Extended range session Accura

[GM54-120]

I finally got my cast 260gr .406 bullets resized to .401 and decided to up the powder charge to 105gr-110gr and used the modded CVA breach plug with Lehigh liner.

I was able to get the Lehigh 200gr DOA to stabilize but it needed 110gr of BH209 for good accuracy and the primers were beginning to show signs of high pressure. The same 110gr charge with my 260gr cast bullets were also showing some slight pressure signs on the primers.

The MMP tan 40/45 sabots worked best with the charges over 100gr. A few of the Harvester smooths were in pretty bad shape when the charge reached 110gr. Both were fine with 200gr or less bullets.

I did get 2 key holes with 90gr of BH209 with the Lehigh 200 DOA and 1 key hole on my WinApex using the 260gr and a 40/50 Crushrib with the same lighter charge.

I shot my best 200 yard group ever with the Lehigh 185gr DOA, 4 shots inder 2". 3 went under an inch on my best group. My best group with my 260gr cast was just over 2" for 3 shots and opened upto abut 3" with 4 shots.

I wasnt allowing enough time for barrel cool down either with the 260gr cast RNFP. I took my time with the 185gr Lehighs. We got upto 60F today

BTW the real surprise today (after bad reviews) was the 475/50 Harvester sabots and the Hornady .475 325gr XTP. I kept throwing a flyer on one shot but 2 were almost always touching. My WinApex with the modded BP really liked 100gr of BH209 and this bullet/sabot.

My very hard cast 200gr .429 spire points are showing some nice potential with some load development and cut really nice holes. I only tried them with 100gr of BH209 and the Harvester Green Crushribs. 3 shot groups were under 2" and a joy to shoot.

I will post some pics after i take a pain killer and get a shower. I am reallly sore atm. I burned a bit over a pound of powder total for 3 guns in roughly 3+ hours.

 

[saxman1]

Nice report
I have alot of luck with 90g BH-209 charges with a wide variety of bullets 200g's and under
The PR 195 Dead Centers are outstanding with the the 200g shock wave(non bonded) a close second
The 250's seem to prefer 100 - 110g
I have been using supplied sabots with all bullets but will soon be testing different ones in the 45 cal.
Great shooting my friend.

 

[GM54-120]

Some teaser pics

http://s39.photobucket.com/albums/e151/ ... 03-072010/

BTW the 45cal Powerbelt 300gr Platinums shot awesome too in the Accura. Well under 1.5" with 100gr of BH209 and no signs of high pressure on the primers.

Edit the PB 45cal 300gr Plats were right at 1". :yeah:

Target pics later...i need a break.

 

[saxman1]

Nice set up with the bullet box's
Stop teasing me

 

[GM54-120]

I forgot to mention the modded CVA plug worked flawlessly except with some WinT7 primers and BH209. I know they are not supposed to work but i wanted to try them with the modded plug.

Blowby in the WinApex was reduced by a fair amount and ignition in the Accura with any standard primer was perfect. Blowby in the Accura was about the same, which wasnt really bad to start with.

Heavy charges in the Accura 45 with heavy bullets was causing the primer to start to flow into the firing pin slot. So now i know the max charge is about 105gr BH209 with heavy 40cal bulets/sabots. The 300gr PowerBelts did NOT show this condition with 100gr charges.

90-100gr of BH209 have sofar been the most accurate with any bullet/sabot. Sadly im the only Accura 45 owner here so the info isnt that useful to others.

I only carefully raised the charges to push the plug to its limits and to get the Lehigh 200gr DOA to stabilize. It did but at this cost. The 185gr shot so well that i no longer think i have a need for the Lehigh 200 DOA until i get a faster twist 45. Even my cast 260gr need 90gr to shoot well, any less and the groups open up.

In my 50cal i tried 90gr and a 40/50 sabot and 1 of my .401 260gr cast key holed. The rest were not very accurate even with 100gr. Looks like its only going to work well in my 45 unless i up the charge or change sabots to MMP.

This was the first range session i had to dry swab the barrel in the 45. Sabots started getting tight after 30 shots but the Powerbelt shot very well with the heavily fouled bore. I dry swabbed it right after i tested the 45cal 300gr Powerbelt Plats and it was fine again.

Im not a PB fan but these are worth a try when on sale.

 

[saxman1]

I read your 45 cal reports with great intrest
My 45 is a Kodiak but I believe they have the same twist and barrel length so I apply what you have reported as a great starting point.
I have plenty of PB's in 45 and 50 cal but the heaviest is 270,I'll look for some 300's to test
I need to dedicate a range session to the PB's
I have killed several deer with them and would not hesitate to use them again.
I am not a fan of heavy recoil,In hunting situations I don't feel it anyway but I seem to get no better accuracy with charges above 110 so I stay in the 90 to 110 range and rarely go above that.
Still waiting to feel well enough to shoot the Accura for the first time
It will be soon,I pick it up everyday and polish it.
I have the same scope as you have on yours and also on my Optima 50cal,I shot my best group ever with it.I know it's only 50 yards but for me this is darn good shooting.

Great report as usual,now I have to go get some of those box's
What size/caliber are they?

