Painless load development (mine)

[seand]

Can’t understand why folks waste time throwing low and trickling charges on a scale…..

 

[gman82001]

Can’t understand why folks waste time throwing low and trickling charges on a scale…..

As opposed to throwing inconsistent and being fast? Some powders and throwers just don’t work well together at all so it makes sense to throw a little under and trickle some in. At least in my mind

 

[Harvey_NW]

Another workup that will do for now. This is a Tikka custom that was originally a 280ai, freshly rechambered in 284 Win so it's a little more optimal on the Tikka mag. Fresh start with a new bullet, but it no longer likes 4831. Found pressure at book max, and by shot 7 it had opened up to 2". Not gonna work, stop there.


Swap to H4350, book max is 53.5C so I loaded one at 53gr, shiny ejector mark but no bolt lift. Load 10 at 52.4gr in hopes that it will stay fine in higher temps. This will do for now.

Peterson brass
Win LR Match primer
52.4gr H4350
165gr Sierra TGK .060" off lands, boat tail seated to neck/shoulder junction.

 

[carsonkeys]

I couldn’t help myself and decided I was going to go group and chrono my loads this morning despite the fact it was -25. I’m not sure what exactly I could change, but nothing went according to plan.

My “group” spanned several feet, and my chrono was consistently reading 7,000 to 8,000 fps.

I think I’m going to try and hit one of the indoor ranges in town to group, but they only go to 50 yards and I’m unsure if I’ll just be wasting my time.

Still though, I shot my first reloads, didn’t blow up my gun, and saw a few moose. Morning well spent!

 

[Harvey_NW]

I think I’m going to try and hit one of the indoor ranges in town to group, but they only go to 50 yards and I’m unsure if I’ll just be wasting my time.

Dispersion is linear pending environmentals, so it definitely wouldn't be a waste of time. It should at least give you an indication of how it's shooting, and you can do the math to estimate what it would be doing at 100.

 

[Stu]

New year, new ammo.

Wanted to dedicate to loading practice ammo for the 223 on a progressive press. Bought 4K hornady 75HPBTs at $0.18/bullet a while back, as well as a bunch of Viht N140 back when I couldn’t get Varget.

Loaded up 30, put 10 on paper, went to 522 and got on steel. Confirmed at 677yds on steel with 16 rounds (8.25” vertical spread) and called it done. Bartlein barrel didn’t hurt…

 

[wind gypsy]

Some rifles/cartridges ruin a guy. 6.5x47 has been that for me. No matter what bullet/powder i've put in the 2 I've had, they always shoot about as good as I can.

Running low on a precious stash of old Swampy made JLK 140s so I loaded up a handful of 140 berger hybrids which are pretty close. Have shot 41.0 grains h4350 behind 140s in both guns without significant pressure signs but i know that's hot in this little case so i loaded up a bunch at 40.0 grains. Knowing the hybrid is pretty similar to the JLK and having a foggy recollection of being somewhere 0.040"+ off jam with JLK, i didn't touch the seating die. I checked it after loading 50 rounds and was surprised to be less than ten thou from jam. oh well.

It shot about like every other load i've tried in this chambering.
Prone to verify zero


3 each standing, kneeling, sitting, prone, breaking position between each shot. Clipped in tripod.


Chrono only caught 4 or 5 shots. All were 276X.

I call BS on there not being cartridges that are just easy to load for. The 6 creedmoor i had with was loaded using the same practices and high end components and it doesn't produce similar results. Good enough, yes, but not at all that tight in dispersion or velocity. That said, i've never had a lightweight x47. Not sure it'd get the velocity i want in a short barrel..

 

[Firth]

I’m getting 1+ grain differences between throws. I’ve got it adjusted now to throw light and trickle up per previous advice, but some throws will still be too heavy.

Oh, gotcha, my initial response was because I've seen guy worry too much about small variations but that's too much and I wouldn't accept it either. I'm not sure what a reasonable expectation is for the uniflow with good technique. The next time I have H4350 out I'll write down some weights with my Lee measure to give an idea of what it can do.

