Less than a week ago, I had never heard of Red Star ammunition. Earlier this week, I bought some ammo from him and I have to say that I am impressed with the accuracy and quality control.
Yesterday, I went to the range to test out some SBR factory ammo and some Red Star ammo through my relatively-new Rock River .458 SOCOM rifle. Here are the basics:
Weather: 94 degrees and "southern Indiana" humid at Red Brush Rifle Range near Evansville.
Rifle: Rock River Arms LAR15 with 16" mid-length .458 SOCOM upper. The rifle has a vertical foregrip which was used as a monopod for better accuracy. It also has a Trijicon AccuPoint 3-9X40 scope.
Chronograph: Oehler 35P chrono.
Loads tested:
SBR 325-grain FMJ ammo
SBR 300-grain JHP ammo
Red Star 325-grain Hornady Flex-tip ammo
All shooting was done from a bench using the vertical foregrip as a monopod for better accuracy. I did not sandbag the gun even though I know this would have helped with accuracy. I was mainly concerned with field accuracy and testing for ballistics. The Trijicon AccuPoint scope was set at 6X for the 50-yard shooting and at 9X for the 100-yard shooting. The gun is relatively new and only had about 40 rounds through it before this range session.
The SBR 325-grain FMJ loads chronoed at velocities from 1246 to 1308 fps with an average of 1270 fps. They grouped into about 1 1/2" at 50 yards and slightly over 3" at 100 yards.
The SBR 300-grain JHP loads chronoed at velocities from 1516 to 1734 fps with an average of 1634 fps. They also grouped into about 1 1/2" at 50 yards and slightly over 3" at 100 yards.
The Red Star 325-grain Hornady Flex-Tip loads chronoed at velocities from 1776 to 1811 fps with an average of 1790 fps. I thought this was impressive that all of the rounds were within 21 fps of the average velocity. I think this shows that better accuracy can be reached with a little work on my part. The rounds all grouped into less than one inch at 50 yards and a little less than 2 1/2" at 100 yards.
If anyone else has done any similar testing, I'd like to hear how these rounds or any others worked out for you. If anyone wants to chrono any loads at Red Brush sometime, let me know and we can get together.
Yesterday, I went to the range to test out some SBR factory ammo and some Red Star ammo through my relatively-new Rock River .458 SOCOM rifle. Here are the basics:
Weather: 94 degrees and "southern Indiana" humid at Red Brush Rifle Range near Evansville.
Rifle: Rock River Arms LAR15 with 16" mid-length .458 SOCOM upper. The rifle has a vertical foregrip which was used as a monopod for better accuracy. It also has a Trijicon AccuPoint 3-9X40 scope.
Chronograph: Oehler 35P chrono.
Loads tested:
SBR 325-grain FMJ ammo
SBR 300-grain JHP ammo
Red Star 325-grain Hornady Flex-tip ammo
All shooting was done from a bench using the vertical foregrip as a monopod for better accuracy. I did not sandbag the gun even though I know this would have helped with accuracy. I was mainly concerned with field accuracy and testing for ballistics. The Trijicon AccuPoint scope was set at 6X for the 50-yard shooting and at 9X for the 100-yard shooting. The gun is relatively new and only had about 40 rounds through it before this range session.
The SBR 325-grain FMJ loads chronoed at velocities from 1246 to 1308 fps with an average of 1270 fps. They grouped into about 1 1/2" at 50 yards and slightly over 3" at 100 yards.
The SBR 300-grain JHP loads chronoed at velocities from 1516 to 1734 fps with an average of 1634 fps. They also grouped into about 1 1/2" at 50 yards and slightly over 3" at 100 yards.
The Red Star 325-grain Hornady Flex-Tip loads chronoed at velocities from 1776 to 1811 fps with an average of 1790 fps. I thought this was impressive that all of the rounds were within 21 fps of the average velocity. I think this shows that better accuracy can be reached with a little work on my part. The rounds all grouped into less than one inch at 50 yards and a little less than 2 1/2" at 100 yards.
If anyone else has done any similar testing, I'd like to hear how these rounds or any others worked out for you. If anyone wants to chrono any loads at Red Brush sometime, let me know and we can get together.
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