My .30-30 Marlin 336 is my second oldest rifle, purchased in 1984 if my memory serves. It's also the rifle I've done the least amount of loading for, of any that I own. Been meaning to try the Hornady 160 grain FTX over LeverEvolution powder for quite some time now, and never got around to it until today.
The 7 shots you see all over the paper (1 is hard to see but is just off the paper right) are the Hornady/LeverEvolution loads. I had made up 5 seperate 7 shot batches, each charged with LeverEvolution in 1% increments to within 98% of listed max. All were loaded to Hornady specs. All 5 groups looked similarly ugly to this photo, as in wildly ugly.
Just when I was sure I must have shot something loose, I shot my usual 170 grain Hornady flat points over W748 as a control. Those 7 shots are all within 2 inches of each other. They represent a typical size grouping for my lever rifle, with some groups being somewhat better when the guy on the trigger does a better job. All at 100 yards.
Now I've seen "doesn't like" when it comes to handloads before. This one however, makes some bad loads look great, and has me scratching my head.
The 7 shots you see all over the paper (1 is hard to see but is just off the paper right) are the Hornady/LeverEvolution loads. I had made up 5 seperate 7 shot batches, each charged with LeverEvolution in 1% increments to within 98% of listed max. All were loaded to Hornady specs. All 5 groups looked similarly ugly to this photo, as in wildly ugly.
Just when I was sure I must have shot something loose, I shot my usual 170 grain Hornady flat points over W748 as a control. Those 7 shots are all within 2 inches of each other. They represent a typical size grouping for my lever rifle, with some groups being somewhat better when the guy on the trigger does a better job. All at 100 yards.
Now I've seen "doesn't like" when it comes to handloads before. This one however, makes some bad loads look great, and has me scratching my head.