[dbach]

Loaded some .243 with the Varget yesterday. I was antsey and wanted to shoot the new rifle (new to me, I bought it at a pawn shop). Here is what I saw:

No signs of overpressure.
Rounds cycled well thru the rifles action.

Using a Hornady 87 grain V-Max, new Winchester brass, and WLR primers.

5 rounds at 37.5 grains Varget - tightest group, very little recoil and seemed to shoot the best.
5 rounds at 39.5 grains Varget - Scattered group did not shoot well at all.
5 rounds at 41.5 grains Varget - Even more scattered, not satisfactory.
All published loads (for 85 grain BTSP and found in the Speer #14 Manual.

So if I continue to use Varget, which is not likely, I'll keep the charge around 37.5 grains.

These were my first rifle reloads and I did have one issue. The problem came with not seating a few of the primers completely. I had a few that were sitting proud. These rounds would not chamber at all. It took me a bit, but I finally figured out what was wrong when I set the rounds down on a table and noticed they were rocking around : ) Duhh.

I have a RCBS Turret press and I have found that it takes a bit of extra effort to seat the large rifle primers correctly. All I had to do was press them a little deeper and the problem vanished. I also started using the RCBS hand press and I found it to be a little more user friendly. I also learned that loading for rifles is not fast. I hand primed and weighed each individual round. The benefit was accuracy. This ones a little hard to swallow but I do have a wittiness. At 100 yards and very little wind my first three shots were touching. The other two were within an inch.