$5.99 U.S./Canada

February 2011 No. 270Rifle Magazine Presents - HANDLOADER

Printed in USA7 25274 01240 4

0 2

$5.99

Reloading the Oddballs!

.300 H&HMagnum:Back In Style?

Loads for the

.32 H&R and

.327 FederalMagnums

Savage.22High

Power

It’s Back!Br o w ning’s

B78

4 Handloader 270

AMMUNAMMUNITITIONON REL RELOADING NG JOJOURURNAL AL

February 2011Volume 46, Number 1

ISSN 0017-7393 Issue No. 270

Background Photo: © 2010 Vic Schendel

24 7mm-08 RemingtonCartridge Board -Gil Sengel

28 AlliantPower Pro2000-MRPropellant Profiles -R.H. VanDenburg, Jr.

32 Seeing SightsPistol Pointers -Charles E. Petty

34 Hardballs andOddballsAdventures inMilitary PistolHandloadingMike Venturino

42 The BrowningB78 Is Back!A Classic Single ShotStan Trzoniec

50 Cast BulletsBelow the NeckA Quest for HuntingAccuracyJohn Haviland

58 .32 H&RMagnum and.327 FederalMagnumHandloadinga Pair ofWheelgunsBrian Pearce

8 John AmosNosler(April 4, 1913 -October 10, 2010)Reloader’s Press -Dave Scovill

14 ObsoleteLoadData?Bullets & Brass -Brian Pearce

18 Handloading TipsMike’s Shootin’Shack -Mike Venturino

20 HandgunBarrel Length Versus VelocityFrom the Hip -Brian Pearce

Page 58 . . .

Page 34 . . .

Page 66 . . .

Publisher of Handloader™ is not responsible for mishaps of any nature that might occur from use of publishedloading data or from recommendations by any member of The Staff. No part of this publication may be reproducedwithout written permission from the publisher. Publisher assumes all North American Rights upon acceptance andpayment for all manuscripts. Although all possible care is exercised, the publisher cannot accept responsibility forlost or mutilated manuscripts.

Issue No. 270 February 2011

AMMUNAMMUNITITIONON REL RELOADING NG JOJOURURNAL AL Publisher/President – Don Polacek

Publishing Consultant – Mark Harris

Editor in Chief – Dave Scovill

Associate Editor – Lee J. Hoots

Managing Editor – Roberta Scovill

Assisting Editor – Al Miller

Senior Art Director – Gerald Hudson

Production Director – Becky Pinkley

Contributing EditorsJohn Haviland Ron SpomerBrian Pearce Stan TrzoniecCharles E. Petty R.H. VanDenburg, Jr.Clair Rees Mike VenturinoGil Sengel Ken Waters

Terry Wieland

AdvertisingAdvertising Director - Stefanie Ramsey

stefanie@riflemag.com

Advertising Representative - Tom Bowmanbowman.t@sbcglobal.net

Advertising Information: 1-800-899-7810

CirculationCirculation Manager – Melinda Clements

circ@riflemag.com

Subscription Information: 1-800-899-7810www.riflemagazine.com

Handloader® (ISSN 0017-7393) is published bi-monthly by Polacek Publishing Corporation, dbaWolfe Publishing Company (Don Polacek, Pres -ident), 2180 Gulfstream, Ste. A, Prescott, Arizona86301 (also publisher of Rifle® magazine). Tele -phone: (928) 445-7810. Periodical Postage paid atPrescott, Arizona, and additional mailing offices.Subscription prices: U.S. possessions – single issue,$5.99; 6 issues, $22.97; 12 issues, $39.00. Foreignand Canada – single issue, $5.99; 6 issues $29.00; 12issues, $51.00. Please allow 8-10 weeks for firstissue. Advertising rates furnished on request. Allrights reserved.Change of address: Please give six weeks notice.

