On one hand we had some reloads based on a mates ‘secret recipe’ on the other – Hornady Whitetail 150gr Interlocks.
The rifle itself was fairly stock standard, Tikkas just tend to shoot without any fuss. We checked the screw torques, got it quickly zeroed, and shot a couple of groups. The results were a little surprising!
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Site supporters get to see the zeroing/test targets, ammo and velocity results and my thoughts on what I liked and what I would change with the rifle.
Results
Basically, the factory ammo left his reloads for dead.
I don’t know the process, how much load development was actually done, but the client was already pondering switching back to factory (he wasn’t reloading them himself) for simplicity and ease. The results confirmed and reinforced his decision!
- Ammo: Hornady Whitetail 150 gr Interlock
- Velocity: 2734fps SD of 18.2
The reloads were running at 2709 with a SD of 17.7fps. The difference in SD (and velocity) being negligible for a hunting rifle.
However – the groups –
The group on the left is the reloads, the group on the right, also being the final zero is the factory ammo. Now. That hole just under the centre is three rounds. And I called the one on the right. Just saying.
Zeiss Scope
Yeah. Fine. A little finicky to sort the zero stop out on these, and they require a posi-drive instead of allen key, like nearly every other scope on the market. But glass is ok, and everything seems to work like it should.
What would I change?
Dump the cheap bipod. I think I would prefer to shoot over a pack. I took it off for testing anyhow. So those results are ‘bagged’.
