28 Nosler Load Data

I had been researching a new long range hunting rifle for several years. I decided on the 28 Nosler as the cartridge and with with a Christensen Arms Ridgeline for the rifle. I ended up putting on a Vortex PST GEN II 5-25x50 scope as I already had one on my Ruger Precision Rifle Rimfire rifle and liked the scope. It is also less bulky than the Vortex Razor on my 6.5 Creedmoore RPR.

I have replaced the muzzle break with an Area 419 Sidewinder brake and use an Atlas Bipod. The 26" barrel with a 1:9 twist makes for a long gun, but the ability to reach out is what I was looking for.

As an avid reloader I have been working up load development on the 28 Nosler and having a good time doing it. I use Atlas Development Group Brass as I didn't have good luck with Nosler brass on other rifles. It was too soft and had more deviations than I wanted. Price wise, the Atlas brass is cheaper and more consistent.

I decided on using Hodgdon H-1000 powder pushing a Berger 175 GR Bullet with Federal 215 Primers. I then started a load to start with and ran up on powder in 0.3 GR increments. This way I could see the velocity nodes (flat spots) for different charge weights. Overall I always look for the best Extreme Spread (ES) as well as the Standard Deviation (SD) for a load. It usually ties to a velocity node as well. Once I figure out which load is the most consistent, I start setting the bullet off the lands in 0.005" increments to see where the best accuracy is at. It does take longer to do this, but in end I get really good results.

This is a picture of my Magnetospeed with a consistent load and a great SD. Average Velocity for this one is 2,973 FPS which is pretty fast for a 28 caliber bullet. I had two other loads that gave me a 3.6 SD with about 50 and 75 FPS improvements. The 75 FPS faster round was definitely more brutal to shoot and was at the top end of the max charge for the rifle.

Here is my overall Standard Deviation data showing the most promising loads.