Send both the old and new address, plus mailinglabel if possible, to Circulation Dept., Handloader®

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Wolfe Publishing Co.2180 Gulfstream, Ste. APrescott, AZ 86301Tel: (928) 445-7810 Fax: (928) 778-5124© Polacek Publishing Corporation

Page 34Page 76Page 58

Background Photo: © 2010 Vic Schendel6 Handloader 270

66 Savage .22High PowerThe FrustratingLittle “IMP”Terry Wieland

76 .300 Holland &Holland MagnumLoads for theRetro-CoolJohn Barsness

84 From theFrugal ReloaderReader Research -David Chadwick

89 2010 Master Index

90 On the Sideof CautionIn Range -Terry Wieland

On the cover . . .The Browning B78 .223 Remington isoutfitted with a Leupold 3-9x CenturyLimited Edition 40mm scope in Le-upold rings and bases. Photo by Stan Trzoniec.

Page 76 . . .

Page 28 . . .

14 Handloader 270www.handloadermagazine.com

Q: I have been subscribing

to gun and reloading maga-zines since the late 1960s and be-came involved in reloading in1969 using RCBS equipment aftervisiting with Mr. Huntington inOroville, California. I follow yourarticles in Handloader magazineavidly upon receipt.

I’ve been reloading for revolvers since 1969,using Lyman and Speerreloading manuals (aswell as others) as aguide. I have noticedover the years that asnew reloading manualsare published (even thesame brand) the recom-mended loads for thesame powder (say, Her-cules or Alliant Unique)have been reduced. Forexample when loadingfor the .44 Special and.44 Magnum, as well as.45 Colt, maximum listedloads now contain less powderthan data from 40 years ago.

Does this mean the compositionof the powder has changed re-quiring less powder weight forthe same bullet? Would it followthen that older manuals actuallybecome obsolete? I still have mySpeer Number 8 manual, eventhough I’m using the Speer Num-

ber 13 now. Or have we becomemore conservative in our publi-cations due to the litigious natureof our society in the twenty-firstcentury?

Keep up the writing. Your arti-cles are first read quickly andthen studied!

– I.O., Stamps AR

A: Thank you for your kind re-

marks. You raise some excellent

questions that are pertinent to

to the original formula. With

that said, lot to lot number vari-

ations will give different results,

and in working with many

powders that were around 40+

years ago, some have certainly

had their composition changed

enough to require an adjust-

ment in the powder charge.

Regarding your questions

about the changing or reduced

data found in credible reload-

ing/handloading manuals, I am

unaware of manuals that are

reducing loads due to law-

suits. On the other hand, meth-

ods of measuring pressures

has largely changed from cop-

per units of pressure (CUP) to

today’s handloaders. In some in-

stances, powders have changed

enough to warrant a reevalua-

tion of proper powder charges.

For example, approximately a

decade ago, Alliant Unique was

“cleaned up” to burn cleaner, but

the burn rate remained similar

pounds per square inch (psi) in

the past 40 years, with the lat-

ter version being a much more

precise method. Industry stan-

dard pressures for many car-

tridges have also changed, which

has naturally affected handload

data.

Since you mention the

.44 Magnum, let’s con-

sider that in 1970 its

maximum average pres-

sure was 43,500 CUP,

whereas today it has

been changed to 36,000

psi. Regarding the .44

Special and .45 Colt

cartridges, there was a

time when reloading

manuals commonly of-

fered data that exceeded

industry pressure lim-

its, and without ex-

planation as to the

strength of specific re-

volvers. Today, most

manuals stick with

SAAMI guidelines, or at least

categorize data as to the strength

of different firearms. For in-

stance, the Speer Reloading Man-ual #14 lists standard pressure

.45 Colt loads but also offers

data specifically for Ruger and

Thompson/Center guns that ex-

ceeds industry guidelines. For

what it’s worth, I always suggest

using the latest data or manu-

als, with fresh components.

.32 WCF VERSUS

.327 FEDERAL

Q: I recently acquired a .32 WCFrevolver with 51⁄2-inch barrel fromUSFA with an extra cylinder for.327 Federal Magnum. I mightadd that this is a mighty finelooking revolver too. My questionis about using the gas checks asyou referenced in Handloader

BULLETS & BRASS by Brian Pearce • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

OBSOLETE LOAD DATA?

The latest reloading manuals areup to date with scientifically

developed pressure test methodsand should supercede older

manuals and data.

February-March 2011 15www.handloadermagazine.com

pose cast bullet would be the

Lyman/Keith mould 454424.

