Shot my first reloads today...

[Ganderzone]

I was a bit nervous loading up to head to the range, but once I got there I kinda forgot all about it and was just business. After firing my first round it came back and I thought to myself hey I didn't blow up my face! I actually threw a TQ and 1st aid kit in my range bag lol.

Velocities were almost spot on from what I put in my notes as expected velocity, little variance here and there but actually pretty close. H4350 gave me roughly 50 fps faster than expected though which was the largest discrepancy. It seemed to hit velocity quickly with the lesser charges and only increase 20ish or so fps per .5 gr increase in the top 3 loads.

When you increase a charge and see little increase in velocity along with deformation in brass, it means you are now at a pressure that is permanently effecting the brass, back off slightly. Higher quality brass doesn't equate to lower pressure, it just hides it better which is why you tend to see people run it hotter.

 

[Harvey_NW]

When you increase a charge and see little increase in velocity along with deformation in brass, it means you are now at a pressure that is permanently effecting the brass, back off slightly. Higher quality brass doesn't equate to lower pressure, it just hides it better which is why you tend to see people run it hotter.

Take realistic ES into account though, 20fps increase per .5gr powder is still a reasonable increase and could be on the low end of variability as opposed to the lower charges where there was a 50fps increase that could be on the high end. Typically the velocity stabilization at pressure will correlate with sticky extraction.

 

[Ganderzone]

Take realistic ES into account though, 20fps increase per .5gr powder is still a reasonable increase and could be on the low end of variability as opposed to the lower charges where there was a 50fps increase that could be on the high end. Typically the velocity stabilization at pressure will correlate with sticky extraction.

Agreed 100 percent, I was trying to keep it short

 

[HairyScandinavian]

When you increase a charge and see little increase in velocity along with deformation in brass, it means you are now at a pressure that is permanently effecting the brass, back off slightly. Higher quality brass doesn't equate to lower pressure, it just hides it better which is why you tend to see people run it hotter.

Take realistic ES into account though, 20fps increase per .5gr powder is still a reasonable increase and could be on the low end of variability as opposed to the lower charges where there was a 50fps increase that could be on the high end. Typically the velocity stabilization at pressure will correlate with sticky extraction.

Thank you both for that. It's definitely something I need to consider. These last rounds being just a 1 shot ladder with each maybe could have some variance for sure. I'll need to load a few more to take a look and see how things average out. Thanks for pointing it out though, good gold nugget of info there.

 

[brolo]

Shot my first reloads today, and the gun didn’t explode, so an overall win.

What does the crowd think in terms of pressure signs?

77gr TMK from an AR. Two shots at each 0.5gr increment, 21.5-23.5 gr XBR8208. Hornady once-fired brass.

23.0 and 23.5 below


Example brass before reloads

 

[Tanner]

Shot my first reloads today, and the gun didn’t explode, so an overall win.

What does the crowd think in terms of pressure signs?

77gr TMK from an AR. Two shots at each 0.5gr increment, 21.5-23.5 gr XBR8208. Hornady once-fired brass.
View attachment 1031566
23.0 and 23.5 below
View attachment 1031567

Example brass before reloads
View attachment 1031570

Probably be helpful to start with brass that doesn’t have bingo stamps on it already, to know where your handloads are at.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

Shot my first reloads today, and the gun didn’t explode, so an overall win.

What does the crowd think in terms of pressure signs?

77gr TMK from an AR. Two shots at each 0.5gr increment, 21.5-23.5 gr XBR8208. Hornady once-fired brass.
View attachment 1031566
23.0 and 23.5 below
View attachment 1031567

Example brass before reloads
View attachment 1031570

It so hard with ARs in my mind because they get so beat up. I loaded a bunch for my 6 ARC as well and shot 47 of them but I didn't even post them because they're all over the place and dirty AF lol. Your primers look good and round to me though. I shot 5's and 3's of the same charges with different powders and I'd have 4 that were round with a faint ejector mark and one flat as a pancake primer with no marks at all from ejectors.

 

[brolo]

Probably be helpful to start with brass that doesn’t have bingo stamps on it already, to know where your handloads are at.

What are bingo stamps?