With how the 28 is built, you will want really slow burning powders. Retumbo, N570, STABALL HD, to name a few. They work best with those 175-180gr bullets. Happy grouping!
I have set up four of these rifles and own one myself! I run 87 gr RL 33 with the Berger 195EOL and all of them are subminute. With the junk stock which I hate. Really like the looks of yours and I might upgrade.
Fellow handloader and tinkerer here. I think you are definitely on to something with the limited mag length, and bullet choice. It's aggravating when manufacturers hamper a rifle with a short magazine with a long cartridge, and potentially longer throat/Freebore. I would try some different bullets, which obviously you will. And don't be afraid of cup and core, use the right bullet for the task at hand, and marksmanship will matter more then the slug. I believe you have the right powder. H1000 has been magic for me in various 300 magnums and 7mm magnums. On your comments about recoil comparisons with your other rifles, I have had similar experience. I had a 7mm STW once, in a Weatherby Accurmark, it was a beautiful rifle, but it would not shoot anything, and I mean anything worth a damn under 175 grains bullet wise. 175 grain Sierra Game Kings, Nosler Partitions, Nosler Accubonds, Hornady Interlocks, would cut a nice little half inch group, but anything lighter, forget it. Also, the recoil, it was rather sharp, I have heavier kicking rifles but it was not fun to shoot. In the end I traded it off, it was a beautiful rifle, but rather big and heavy, and it didn't do anything my .300 Winmag, didn't do, which also kicks noticeably less. In the STW, I was shooting 175 Accubonds at 3,075 fps. My .300 Winnie shoots the same style bullet in a 180 grain at 3,124, and yes that sounds hot, and my .300 is a custom rifle, but that is where she runs good. Anyway, keep at it, you will figure it out. Some rifles are a slam dunk right away, and others take a bit of work, and make you question your sanity for going to the trouble, I just did that with an old Browning in 7mm Rem mag, but I finally found what she likes. Every rifle is a world unto itself.
I have the 300 wsm version. Recoil isn’t bad. I am yet to find a factory offering that is consistent out of the rifle. Results vary from one range visit to another. My general consensus is the 180 grain federal fusion is about the best at 1-2 moa at 100 yds. Hornady Precision Hunter 200 and Norma bondstrike 180 are 1.5-2.5 moa. Winchester 150 copper is closer to 3 moa. I have some Federal Premium Berger 185 and Remington Premier Scirocco to try, but don’t have high hopes. I did drop it into an MDT LSS and didn’t see any changes in accuracy from the factory Tupperware stock. This is the first Savage I have owned that isn’t sub moa. I’m interested to see if you can get this one to shoot.
@@ReloadingWeatherby after almost a year, I have struck gold! The Remington Premier Scirocco 180 grain shot 2 - 3 shot groups under .35 inches at 100 yards. The Federal Premium Berger 185 shot 1 - 3 shot group under .5 inches and second right at an inch. Both turned in 200 yard 3 shot groups under 1 inch. Today I shot from bags with my Dead. Air can. It was about 90 degrees and 90% humidity. I would like to replicate these loads as buying them on a regular basis will be difficult from a supply perspective. If you have any recommendations, I am all ears.
I've had the exact same results with my 300 wsm 110 ultralight!!! I've tried far too many different brands and haven't been happy until I tried the 180 gr swift Scirocco!!! It groups great but I'm a little worried about expansion on our thin skinned deer
@@dereknoble8374 I have the same concern about using Scirocco’s on my Texas sized whitetail. However they should work great on Nilgai, Aoudad and Eland.
@@robertneal4112 yeah I think they may be a great bullet for most anything with a thicker hide and crushing bone. Maybe they'll work good on our local thinner skinned critters. They darn sure group great for me!
Savage basically has two stocks - the flimsy/cheap AccuFit (or Axis) and the nice AccuStock with the mini chassis inside. I like the AccuStock because it is stiff and easy to customize the fit.
I'm running 2 Proof bbls in 28 Nos and have done a lot of load development. You might have luck with Retumbo, N570, RL33 or StaBall HD and 190-195 grn projectiles. They seem to like the heavies at around 2,950-3,050 fps. ADG brass runs really well for this cartridge.
I wanted to chime in about the Hornaday eldx factory ammo. I have a 70's Ruger m77 30-06 22 inch none floating barrel, I haven't tried a whole lot of ammo choices but after eldx came out I got a box of the 30-06 178 gr my rifle couldn't print good at all, I through in a 165 gr or 150 core lokt, sst and I get half moa all day with proper cooling between, I believe it is twist rate plus 2 inch shorter barrel, I have had good luck with 180 core lokt under 1 on. So i know how your dad feels
With vertical stringing id try it again with different shooting techniques, check bedding, etc. the 77-78 grain area may be good just something throwing shots. Certain guns i have need me to hold forend down some else they get jumpy and string shots. And with 28 noslers, may need alot more cool down time between shots for best groups esp with carbon fiber barrels
That is a real nice setup! How did you get that stock to work? I reached out to Bell and Carlson and they told me they don’t have a stock that fits the savage ultralite in a long action caliber. I don’t like how flexible the factory stock is but otherwise I love mine in 280ai.