With any of the above 250-grain

bullets, try 7.0 grains of Alliant

Power Pistol or 6.2 grains of

Hodgdon Universal. Your Tau-

rus Tracker .45 ACP is safe with

+P-type loads.

.357 MAGNUM

Q: I have a couple of questionsregarding the Registered Magnumarticle. What load did you use totake the mule deer with the 4-inch gun? Also, you wrote thatthe Lyman cast bullet from mould358429 (173-grain Keith) could beseated and crimped over the for-ward band, but in an older articleI found that you wrote that youcould trim the .357 Magnum casedown to a case length of 1.200inches so the cartridge will fitinto older Smith & Wesson N-frames. Using Alliant 2400 pow-der and the above 173-grain castbullet, which would be better asfar as pressure?

TAURUS TRACKER .45 ACP

Q:: My 35-year subscription toHandloader does not have the in-formation I am looking for sohope you can help. I recently pur-chased a Taurus Tracker .45 ACPwith a 4-inch barrel and stainlesssteel construction. Do you haveany data for 150- or 155-grain bul-lets and 250-grain bullets? I amalso wondering if this gun canhandle +P data?

– J.D., Littleton CO

A: You don’t specify what type

(cast or jacketed, manufacturer,

etc.) of bullets you want to use

or the velocities you desire. A

place to start with the 150- to

155-grain versions would be 6.3

grains of Winchester 231 pow-

der. Regarding a load for a 250-

grain bullet, again you don’t

specify any particular type you

want to use. In jacketed versions

I would suggest either the Speer

Gold Dot HP or Hornady XTP-

HP, while a good general-pur-

No. 258. Neither Lyman nor Hor-nady offer a .32-caliber gas check(.311 to .313 inch), so I am won-dering what was used on the 116-grain bullet mentioned in thearticle? Thanks.

– K.J., via e-mail

A: Lyman and Hornady each

offer .30- and .32-caliber gas

checks. The .30-caliber versions

are designed for .308/.309-inch

bullets but also work on most

cast bullets for the .32 WCF

(aka, .32-20 Winchester), which

are generally .311 to .314 inch

and have the bases cut to accept

the .30-caliber checks. The .32-

caliber gas checks are primarily

for the .32 Winchester Special

(.321 inch) and the various

8mm rifles (usually around

.323 inch).

I have used both Hornady

(crimp on) and Lyman gas

checks in developing .32-20

handloads, with each giving ex-

cellent results.

Handloader 270

I also have a Smith & WessonModel 27-2 .357 Magnum with a31⁄2-inch barrel, which is turningout to be exceptionally accurate,and I am thinking of trying totake a whitetail deer with it. Herein the Adirondack Mountains, theranges never really get longerthan 40 to 50 yards at most, andthis gun is easily accurateenough at that range. I was think-ing of the Lyman bullet 358429for the task. Any help would begreatly appreciated.

– D.L., New York

A: The spike mule deer you in-

quired about was taken with a

Smith & Wesson “Registered

Magnum” with a 4-inch barrel at

around 70 yards. The handloads

consisted of 1975-vintage Brown-

ing cases, 14.5 grains of Hercules

(now Alliant) 2400 powder, cast

bullets from RCBS mould 38-150-

KT (now known as the 38-150-

SWC) that weigh 158 grains from

my mould and alloy, and Federal

100 primers. Velocity from the

Smith & Wesson was 1,360 fps. I

loaded 1,000 rounds for supply

purposes back in 1984, and it

was time to rotate stock. Since it

shot well in the Smith & Wesson,

the gun was sighted and carried

during Idaho’s fall hunting sea-

son. I tried to get within range of

a mature buck, but that didn’t

work out, so I settled for the

spike. The bullet punched through

both lungs and exited on a near

broadside shot. The buck crossed

the creek and began climbing the

mountain but collapsed and ex-

pired within 60 or 70 yards from

where he was shot.

The old Lyman/Keith cast bul-

let 358429 is an excellent bul-

let for big game. It penetrates

straightly and deeply and is pre-

ferred over the above 158-grain

bullet based on greater penetra-

tion and ability to break bone.

