N540

swarovski

Well-Known Member
I've ordered some to try in my 308,anybody else used it,mainly for target shooting,hoping I can find the magic load with it to send scenars out to 1000yds
 
Sorry not tried it, Hodgsdons Varget is what I stuff my .308 with. I use N160 in the .243 with great results
 
I like varget,top stuff but has a price tag to go with it,varget is around £100 a kilo,viht powders nearly half that if you buy a few kilos
 
N140 is good out to 600 but isn't working for me at 1000yds with scenars,I've tried some other powder which has been way better,am looking for around 2900 fps and accuracy,2520 works well,on viht data 540 ment to launch scenars at 2900,double based powder gets me there,2520 gives me that fps,loaded them with 45.5grs and I got 2950fps,haven't had to much time to test,I shortened the 45gr load I had and put 3 in the same hole nearly,will try the 45.5gr load with same oal,I've ordered the n540 and wondered if anybody has had good results with it,regards swaro
 
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you are aware of the double based powders reputation as barrel burners? if you want info on long range loadings then you could do worse than Full-Bore UK
 
How long is this barrel, what charge N140 are using at what length OAL?

Reason I ask is that I use N140 to 1000yds out of my TRG.

The 5 series are useful for bumping velocity but they can be a little peaky at the top end and you may find you get pressure signs on some rounds but not others loaded to the same spec.
 
I think it was max load going by viht data,43.4grs n140.think they were 2,880 oal,they did shoot 0.750 oai at 200yds but they were crap at 1000yds,I've shortened since twice and used 2520 and varget and had good results especially with 2520.varget smk load was awesome at 600 but same again at 1000yds,they were ok to good Id say,they are doing 2884 fps!ive loaded some to try that a club member uses,2520 load 45.5 grs and 20 fow shorter than ones I had good results with,his shot demon last time,will try them next time out,I've got enough of my other 2520 load to use if they don't shoot
 
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sweet load for a Sako TRG out to 1,000 as proven by 10 shooters at my club is a 155gn SMK or Scenar over 42.5gn of N135. I did a side by side comparison between 540 and 135 at Bisley.. all other specs identical... the 540 worked but was slightly unpredictable. The 135 was much much better.. the annual cup winners all seem to use 135...

Stop getting hung up on velocity, you don't need it.. try reigning things in a little and see what happens.. if 2,600fps works for 1,000yd Palma world champs, why would we know better!? My scores improved when I reduced my loads to achieve 2,600 at the muzzle with 155s, although I got better results with 175 SMKs out to 600.. didn't get chance to test at 1,000 for one reason or another. I spent 2 years trying to re-invent the wheel, then I realised, the wheel was fine as it was!

As has been said before, you are asking these questions on the wrong forum.. you won't find many long range target shooters here, they are mostly short range hunters... try UK Long Range, or even better Snipers Hide.
 
Hi vipa,if MV isn't important why did vince bottomly use 540 and ran his rifle at 3100fps when he became champ,I value your advice vipa,600 ain't a prob,
 
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you may be in danger of missing the trees for the wood... what is being said is,MV isn't everything, it is just part of the equation. do you have the same barrel length as Vince Bottomly? and are you able to shoot as well as him ? are you prepared to write off your barrel after a very short life, and live very close to the edge on pressure? there are many forums better able to discuss this subject, as has been previously stated this is primarily a hunting based forum, and long range target shooting is a discipline in itself .
 
Hi Kenny,I am not under any illusions that my rifle will achieve those mv's etc,am not expecting that because its totally different rifle,I thought double basesd powders achieved extra velocities with less pressures,I like target shooting as much as hunting,if I had to choose it would be hunting,I did try several times to get on ukvarminting but I must of done something wrong
 
I think it was max load going by viht data,43.4grs n140.think they were 2,880 oal,they did shoot 0.750 oai at 200yds but they were crap at 1000yds,I've shortened since twice and used 2520 and varget and had good results especially with 2520.varget smk load was awesome at 600 but same again at 1000yds,they were ok to good Id say,they are doing 2884 fps!ive loaded some to try that a club member uses,2520 load 45.5 grs and 20 fow shorter than ones I had good results with,his shot demon last time,will try them next time out,I've got enough of my other 2520 load to use if they don't shoot

43.4gr is not the max for N140 and a 155gr bullet and if you're loading long the book max is a moot point anyway.
Find the length that works for your rifle and get a chrono, guesses and book velocity are usually a long way out in my experience.
 
you may be in danger of missing the trees for the wood... what is being said is,MV isn't everything, it is just part of the equation. do you have the same barrel length as Vince Bottomly? and are you able to shoot as well as him ? are you prepared to write off your barrel after a very short life, and live very close to the edge on pressure? there are many forums better able to discuss this subject, as has been previously stated this is primarily a hunting based forum, and long range target shooting is a discipline in itself .
I think some of the negative press on double base powders is overstated. I think you'll find that most people who use them tend to load hot anyway and that's what causes wear i.e. if they loaded a single base hot it would create the same issue.

