck separate right at the top of the shoulder on just the third reload of LC brass in my RFB. The first thing I noticed was how physically hard it was to resize the brass in the press. What I found was that the brass at the base of the neck was getting blown out perhaps .007" in diameter when it fire forms to the chamber. The change is easilly seen with a dial calliper comparing diameter at the base of the neck between new/sized brass with that fired in the RFB. The neck in this area was of course getting crushed back that same distance during a FL resize which explained the added work involved during the resize.

I havn't reloaded for the RFB for a little while since that neck failure as I hadn't had a chance to get my brain around why it happened at the time. Now that I understand what is going on, I am no longer full length resizing the brass I use in the RFB. It is just too hard on it. I am only neck sizing just enough to allow the neck to grip/hold the bullet when seating, then I use a factory crimp to lock it in place... And all my RFB brass is going to pass thru an annealer to "reset" the neck elasticity before it gets reloaded again...

FWIW, your chamber and mileage may vary...

Could this have anything to do with the difference between the case dimention between .308 brass and 7.62x51? I thought I read somewhere that one had a shorter body, rim to base of the neck, than the other and firing the shorter one in the longer chamber, creates, I'm guessing, the PITA it is for you to FL size that brass. I always thought it was a 'must' to FL size auto loader ammo but, then again, I havent paid much attention in some years now. Neck sizing would, as I remember, more reloads out of ech case, before failure... and now that I think of it, how would one get a seperated case in the chamber, out of that 'bull'puppy??!

 

[ronmar]

The differences really are not all that great, that is why they are uttered in the same breath. You don't find 7.62 and .308 listed as separate callibers anywhere do you? I never have... They are listed as the same, because for all practical purposes, they are the same... OOOH, that will probably start a food fight. have shot a lot of factory 308's, a lot of milspec 7.62's and mixed and matched a LOT of ammo thru all these firearms with no noticeable performance issues in any of them. Does some ammo run more accurately in some firearms? Of course it does, but that just shows the varyances in production parameters, and the ultimate flexibility of brass to fireform to whatever chamber(within limits of course) it is fired in...

At any rate, with my RFB, this isn't a length issue anyway. It is a diameter issue. The case diameter at the base of the neck to be specific. I think my RFB chamber is a little oversized in this particular area... Havn't bothered to actually spec it and compare it to SAMI specs, because from a practical standpoint it dosn't really matter. Now that I know about it, I just don't work the brass in that area as there is no need...

 

[marukka2]

They are listed as the same, because for all practical purposes, they are the same... OOOH, that will probably start a food fight.

As ronmar said, they are essentially the same. There is a slight difference in headspacing, NATO is 0.0055" larger according to my Forster gauges, and a slight difference in pressure, NATO is aprox 1500 PSI lower.