When loaded in .357 cases and

crimped in its crimp groove or

cannelure, it is too long to be

used in the old short cylinder

N-frame Smith & Wessons (in-

cluding Registered Magnums,

Models 27 and 28). The best op-

tion is to trim .357 cases to be-

tween 1.2 to 1.22 inches, then

crimp in the groove, which short-

ens the overall cartridge length to

1.58 to 1.60 inches, which will

chamber in the above guns. In

effect this tailors the overall car-

tridge length to maximize per-

formance in the short cylinder

N-frames. Loaded in this fash-

ion, the bullet’s front driving

band will help center it in the

throat and thus the bore. With

cases trimmed and bullets seated

in the above fashion, I would

suggest using 13.5 to 14.0 grains

of Alliant 2400 or 14.0 grains of

Accurate Arms No. 9, each capped

with a standard nonmagnum

CCI 500 primer.

Another option to use the above

173-grain bullet is crimping

over the front driving band,

which substantially decreases

powder capacity, and charges

must be reduced accordingly.

Loaded in this fashion some

guns will yield better accuracy

than others. Nonetheless, it is an

effective hunting load that does

not require the time-consuming

job of trimming cases.

Many gun writers from yester-

year (including Elmer Keith)

promoted using this bullet in

.38 Special cases with powder

charges that approached full-

house .357 Magnum loads. These

were good loads, and I person-

ally have fired many thousand

rounds through a variety of six-

guns, but there are a couple of

potential problems. First, .38

Special cases vary greatly in

strength, so the loads have the

potential to rupture weaker

cases, and case life is usually

very short. Second, due to the

reduction in case capacity, pres-

sures can exceed SAAMI guide-

lines for the .357 Magnum.

Finally, there is always the pos-

sibility that one of these .357

Magnum loads with a head-

stamp marked “.38 Special”

could find its way into a .38

Special revolver that cannot

handle such pressures.

Good luck on your deer hunt

in the beautiful Adirondack

Mountains!

16 www.handloadermagazine.com

When the 173-grain Lyman/Keithbullet 358429 (center) is crimpedin its crimp groove, the overallcartridge length (left) is too longfor Smith & Wesson N-frame .357Magnum revolvers, including theModels 27 and 28. The bullet canbe seated deeply, then crimpedover the front driving band (right)to shorten the overall length.

•

A ClassicSingle Shot

On the Browning B78,polishing is all first-class,wood is better than select,and the fit and finish areperfect in all respects.

Handloader 270

The BrowningB78 Is Back!

February-March 2011 43www.handloadermagazine.com

Stan Trzoniec

After nearly 30 years, the cov-

eted Browning B78 is againavailable through select

Browning dealers. Since I haveBrowning catalogs dating back tothe mid-1960s, it was easy to trackthe introduction, lineage and car-tridge availability of this rifle.

It first appeared in the 1973 catalog in .22-250Remington, 6mm Remington, .25-06 Remington and.30-06. With your choice of either a round or octago-nal barrel, suggested retail was $247.50. Along witha few shotguns and .22 rimfire rifles, these were theonly new items released that year.

Naturally, with such an introduction, accoladesflowed on page 34. Browning used such phrases as“one clean, well-placed shot,” which was the “creedof the new Browning B78 rifle.” It boasted of a clas-sic falling-block action, crisp grooved trigger and“right up to snuff” on accuracy, thanks to a longer26-inch barrel and a strong lockup. To cinch the deal,Browning offered the B78 with a high-grade piece ofwood, blued and polished “like a Browning.”

A few years later, cartridge offerings were in-creased to include the 7mm Remington Magnumand .45-70 complete with a straight pistol grip and acrescent buttplate. A year later, the .243 Winchesterappeared. Then, after a decade of production, the

Handloader 270

rifle was dropped from the linearound 1982 with inventory car-rying into 1983.

With its strong action, goodlooks and Browning quality, thisnew version has found a home inmy gun rack in spite of somechanges to its original design.For one, the barrel is only avail-able in a round configuration,limited to 24 inches and free-floated. The forearm is mountedon a hanger with two screws andis easily removed for cleaning.

BrowningB78

The B78 .223 Remington (top) is similar to the previously catalogedBrowning Lo-Wall .22 Hornet.

Behind the falling block is a diverter to guide the spent cartridges either to a full stop or left or right.

