GGG First Look - Part 2

On the range, On Target and Over the Chrono. 

Part 1: Photos and detailed measurements of GGG 'Imperial'. 
Part 2: On the range, On Target and Over the Chrono. 
Part 3: Components.
Part 4: Components - Brass.
Part 5: GGG: Gas! Gas! Gas!

Part 1 raised plenty of questions:

All these will have to wait.  Today was time to take it to the range. 

Fit and function.

The test rifle has a brand new Bartlein, literally straight from the Crisp Factory and freshly run-in.  Using FL-sized handloads I quickly learned that the chamber is a little tighter in the body (near the case head) than this rifle's last barrel, so I wouldn't be using the batch of handloads I'd intended to run alongside the GGG for comparison.  The good news for you, dear readers, is that there were no problems with the fit and function of the GGG in my new (tight-ish?) chamber, even at the end of the morning when 90+ rounds had fouled it.  My worries about bendy bullets sticking or slightly hard chambering seem to be unfounded. 

For those interested in the technical details the barrel is a Bartlein 1 in 13" .299 X .307.

On-Target Performance.

I am definitively not at my performance peak right now, but I shot a good set of elevations with GGG batch 100 at short range today.  I shot 4 x QI this morning, 2 of them with GGG.  After 500x the 2 GGG shoots both still had 105 in the gun, but at 600 the friskier wind started to get the better of me, and I remembered that after 10 shoots in a half day I do start to flag (I thought I would get away with it doing 2+7s, but alas I’m not so fit these days).  In summary, despite the wobbly bullets, short range performance was absolutely fine, and half minute groups were plentiful.  I've swallowed my pride and added the plots.  Scroll down to see them and have a laugh.

MV

At the end of the morning I fired a short set of rounds over the Magnetospeed chrono.  The sequence was to alternate 2 rounds of GGG (batch 100) then 2 rounds of RUAG (batch 60PG), in order to ensure that the barrel heating effects were similar.  Time was short, so I could only allow 50 seconds between shots, which did cause heating and increasing MV, as you can see in the chart.  In this test the GGG had 60 fps on the RUAG!  Though not statistically significant in the slightest, there was considerably more variation in the GGG.  Perhaps this may become apparent at long range, or it could easily be an anomaly.  Bear in mind that 60PG is one of the most highly regarded batches of RUAG we ever had;  I think it is the batch that was used in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

 
 GGG vs RUAG Velocity
 

Plots:

GGG Short Range Plots



Next: Part 3: Components.