 

[lhbackcountry]

Might have been addressed in this thread already but I like to keep things simple when it comes to OCW. I do .5 grain increments and if I find a good load, it either ends in a “0” or “.5”. I don’t get into the tenth of a grain bullshit. I’m not trying to win any bench rest or precision rifle events. I can usually find an accurate enough load for any sane hunting distance in a half a grain. Here’s some of my pet loads.

6.5 Creedmoor
140 ELDM 42.0 grains H4350
143 ELD-x 41.5 grains H4350
147 ELDM 41.0 grains H4350
130 OTM 43.0 grains H4350

308
178 ELDX 42.0 grains TAC
168 ELDM 43.5 grains Varget
150 Interlock SP 45.0 grains Varget

30-06
178 ELDX 55.0 grains H4350
150 Interlock SP 55.0 grains A4064

how did your 308 shoot the 178 eldx with 42 of tac? I picked up some tac while ago but I have 175g LRX on hand so curious if it would be close

 

[General RE LEE]

how did your 308 shoot the 178 eldx with 42 of tac? I picked up some tac while ago but I have 175g LRX on hand so curious if it would be close

Shoots great sub MOA accuracy and a little higher velocity than Varget. It’s my preferred powder for the 178 ELD-X.

 

[HighUintas]

Today, I worked up my same load but with new components. Same powder, new lot. Same lot of primers. Same bullet new lot. And switched to Lapua brass from Peterson.

I did 2 shots and each charge because I've occasionally seen intermittent ejector marks, so wanted to see how this worked out.

30-284 AI. About like a 30-06. 185 juggs. Cci200. H4350. Lapua brass 1x fireformed

I went 55.0-58.0, in 0.5gr increments. Temperature was about 40F.

I'm wondering where you guys would load up 10. I'm thinking 55.5 or 56.0.

The ejector marks present on 56 and 57 were so barely there, I had to get the light just right and look very hard. They're easily missed. *Any swipe marks present are from fire forming (previous loads, not these) with slight crush because this is an Ackley.


56.0- one case had slightest mark ever between 2 and L


57.0 - one case had extremely slight mark between A and N


57.5 - both cases had very slight mark. More noticeable but still slight. Surrounding the 8 and between the 2 and L



Finally, 58.0 - one had the most notable mark. Still slight. Web had most expansion after firing. The other 58.0 case had no discernable mark and normal web expansion relative to others.

 

[Harvey_NW]

Today, I worked up my same load but with new components. Same powder, new lot. Same lot of primers. Same bullet new lot. And switched to Lapua brass from Peterson.

I did 2 shots and each charge because I've occasionally seen intermittent ejector marks, so wanted to see how this worked out.

30-284 AI. About like a 30-06. 185 juggs. Cci200. H4350. Lapua brass.

I went 55.0-58.0, in 0.5gr increments. Temperature was about 40F.

I'm wondering where you guys would load up 10. I'm thinking 55.5 or 56.0.

The ejector marks present on 56 and 57 were so barely there, I had to get the light just right and look very hard. They're easily missed. *Any swipe marks present are from fire forming with slight crush because this is an Ackley.


56.0- one case had slightest mark ever between 2 and L
View attachment 660969

57.0 - one case had extremely slight mark between A and N
View attachment 660970

57.5 - both cases had very slight mark. More noticeable but still slight. Surrounding the 8 and between the 2 and L
View attachment 660971View attachment 660973


Finally, 58.0 - one had the most notable mark. Still slight. Web had most expansion after firing. The other 58.0 case had no discernable mark and normal web expansion relative to others.
View attachment 660976

Since you were forming did you jam the lands, or set a false shoulder? I would expect after they're formed you might be able to run it up a little bit higher with a FL resize and some jump. I would roll with 55.5 and form them out, then check it again if you think there's room for some speed.

 

[General RE LEE]

Friendly reminder that a load that results in 1 MOA is acceptable accuracy for a hunting rifle out to 500 yards. Anything under is a bonus but if you got a good bullet and velocity and are .75-1 MOA, practice with it at longer ranges and see your results. Get off that 100 yard bench rest paper tit.

 

[HighUintas]

Since you were forming did you jam the lands, or set a false shoulder? I would expect after they're formed you might be able to run it up a little bit higher with a FL resize and some jump. I would roll with 55.5 and form them out, then check it again if you think there's room for some speed.