I fell for one of these! My plastic stock is camo! Can't make up my mind about this utilitarian brand, trying to be fancy???? Have not shot it, but have 100 rounds 175 ABLR, purchased out of enthusiasm, and prior to rifle purchase some 6 months ago. I kind of like it, but it's still a Savage! Not sure which scope to mount on it, or simply sell the rifle? I have a Leupold VX5. I'm not sure where this cartridge fits in, with my 300 Weatherby, 300 RUM, and 375 Ruger? When purchased, I was thinking of a do most rifle? Longer range rifle? Seems overlap? Plus, it had better shoot as a blueprinted action with Proof barrel! You must have modified the BC stock for barrel fitment? 1 gripe.... the cheap magazine only holds 2 rounds😮
Those Bell and Carlson stocks are very nice… i got one for my 300WSM Sako A7 and it is excellent. They are not super light so they are very appropriate for magnum cartridge rifles. All in 9-10lbs is a nice weight for magnum rifles.
Carbon Fiber barrels are very nice; however, the problem with range shooting is, they trap heat. Carbon Fiber is an insulator. The barrel retains that heat more than a steel barrel will. This will create challenges with groupings. I would suspect that you would have a much different experience if each shot was made with a "cold barrel" temp- much like would occur in a hunting situation. The carbon fiber barrel is made for weight reduction in a hunting rifle, more than it is to create more accurate barrel. I know it will take much longer to do, but maybe try your load development again while allowing proper barrel cooling. A Tuner Brake might be a great addition too - just make sure to follow the instructions for finding the node- most people go from 0, to 1, to 2, and so on. Start at 0 and then 2, 4, 6, 8. Find two of those that produce the best goups, and then dial back to the number in between. So if your best groups are at 6 and 8, set the tuner at 7 to verify, then make try 6.5 and 7.5. Find the smallest group in that area of the node.
You can still do seating depth test. 1 of my 7 prc’s shoots .5 moa 50 thousand off the lands. I’m there because the magazine won’t allow me to get up to the lands. It is a falsehood that rifles shoot best just off the lands. Some do but not all. You are challenged by the magazine but still do a seating depth test.
Ultra light and ultra magnum… is just one too many ultras… That will be a challenge to print small groups with for darn sure. Adding the extra weight with the B&C stock was a very good idea. Those B&C sporter stocks weigh around 36oz. (2.25lb).
@@ReloadingWeatherbyI have had great results with B&C stocks, and they come in at a good price point. I’ve never been a huge savage fan, but that’s a nice setup.
I have had a couple savage rifles and one will shoot really good lights out. Then the next is a 2" gun. So I'm not sold on them. I'll stick to my tikkas. For now
I have this Rifle and put in a XLR ELEMENT 4.0 MAGNESIUM CHASSIS fix mag problem . Loading 195 bergers and retumbo .020 off lands 3.640 ovl . Flat spot 81.0 grains to 82.0 with 21fps spread and no pressure. Rifle shoots Bug hole groups at 200 Yards and over 3000 fps !
Those bell an carlson stocks with the aluminum bed block are really good stocks for the price and light also and like someone else said try retumbo powder my 28 nosler luvs that powder with 175 ablr also i shoot the exact same bullet an h1000 powder ur using in ur dads rifle in my 7mm stw im using 81 grains and my oal is 3.6 im getting 3150 fps
@Nick-sx6jm sure nick i found that in both rifles the ablrs like to jump so seat them deep and i use nosler brass with WLRM primer 81 grain retumbo powder im getting 3150fps
The last group was very close to your point of aim, your almost there. OCW is looking for your closest point of impact to aiming point, not group size.
@@ReloadingWeatherby ...that's a better bullet and cartridge for the 28 Nosler. I've used it exclusively in mine for the past five years. It gives me all the speed and accuracy I could ask for in a high velocity, long range rig.
If you find some loads it likes you should make a video or post the loads in the comments. I have the same rifle and have been developing some loads for it. I have found it will pretty much shoot any load you throw together with the 162gr eldx. I have some 140gr AB's and 175gr ablr that I am trying to get to shoot but it has been much harder. I'll list the loads below and if you find anything that works with accubonds then let us know. 162gr eldx 84.0gr of Retumbo at 3.34 oal 3225fps .5moa 162gr eldx 94.0gr of US869 at 3.34 oal 3150fps .5moa 175gr ABLR 94.5gr of US869 at 3.45 oal 3100fps 1.3moa 140gr AB 90.5gr of Retumbo at 3.475 oal 3600fps 1moa All of the loads are above book max, but I have found Nosler to be quite conservative in their numbers and optimistic in their velocity numbers. None of the loads listed showed any pressure signs. I have taken each load hotter and only hit pressure signs when I pushed the 140gr AB a half grain more I got an ejector mark on the brass and a slightly stiffer bolt lift.
@@ReloadingWeatherby those cup and core bullets load develop easy and are devastating if it’s through the ribs and vitals only. Hammer bullets are expensive, but the accuracy is worth every nickel. My mag allows me to set my bullets out pretty far even 190 Atips. The hammer bullets ogives are .270 the drive bands are .284 in the case of 7mm bullets. They have great terminal performance
I like the savage ultralight as a potentially nice rifle. But I think your money is better spent on a new Bergara Carbon ridge or HMR. Already a better factory stock, better action, great trigger, and a Carbon barrel as good as the proof research while still being light and its bedded
I was close to picking the 28 Nosler for my first Magnum target rifle build. Plenty of brass available. Then I realized why 28 Nosler brass is easy to find 🌡️🔥