The hammer has been cockedsimply by working the action.Opening the action to place acartridge in the breech alsococks the hammer. There is noexternal safety; the only safetyon this rifle is the half-cock posi-tion of the hammer.

There are three panels of cutcheckering on the forearm, allcut after the finish was applied.

Pushing the underleverdown lowers the falling

block and cocks the action.

ply of checkering on both theforearm (three-panel) and pistolgrip. In typical Browning fashion,it is complete with a border andSchnabel forend. Mimicking itspredecessor, there is a MonteCarlo comb, cheekpiece and pis-tol-grip cap. Pachmayr flushmount sling swivels are includedalong with a classic recoil padwith a black spacer.

For operation, you cannot askfor anything smoother. Pushingthe underlever down lowers thefalling block and cocks the ac-tion. Place a cartridge into thebreech then raise the lever, andthe ejector rides over the rim ofthe cartridge. In keeping with theoriginal model, there is no out-ward safety lever. Moving thehammer to the half-cock positionduring field use sets the hammeraway from the firing pin, and ei-ther lowering the underleveragain to load or pulling the ham-mer to its full rearward positionallows the gun to fire.

The B78 comes from the factorywith an adjustable trigger, whichI adjusted to its lower limit ataround 31⁄2 pounds. Although amite heavy for varmint shooting,the wide face of the trigger itselfand the small amount of slack before the sear broke made ithighly predictable at the range.

For convenience, there is a casedeflector. Leaving it in the fac-tory default position allows thecase to be trapped in the action

Out of the box, the rifle is idealin every way. The polishing andbluing on the receiver, lever andbarrel are smooth and deeplyblued. The wood (according toBrowning) is between Grade IIIand IV, and my rifle came with anice amount of feathering fromcomb to butt, nicely colored andfinished with a glossy coating.There is more than an ample sup-

www.handloadermagazine.com44

February-March 2011 45www.handloadermagazine.com

for easy picking. However, with ascope mounted, I turned the de-flector to the left, allowing thecases to come back and out foreasy removal.

Sans optical gear, this gunchecks in at around 8 pounds, 6ounces, depending on the high-grade wood. With a scope, ringsand bases installed, it weighsaround 91⁄2 pounds.

Browning has thoughtfully in-cluded scope mounting baseswith the B78, but since I wantedto match the original look of therifle, I opted for high-glossBrowning rings and a two-piecebase by Leupold, stock number50012. To finish off the sightingsystem, I attached a LeupoldCentury Limited Edition 3-9x40mm scope that matched thebluing perfectly.

My B78 is chambered for the.223 Remington. Among myfriends there seems to be a love-hate attitude with the .223. Manypooh-pooh it as just anothercommon varmint cartridge with amilitary heritage. They lean to-ward newer offerings like the.204 Ruger or the .223 WSSM. Sobe it. I still like the looks and per-formance of the .223 for myneeds here in New England, andconsidering it is still very popu-lar, a lot can be said for a car-tridge now going on its sixthdecade of service to civilian andarmed forces alike.

With the summer underway, myplan was simple. Research theone bullet that has gained favorwith me over the course of thelast year, grab a handful of pro-pellants, benchrest primers,some unfired cases put away fora rainy day, and have at it. Later Icould always fine-tune the loads.But for those with a limited timeframe, this method will work thebest.

The bullet chosen for the taskwas Hornady’s 52-grain A-MAXMatch. It has served me well inboth accuracy testing and smallgame hunts around the North-

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Handloader 270

Specifications:Browning B78 Rifle

Type: single shot, falling block rifleCaliber tested: .223 RemingtonCapacity: one roundBarrel length: 24 inchesOverall length: 40 inchesWeight: 8 pounds, 6 ounces (no scope,

rings, bases or ammo)Finish: deeply blued action, glossy

finished stockStock: Grade III/IV woodSights: none furnished, one piece base

and rings includedTrigger: gold plated, wide, adjustablePrice: $1,379Manufacturer: Browning Arms Co.

www.browning.com

Movement of the underlever wassmooth as silk, and metal polish-ing was perfect.

The new Browning features an internal hanger to which the forearm is attached. Two screws hold the forearm securely, and the barrel isfree-floated.