I added some clarification to that post.

These were already fireformed, so they fit my chamber well.

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

I load to mag length or SAAMI for everything, as I want to be able to shoot every load in every so chambered rifle, and seating depth has very little or no impact on real precision.

For the 223/77gr TMK it’s 2.26” coal regardless of the rifle or mag, a slight crimp on all.

I’ve seen you reference seating to mag length multiple times throughout this thread. However I don’t recall mention of CBTO. Are you concerned at all with the base to ogive measurement being consistent when you are loading?

 

[Formidilosus]

I’ve seen you reference seating to mag length multiple times throughout this thread. However I don’t recall mention of CBTO. Are you concerned at all with the base to ogive measurement being consistent when you are loading?

Not really, because seating depth or distance to lands doesn’t have nearly the effect that people believe it does with most projectiles. Beyond that, COAL is what is the constraint with the above combo.

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

Thanks for the great advice throughout this thread @Formidilosus. A couple months ago I still thought hand loading wasn’t for me.

Loaded my very first ammo last night. 6 CM with Barnes Match Burner 112’s, H4350, Fed 210’s and 1x fired Hornady Brass. Seated slightly shorter than MDT Polymer Mag length, 2.800”. This put the base of the bullet right at the shoulder. At mag length I was getting some practice rounds that I made hanging up and not feeding properly.

This morning I fired 7 rds, from 40g to 43g in .5 increments.. whether this was with a suppressor and out my truck window into a snowbank is irrelevant. Found increasing sign of swiping from 42g on up. Messaged Steve, @huntnful, for his opinion as well.

Went back to house and loaded 20 rds of 41.5g and drove to the range. 10f and snowy.
Fired 1 round off target to check zero and adjust impact higher than point of aim.
Next 10 rounds as shown on target. Suppressor mirage started to get noticeable after 5 or 6 rounds. Who cares, I kept firing. It was cold out.

I used the weapon mounted Garmin C1 to get average velocity of all rounds fired so far. Threw the rifle on tripod to get the angle needed for a rock face above. 1,115 yards, corrected for angle to 1,070.
Spotted impact, high.
Measured with Mil reticle and dialed 8.8 mil.
Fired 3x and had 3 impacts on an appx 12” patch of snow on rock face.

Less than 30 rounds and I’m done. If I can do it, anyone can.

 

[Formidilosus]

Thanks for the great advice throughout this thread @Formidilosus. A couple months ago I still thought hand loading wasn’t for me.

Loaded my very first ammo last night. 6 CM with Barnes Match Burner 112’s, H4350, Fed 210’s and 1x fired Hornady Brass. Seated slightly shorter than MDT Polymer Mag length, 2.800”. This put the base of the bullet right at the shoulder. At mag length I was getting some practice rounds that I made hanging up and not feeding properly.

This morning I fired 7 rds, from 40g to 43g in .5 increments.. whether this was with a suppressor and out my truck window into a snowbank is irrelevant. Found increasing sign of swiping from 42g on up. Messaged Steve, @huntnful, for his opinion as well.

Went back to house and loaded 20 rds of 41.5g and drove to the range. 10f and snowy.
Fired 1 round off target to check zero and adjust impact higher than point of aim.
Next 10 rounds as shown on target. Suppressor mirage started to get noticeable after 5 or 6 rounds. Who cares, I kept firing. It was cold out.

I used the weapon mounted Garmin C1 to get average velocity of all rounds fired so far. Threw the rifle on tripod to get the angle needed for a rock face above. 1,115 yards, corrected for angle to 1,070.
Spotted impact, high.
Measured with Mil reticle and dialed 8.8 mil.
Fired 3x and had 3 impacts on an appx 12” patch of snow on rock face.

Less than 30 rounds and I’m done. If I can do it, anyone can.

View attachment 669174View attachment 669178View attachment 669179

View attachment 669180

Good job.

 

[rbutcher1234]

Are people trimming cases when they get longer, or are y’all ditching the brass before that happens?

 

[Juan_ID]

I trim every 2-3 firings and that’s in 6.5 and 223