 

[GM54-120]

Im fairly sure the 45cal 300gr PB Plat will perform just fine with even a 80gr charge. Recoil with this charge should be very tolerable. CVA data claims roughly 2000fps with the max allowed charge.

Remember a 45 "normally" will give better velocity with the same powder charge and bullet weight vs a 50cal. They build slightly higher pressures in the smaller bore and often dont need as much powder to achieve the same fps vs a 50cal. So the recoil might have a small reduction too.

My next session will be devoted to the 45 and 1 box of the 300gr PBs. I want to fine tune it for a good balance of accuracy and expansion. Sofar the accuracy is great, if the same charge passes my expansion test it done.

 

[frontier gander]

i got a bunch of the 223 and 300gr plats. The 300's perform excellent. I just need a damn 45 so i can test them out again!

 

[GM54-120]

I have to go get some of those box's
What size/caliber are they?

Some are Berry's 45 ACP or Cabelas 45 ACP boxes.

In 50 cal the best ive found are Berry's 50A&E. Most of the other 50cal ammo boxes are taller so they support 50S&W. They can spill too easy.

Plus the 54 sabots fit too.

I put a piece of foam in the top so they wont spill.

 

[saxman1]

i got a bunch of the 223 and 300gr plats. The 300's perform excellent. I just need a damn 45 so i can test them out again!

Just say the word and I'll send you my Kodiak.

 

[GM54-120]

Ok here are they best of the day and probably my life with any rifle. First i got my 50 yard groups into nearly one hole. There might have been 15-20 shots through it before this group. Then i only cleaned the flash hole and channel.

Accura 45 with 4x16x40 scope on a sled.

Lehigh 40-185gr DOA, 110gr BH209, Win209 primer, MMP tan sabot. Roughly 70F and a slight breeze. 3 minutes between shots.

Sabots and primers were starting to show some stress but still ok. The 200gr Lehigh was a little worse and managed 2 shots into about 1 3/4 but lost the other. Possibly tumbled, some did and some didnt.

These 40cal 185gr Lehighs are worth the money. :yeah:

 

[saxman1]

Great shooting

 

[cayuga]

that is some really good shooting...

 

[GM54-120]

that is some really good shooting...

I wish i could take the credit but it was on a sled. Credit goes to the quality of the barrel, bullet/sabot, powder (weighed) and the sled. I was trying to get in a 5 shot but a cease fire was called at 15min.

I highly doubt i could do this without a sled and a 16x scope.

By the end of the 3+ hour session i couldnt hit squat since i was fatigued and the beating from the GMB54-120 had taken its toll with max loads.

This is why i wanted a 45 though, long range shooting and its a winner for sure. Plus it has a bit less recoil. I cant come close to this with a 50cal and near max loads.

 

[tOSUSteve]

GM54-120 Can you elaborate on the modded breach plug or provide a link?

 

[drdtmd]

gm that is a awsome 200 yrd group.what's the twist is the accura 28?

 

[GM54-120]

gm that is a awsome 200 yrd group.what's the twist is the accura 28?

Yes 1-28 and the Lehigh 40cal bullets need to be driven hard. Even the 185gr needs roughly 100gr or BH209 for really good groups. A 1-24 or 1-26 would be ideal for this bullet and lower the amount of powder needed.

In a Knight 45cal you can drive them harder but in a CVA i strongly recommend caution when working up loads over 100gr in a 45cal.

 

[GM54-120]

GM54-120 Can you elaborate on the modded breach plug or provide a link?

Here are some of my pics. Ronlaughlin on the board did them for me. Please ask him for details since it is his work and deserves the credit.

Its basically a shim in the primer pocket and a removable Lehigh vent liner (flash hole). Plus the Flash "channel" is enlarged.

CVA plugs have a small 3mm flash "channel" and a flash "hole" under .030 which is only sub average quality for using BH209. Using T7 its fine. Enlarging both makes a huge difference in carbon build up and ignition. The vent liner is mainly used for changing hole sizes without further mods to the plug.

Plain non magnum primers are 100% ignition now and carbon builds up MUCH slower in the flash channel. The primer pocket shim keeps residue from getting in the breach...see my primer post if want to see nearly 100% clean primers.

Sabotloader also does the conversions and both are very good.

This is a collection of pics.

http://s39.photobucket.com/albums/e151/ ... nversions/

This is what the vent liner conversion looks like. I have the middle one and the right one. Both work very well without the shim but for a almost ZERO blowby the primer pocket needs a shim to tighten the head space.

Hope this helps and have a good one.

Scott

 

[GM54-120]

Powerbelt 45cal 300gr Plats

Im not a PB fan but these did shoot well and held onto 224grain. Not bad considering the 100gr of BH209. Plus the bore was very fouled and sabots were getting hard to load.

These really turn a 45cal into a thumper.

 

[frontier gander]

thats weird. i haven't experienced any carbon build up yet in my accuras BP with bh209. I figured after 20 shots i would have felt some. But thats a good thing i guess! If it aint broke, im not fixing it :lol:

great shooting. That 45 Accura seems to be a real winner.