Behind the trigger is the adjust-ment for weight of pull. Stan adjusted his to 31⁄2 pounds. Gold-plated triggers are a Browningtradition.

A Schnabel forend and flush-mounted sling swivels are standard.

east. For some reason, this bulletfeels at home with a multitude of powders regardless of the .22-caliber gun I’m loading for.Remington Small Rifle Bench-rest primers and Federal’s .223Remington nickel cases were onhand, and powders run thegamut from IMR-4198 (fast) toIMR-4320 on the slower end. Inall, I have a baker’s dozen on my

BrowningB78

loading bench to wring out in thenew B78.

Since I’m only using one bullet,I spent some time lamenting overthe proper overall case lengthwith the bullet inserted. Accord-ing to the manuals, when usingthe .223 Remington, a good placeto start is with an overall lengthof 2.230 inches, which places thebase of the bullet down aroundthe lower shoulder area of thecase. Another option is to havethe bullet just touch the lands,and in this case, it seems the B78has a rather long throat, as Iseated the bullet out to 2.410inches before it was hitting thelands. Using that overall loadedlength as a guide, the bullet wasseated into the neck .125 inch –too little for field use. I then set-tled on an overall length of 2.350inches, which places the base ofthe bullet at the junction of thecase neck and shoulder, or ap-proximately one bullet diameterinside the case.

I would prefer to seat the bulletlevel with the neck and shoulderof the case. In this way (my the-ory), the force of the expandinggas hits the bullet squarely, re-sulting in a more uniform per-formance downrange. Combinethis with a charge that is .5 grainunder maximum, it seems every-thing comes together in a moreaccurate fashion. Years of shoot-

www.handloadermagazine.com46

February-March 2011

small rifle BR-4s; Remingtoncalls its competitive primer the71⁄2, Federal has the 205M.

Out of the 16 powders listed byHornady for its 52-grain A-MAX, I had 13 in stock. With the excep-tion of a few of the larger grainedbrands, (IMR-3031, for instance)all metered smoothly and with-out much adjustment of the powder measure or the tricklerbetween selections. Most filled

facilitate a smoother ride up andinto the top of the die, withoutthat annoying “bump.” You nowcan set the parameters of necksizing more precisely and with-out that annoying jolt every timethe expander comes up and outof the spent case.

With the case coated with sootfrom a candle or lighter, makesure the die only reaches thevery top of the shoulder – evenless would be better. Keep inmind that since we are neck siz-ing only, the rest of the caseshould remain untouched, as thisis the purpose of fire-forming followed by neck sizing only.With the die set to neck-size only,replace the decapper and sizeone or two cases. Try them in the chamber, and if they fit okay,finish all the cases before mov-ing on.

When all the cases are cleaned,I check overall length, trim ifnecessary and start priming. Withthe B78 and the .223 Reming-ton being used for varmint hunt-ing only, I like to use benchrestprimers, since they deliver amore consistent result. If you arepartial to CCI, you can use its

the case right up to the base ofthe neck, and again, the excep-tions were IMR’s 3031, 4895 and4320, which filled the case to thepoint of compression. Regard-less of what powder is used, precision starts at the loadingbench, especially with smallercartridges. Drop the charges likeyou always do, but do it within .5grain of the desired charge weight.Use a powder trickler to bring

ing have proved this to work re-peatedly, especially in smallerbore rifles.

To speed up the fireformingprocess, I used Hodgdon’s H-335powder to charge all the caseswith 24.0 grains; H-335 flows likewater, which frees the hand-loader from checking every caseto ensure the proper amount ofpowder has been dropped ineach. Arriving home, insert thesizing die into the press minusthe decapper. Screw the diedown until it bottoms out on the shellholder, back it off a fewturns, which so far is the ac-cepted practice in setting up theloading sequence. The reason fornot including the decapper is to

47www.handloadermagazine.com

Sans optical gear, thisgun checks in at around

8 pounds, 6 ounces.

Stan used a baker’s dozen of modern powders while working up .223Remington loads.

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48 www.handloadermagazine.com

bullet, the seater was adjusted toan overall cartridge and bulletlength of 2.350 inches. Evenwhen neck sizing the .223 Rem-ington cases, the design of theseHornady bullets with the beveledbase makes bullet seating apleasure even with the tight con-straints encountered on some ofthe smaller loading presses. To

finish, all loads were cataloged,put into individual envelopesready for the range.