Also recall an article somewhere which found the claim to be false, of course I don't know who funded the study or who paid for the opposite page's advertising..... not that I'm cynical..
 
43.4gr is not the max for N140 and a 155gr bullet and if you're loading long the book max is a moot point anyway.
Find the length that works for your rifle and get a chrono, guesses and book velocity are usually a long way out in my experience.
I have tried them with more powder but I can't recall what grain age off hand,it might of been as much as 45.5,I gotta feeling that 43.4 was accuload fps going by sierra data,will check my log and report back
 
I have tried them with more powder but I can't recall what grain age off hand,it might of been as much as 45.5,I gotta feeling that 43.4 was accuload fps going by sierra data,will check my log and report back
Book accuload is not very meaningful I'm afraid.
 
It was 44.5grs of n140,they shot about 3 inch group at 200yds,so Milligan are you saying shoot diff seating depths til I get a small group then step up the powder
 
Hi vipa,if MV isn't important why did vince bottomly use 540 and ran his rifle at 3100fps when he became champ,I value your advice vipa,600 ain't a prob,

Vince Bottomly is a really nice bloke... he also shoots bench rest with barrels he makes himself out of very soft stainless... and using equipment you and I do not have (if you did you wouldn't be discussing it here on a hunting forum as you would have sunk your heart, soul and and bank account into it!) bench rest is a law unto itself and doesn't translate into real world shooting. When he gained the british record.. the conditions were perfect and the string of shots was all loosed in under 10 seconds... this is not the same type of shooting you or I do at 1,000 at Bisley where the wind has chance to change completely in between shots... If it is Vince you are trying to mimic, then you are in the wrong place, using the wrong equipment with the wrong method...

I think Roger Federer is a fantastic tennis player but I can absolutely guarantee that me going out and buying the same raquets and balls he uses WILL NOT turn me into a world class player. or any kind of player for that matter.... it is never, ever about the equipment... it can't be or we could all just go out, buy the same kit, use the same loads and be in the record books over night... and whilst I applaud you wanting to emulate Vince, unless you are going down the bench rest route, he is the wrong bloke to be copying!

Last time I sat down and discussed 1,000 yard loads with Vince we were talking about the exact same things you are talking about now... he recons 540 is great but using it won't get more than a few hundred rounds out of a barrel before it is scrapped.. he also loads with zero neck tension and uses the bolt closing to push the bullet into the lands and therefore seat the bullet consistently, that means if you open the bolt you pull the round and end up with an action full of powder and a projectile stuck in the barrel... none of this is very practical for day to day shooting! he also doesn't shoot .308 and hasn't for a long while!

Vince is a very talented benchrest shooter but whilst he is good, there are better out there in disciplines more akin to your shooting... you need to look towards the States and start looking at what the f and f/tr class shooters use and have success with... look at the US Palma team and see what they use... I think you will be very surprised at the MVs they end up working with and it is not always hot! You may also want to look at bullet stability rather than just BCs... Scenars are no where near as stable as SMKs but get glowing press because they have a better BC... you need to take a step back and ask yourself what's better... pushing and pushing to get as much speed as possible just so you can keep away from the transonic range with a scenar when you can go slower with an SMK and not really bother too much with transonics because the extra stability means it is less of an issue.. and pushing MVs to the kinds of levels you are would, to my mind sort of make the gains from the better BC rather pointless!

Look at - http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=cfrm/ for probably the largest collection of current and past REAL operators and world class competitive shooters or http://www.6mmbr.com/index.html which is dedicated to accurate long range target shooting...

Your questions will be better answered there by people who are passionate about that aspect of the sport.. Buy Bryan Litz's book and start learning about the theoretical side of exterior ballistics instead of going on what people think is the best option and trial and error, both of which will cost you a fortune and confuse you and ultimately get you nowhere!
 
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It was 44.5grs of n140,they shot about 3 inch group at 200yds,so Milligan are you saying shoot diff seating depths til I get a small group then step up the powder

In a word, yes.
I've found that once you've found a good length you can change charges quite significantly without any real difference in short range accuracy.
You need a chrono and testing at long ranges to see what variance and vertical spread you get.

3" group at 200yds isn't going to win you any awards I'm afraid; 1.5 minutes at 200yds will only open up further as the range increases and wind takes hold. Getting a bullet to 1000yds a fraction of a second quicker won't change that.

I do think Vipa has raised a good point, all things considered what are you realistically trying to acheive here?
Potential to go down a rabbit hole with little incremental improvement.
 
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