by Hoot » Wed Apr 19, 2023 9:09 pm
A little late but better than never.
First Time out with the 22" Bolt Action 450b
While that thumb hole stock may look sexy, it used to house the same action, but with a .223 fluted bull barrel. In keeping with that previous caliber, the recoil pad was all but non-existent. More like a 1/4-3/8 inch rubber pad. Bad JuJu! After 15 shots of that, I remembered that I had a Limbsaver slip on pad in the truck door. By then, the damage was done and even with that, the recoil from this light weight rifle was only a little less brutal. I have to say, I've grown more sensitive to recoil over the years but the lack of a heavy weight, semi-auto action, really made a big difference in perceived recoil. More than I care to subject my shoulder, that I had surgery on, to. Think of me what you will but this barrel will be offered to a new home soon. It delivered impressive velocity and the same accuracy as the 20" AR15 with AR15 power loads but to be honest, its not worth it and this was with only 225gr FTX bullets. I continued to shoot another 12 shots with the Limbsaver, testing what behavior I could get with them loaded long, into the lands. That was my 2nd experiment. Unlike the first 15 shots, with the 225s seated to the cannelure, I took advantage of the increased powder capacity while dropping burn rate to take advantage of the 22 inch barrel and used H110. Lots of H110. Those were a ladder of 3-shots each increment from 47gr up to 48.5gr in half grain steps. Average velocities for 3 shots each started at 2682 and went up to 2764 then flattened out. While boasting impressive velocities, the endeavor was a waste of reloading components because quite honestly, those 225's don't like being loaded into the lands. While the loads seated to the cannelure and having a 38gr charge, Ala AR15, shot to excellent groups from .5 to .75 inches at 100 yds, the long, heavy charge loads all averaged around 2 inches at 100 yds. Plenty good enough for minute of deer but my hunting days are behind me due to my physical constraints. I've become more of a precision chaser with the other 5 calibers I'm experimenting with. I'll leave the fire breathing to you younger guys with good shoulders. Despite the effort swapping out barrels and taking one for the team, I'd say my short, happy life, with the bolt action 450b was educational but that's the only good thing I can say about it.
Before I forget. The velocity in that 1:16 twist barrel was higher than I ever got with the 1:24 AR barrel with 38gr of Lil Gun, even taking into consideration, the small amount of borrowed gas needed to cycle the action. Believe what you wish but I will continue to believe that the faster twist increases the pressure, which equates to higher velocity in this caliber.
Also, I measured the before and after diameter at the web on every shot, with a micrometer to evaluate case head growth with the heavier loads. My loads grew from starting at +.0002 to +.0005 inches with the heavy loads, which no doubt is a testimony to the tighter tolerance chamber afforded by a bolt action over an autoloader.
Rock on you bolt action fans!
Hoot
In Theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In Practice, there is.