Book velocity (from the loadingmanual) versus actual velocity at the range was close in mostcases, considering the B78 has a24-inch barrel as opposed to Hor-nady’s 26-inch machine rest bar-rel. For top velocities, powders

the charge up to the final weight,and for accuracy testing, do it onall cases with all powders.

Seating of the bullet is next, andsince I’m working with only one

BrowningB78

Hornady’s .224-inch A-MAX boat-tail was used with good results. Diesare from RCBS.

With the bullet seated for anoverall cartridge length of 2.350inches (below left) its base isflush with the neck and shoulderjuncture. Seating the bullet toodeeply in the case exposes muchof the side and base of the bulletto expanding gas (right).

A .75-inch group was the resultof 26.5 grains of BL-C(2) and aHornady 55-grain A-MAX.

Loads for the Browning B78book actual

bullet powder charge velocity velocity group(grains) (grains) (fps) (fps) (inches)

52 Hornady A-MAX Match IMR-4198 21.0 3,100 3,041 1.500VV-N130 21.3 3,100 3,063 1.500IMR-3031 24.8* 3,300 3,246 1.000H-322 24.3 3,200 3,112 1.000VV-N135 23.7 3,100 3,078 .875Benchmark 24.0 3,100 3,024 1.250H-335 24.3 3,100 3,134 .875AA-2460 26.3 3,300 3,412 1.000BL-C(2) 26.5 3,300 3,062 .750**Varget 25.1 3,100 3,001 1.250IMR-4895 26.4* 3,200 3,167 1.500W-748 27.9 3,300 3,397 1.500IMR-4320 27.2* 3,200 3,309 .875

55 Hornady V-MAX factory load 3,240 3,153 1.500* compressed load

** best accuracy load

Notes: All cases were new Federal .223 Nickel Premium. Remington 71⁄2 primers used throughout. Allloads seated to 2.350 inches. Testing was three-shot groups at 100 yards with velocities recorded onan Oehler Model 35P Chronograph.

Be Alert – Publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in published load data.

February-March 2011

Inspecting all cases I found noflattened primers, and there wereno ejection problems, even withthe three com pressed loads. Allcases looked normal, no splitcase mouths appeared after theinitial fireforming session, and interestingly, if you average thevelocities of all 13 loads you endup with a mean of 3,157 fps. Win-chester 748 drove the Hornadybullet highest to 3,397 fps; Vargetthe lowest to 3,001 fps.

Looking back, a lot can be saidfor the Browning B78/.223 Rem-ington combination. The rifle hasbeen absent from the scene fartoo long, and Browning certainlydeserves a pat on the back for itsreturn. According to RCBS, the.223 Remington still holds thenumber one spot in reloading diesales even if it has been pushedup there by the recent surge inmilitary type firearms.

In any event, I’m more thanpleased with the outcome ofboth. The B78 is a dream cometrue for me and combined withthis popular .22-caliber cartridgeis not only more than accuratefor my needs but will also giveme more time and pleasure in thefield than I deserve.

like Accurate 2460, Winchester748 and IMR-4320 in most casesexceed the book by 100 fps ormore, which could add some ele-vation to bullet travel as well as a quicker downrange time to thetarget.

Using one bullet with a widerange of propellants puts themost accurate out front the firsttime around. For varmints, I likerifles that will shoot under aninch or less consistently, and withthe B78, BL-C(2) was the pick ofthe litter with the Hornady bul-let. Although I could use a bitmore push behind this bullet, I’mhappy with any .22 projectilecruising along at 3,000+ fps whiledelivering groups around .75 inchor less downrange.

Opening the groups slightly to.875 inch, three came forward forthe count using Vihtavuori N135,H-335 and trusty IMR-4320. Outof this bunch, the latter producedthe highest velocity across theOehler Model 35P chronograph.Still more favorites came to theforefront. Propellants like IMR-3031, H-322 and AA-2460 hit themark with Benchrest and Vargetnudging the one minute-of-anglerequirement on a windless, 75-de-gree day.

49www.handloadermagazine.com

The new Browning B78 single shot produced groups that ran under an inch.

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