First Loads with the Remington 7600

It was a good thing I was held up Friday night from going hunting. Saturday morning found me pacing about, looking for-- I know! I'll load up some more 35 Whelen. I went downstairs and loaded up a second batch to try out. The first batch had been BL-C(2) under a 200 grain Rem Corelokt. I did the same, except substituted H4895. I was glad I did.

Angus and I left town around 11. I had to stop at Lennoxburg to pickup Mooseboy's venison. The first thing we did when we got to the farm was to break out the rifles. Folks have often opined that the Remington pumps are inherently accurate. I was quite pleased when the first shot at 100 yards with the BL-C(2) was on the paper. The groups were inch to inch-and-a-halfers with both loads. If it had not been for the crosswind, I knew I could have done
better. Then I set up the chronograph.

Guys, if you load and don't own a chronograph, you just aren't seeing what's really going on. Here I had two loads-- both printing well. One was printing high, the other was printing right. Both needed just a couple of clicks here and there to get them on the bull.

Which one was I going to choose?

The loading tables would have said the BL-C(2). It was supposedly faster than the H4895 by a sizeable margin with considerably less pressure. I had assumed a 5% reduction in each would have yielded similar results. Much to my surprise, the H4895 was a good 100 fPS faster than the BL-C(2) and predictably gentler on the shoulder. The BL-C(2) also had the widest variation in velocity. The low end was 2370 and the high was 2470, with the average running around 2410. THe H4895 also showed a tighter cluster centered on 2560, with one flier at 2605.

After cranking the numbers through Pointblank this morning, I a bit discouraged to find that the huge 140 fps amounted to less than a gnat's testicle in overall performance. Granted, I was putting an extra 200 ft/lbs on the target at 200 yards, but I doubt the deer would have noticed. It was not going to be turning this load from a bambi buster into a moose mauler.

Still, it was nice to know that I was getting that boost with less recoil, less powder and the same level of accuracy.

In the end, what do I think of 1B's slightly-used 7600? Compared to my old 742, the difference is night and day. I was forever fighting to maintain shootability with the 742. It was never a rifle I trusted out past 100 yards. The 7600 is shooting it's 35 caliber 200 grain loads with no more wear and tear on my shoulder than the 742 with moderate '06 deer loads. I cannot believe that I am all that good at reloading that I can take an unfamiliar rifle, a new caliber, and unfamiliar dies and bullets and crank out a one-inch group the first time with two different loadings without help. I was also surprised to find it even gentler on my shoulder than the 308 Savage 99 when shooting my 308-to-300 Sav downsized loads.

What do I think of 35 Whelen? If you stack a 35 Whelen up against a 30-06 in normal whitetail operating conditions, there is quite a bit more punch on the terminal end with little or no increase in felt recoil. Before stepping up to one of the new WSSSSSMS or SAUMS, I would reccommend this old wildcat-gone-legit.

All that remains now is to load up a bunch of the H4895 variants and sit back and wait for opening day. It will be interesting to see how it actually works on deer. In the meantime, thanks 1b!

. . .and a big thank you to KYHillChick for my best Saint Hubert's Day present ever!!!