Quote Originally Posted by Rucker61 View Post
Today, I loaded my first rounds ever. After spending time in January decapping, sorting, trimming, chamfering, pocket cleaning, degreasing and priming, I finally got to load my first rounds. I'm working to get the best rounds for both antelope and elk this fall, so I loaded up 5 rounds each of Barnes 150gr tipped TSX in Wincester brass and Federal 210 primers with 46, 47 and 48 grains of Varget. I also loaded 168gr Barnes TTSX in Federal brass with 43, 44 and 45 grains of RL15. Once I figure out which of those set ups I like best, I'll finish off the boxes of Barnes and load up the remainder of my powder with 150gr Hornady FMJ and 168gr Hornady AMAX for practice.
I usually like to ladder up in 1% jumps in rifle (and usually less as I approach max). In this case, half grain increments. You might skip right over your sweet spot (or the threshold for overpressure). What cartridge are we talking about here? .30-06?

Also - not trying to give you grief or anything, but you know the barnes all copper bullet is going to have a long bearing surface. What your gun likes for this probably won't be plug-and-play with a traditional fmj or amax of the same weight. No free lunch. Load development takes time and effort.


Good luck on shooting the first rifle loads. Be safe.