Its kinda funny that you ask about my go-to deer loads. I emptied out my hunting backpack a little over a week ago to stuff my clothing and other articles in to take to the hospital for my stay. My ammo was in it and I gave it a good look. Much to my surprise, it was not as I had recently reported in a different thread. I went for ultimate accuracy over ruggedness in not side crimping them as I thought I had. It was just taper crimped into a driving band groove. That provides a better hold on the bullet than when using a smooth sided bullet like the 250 FTX. Tucked away in a side pocket of the bag was my load info:
New Hornady Brass run through the resizer just the same, though it did not need it. First fired would suffice as long as its
thoroughly cleaned (before and after sizing). I might add that
all my brass, regardless of new or purchased as 1-fired, get their flash holes deburred using a KN tool. They also get their primer pockets normalized. (same depth, bottom of pocket squared off)
Remington 7 1/2 primer. IMHO, The Gold Standard for this caliber.
For the slightly faster than in the past, fresh batch of Lil Gun, 40gr gave the best accuracy:
(
1/2 Inch Grid)
If you will be hunting when it's blue ass cold, you should test your loads in temps that are as low as possible. This recipe is not nor should anybody's recipe be a substitute for testing in your rig, using your components. This is doubly important if your components are not the same as the ones in the recipe. I have
Zero experience with CCI primers. I have what works and no need to wander off the path.
I seat my 200 XPB bullets so that the most forward driving band groove is barely peeking out of the mouth, so that the taper crimp drives down into it. The COL I used was 2.18 inches. 2.20 would work just as well. Just don't completely bury the groove beneath the mouth. Set the seating die with your longest case in the batch you will be using.
As I always do, I double tap the taper crimp with a 90 degree rotation before the second stroke of the press. Force of habit... The end result is a crimp diameter, measured with an accurate micrometer as close to the mouth as humanly possible, of .474-.475.
Notes and Tips:
I have not gotten around to testing this recipe in my Bartz upper. It was originally developed using my "loosey goosey chambered", 20", 1:24 twist, Bushmaster upper with a Ross muzzle brake on the end. Any change in platform will invalidate the recipe and require re-working it up. IE a faster twist than 1:24 or Bolt Action vs SA. Reloading is all bout tailoring the load to what your rig likes, not just as a means of copying what works for someone else.
I have previously, and could have loaded this recipe hotter, but the load is plenty lethal at the 40gr speed, sub-MOA accurate and quicker to recover from in case I needed a second shot. A little more Lil Gun buys you a few more FPS while still throwing a 5-shot, 100yd, MOA or better group. Work up to it, using
consistent bench technique and let your rig tell you what it likes.
Sort you brass candidates by length. The degree of the taper crimp is proportional to the case length. If my cases are not precisely the same length, I set up my taper crimp die using the shortest one in the batch. That way, it will never be less diameter across the run.
If it takes (normally does) multiple passes of the press to get the crimp diameter down to where you want it to be, set that finished round aside for fouling the bore. Measure the next round after crimping it (remember double tap) to make sure it is the diameter you want and then run the rest of the batch. I say that because if it takes say 10 press strokes while adjusting the crimp die to where you want it to be, my experience has been that the next and subsequent rounds wind up being slightly different since they don't get 10 strokes of the press. Always minimize variations in the process to minimize variations in the end result.
Good luck and remember, a lethal load is no substitute for ethical, careful shot placement. If the shot window is not what you want it to be,
don't take the shot, despite your hormones screaming to the contrary.
Hoot