US869 in 30-338/.300 Lapua + 240MK

[Tiff]

I'm currently loading 208 A-Max's with 86.0gr of RL25 in my 30-338 Lapua/.300Lapua. However I have run out of these bullets/powder and all my local gunrooms (within 100miles) are out of RL25!!

I do however have some 240grain MK's and US869, so would like to load some up with this for target shooting out to 2,000 yards this weekend.....However I cannot find any load data on this powder with the 30-338/.300Lapua.....

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated, since there is a real void of info on this powder/cartridge here in Europe.

Many thanks

Tiff

 

[jmden]

I've been loading a 300 RUM with 240s and 104g of US 869. About 3K fps out of a 26" barrel. A couple of other guys here load 101-103 or so of US869 with 240s in a 300RUM. Not Lapua, but ballpark to get you going. Good luck.

 

[J E Custom]

I've been loading a 300 RUM with 240s and 104g of US 869. About 3K fps out of a 26" barrel. A couple of other guys here load 101-103 or so of US869 with 240s in a 300RUM. Not Lapua, but ballpark to get you going. Good luck.

The 308 norma magnum has the same case capacity as the 30/338 so if you at the load
data for the 308 NM you should be able to find plenty of good loads,

These cartridges are not interchangeable but the load data is the same and if you start low
you will have no problems.

When I was shooting a 30/338 there was no 869 powder so I have no experience with this
combination. I used the old standby 4831.

Good luck
J E CUSTOM

 

[Tiff]

The 308 norma magnum has the same case capacity as the 30/338 so if you at the load
data for the 308 NM you should be able to find plenty of good loads,

These cartridges are not interchangeable but the load data is the same and if you start low
you will have no problems.

When I was shooting a 30/338 there was no 869 powder so I have no experience with this
combination. I used the old standby 4831.

Good luck
J E CUSTOM

Hi J E Custom, I don't think that would work.....since I'm looking for .30-338 Lapua/.300 Lapua loads.
Guessing your referring to .30-338WM loads?

I've tried Hodgdon directly and they have no loads on their books...

At around $60 per 1 pound tub and $80 for 100 240MK's, I'd rather not use many working up from an 'estimated' low load from similar sized cartridges!

Any help on this one would be great thanks.

 

[texasdave]

Tiff;
I do not know if this will help but I have a 30-338 Lapua and I have been using 180 accubonds with 101g of H870 or 89g of IMR 7828 or 109g WC872. I realize you are shooting a heavier bullet but I hope this helps somewhat. One other suggestion is Steves pages, he has lots of load data but looking at the 300 Lapua magnum he is using Vihtavuori Powder. Here is his link

Steve's Reloading Data Warning Page

One other place to look. Here is an article on 30-338 lapua

http://www.6mmbr.com/thirty338.html

Hope this helps

 

[Tiff]

Hi Texas Dave, thank you for that reply. It gives me a couple of options with the lighter loads.

Unfortunately Steve's data is only regurgitated Vihtavuori .300 Lapua load data......which is the same data that is covered in the 6mmbr article on .30-338!

It seems to be that the only published data is provided by Vihtavuori!

I should have added I've got access to Quickload (through a friend), but that doesn't list US869!!!

Please can somebody help with a US869 load!

 

[trueblue]

tiff,
I can't imagine it would take you more than 15-20 rounds to check your pressures and velocities worked up. In the bis scheme of things, $20.00 worth of reloading components to do your own load developement from a safety factor seems to be a small price to pay for peace of mind. Good luck.

 

[jmden]

Hi Texas Dave, thank you for that reply. It gives me a couple of options with the lighter loads.

Unfortunately Steve's data is only regurgitated Vihtavuori .300 Lapua load data......which is the same data that is covered in the 6mmbr article on .30-338!

It seems to be that the only published data is provided by Vihtavuori!

I should have added I've got access to Quickload (through a friend), but that doesn't list US869!!!

Please can somebody help with a US869 load!

I'm assuming that this is not an improved version, since you didn't mention that it is. If not, the data I gave you for the 300 RUM with 869 and 240s should be pretty close. You might start at 99g and work up 1 gr at a time til you find the load you want.

 

[Tiff]

I'm assuming that this is not an improved version, since you didn't mention that it is. If not, the data I gave you for the 300 RUM with 869 and 240s should be pretty close. You might start at 99g and work up 1 gr at a time til you find the load you want.

That sounds like my best bet. As for the cartridge its a relatively standard .300 Lapua case. I was kind of hoping that other people might be running the same load, and as such offer a certain 'safety blanket' off which to work base loads. I'm always a little bit reluctant running off loads for similar size cases (even though it should work fine) rather than actual load/quickload predictions.


As to a previous post about it only costing $20 to do initial 15-20 round load development...I wish it was that cheap here in the UK! I feel like crying every time I pull the trigger...then when I think about barrel wear on top, it could be like the great flood all over again!

 

[trueblue]

Tiff,
If it is cost prohibitve to shoot 20 rounds for load developement in the UK, I feel badly for you folks over there. I hope it does not get to that point here in the USA

 

[J E Custom]

Tiff you are right . I have never seen a designation like that with the same case it
is either a 300 LM or a 338 LM (Hence the confusion on my part).


I though you were talking about the 30/338 WIN MAG, Because the 300 Lupua
and the 338 Lapua are the same case and there should be plenty of loading data.
for it.

The Lapua case has about the same case capacity as the 338 RUM so the loading should
be close and if you start low you should be able to work up to the pressure you want.

The reloading manuals show that for an example; If you were to use H 1000 with a 200gr
bullet that 102grs would be a compressed charge in both the 338 LM and the 338 RUM.
So the 300 RUM would have a 4 to 6 grain advantage over the 300 LM.

J E CUSTOM

 

[jmden]

That sounds like my best bet. As for the cartridge its a relatively standard .300 Lapua case. I was kind of hoping that other people might be running the same load, and as such offer a certain 'safety blanket' off which to work base loads. I'm always a little bit reluctant running off loads for similar size cases (even though it should work fine) rather than actual load/quickload predictions.


As to a previous post about it only costing $20 to do initial 15-20 round load development...I wish it was that cheap here in the UK! I feel like crying every time I pull the trigger...then when I think about barrel wear on top, it could be like the great flood all over again!

Your case is a necked down 338 Lap case, right? Is there such a thing as a factory 300 Lap? If it's necked down 338 Lap case it should handle more pressure than a RUM case. Start low and work up... Don't forget that 869 is temp sensitive.

 

[Tiff]

Your case is a necked down 338 Lap case, right? Is there such a thing as a factory 300 Lap? If it's necked down 338 Lap case it should handle more pressure than a RUM case. Start low and work up... Don't forget that 869 is temp sensitive.

Yep its just a necked down .338 Lap Mag case. I think I will follow all of your advise and start at 97.0 grains and work up until I reach pressure. Then back it off a bit (is only 50-60 F at the moment) so I don't hit pressure when it warms up....if summer ever does arrive!

As for the .300 Lap Mag it did exist in a material form, but now only exists on the CIP records/VV Manual. Would be a good headstamp case to get, but I don't think it ever went that far in production....

 

[steve smith]

Yep its just a necked down .338 Lap Mag case. I think I will follow all of your advise and start at 97.0 grains and work up until I reach pressure. Then back it off a bit (is only 50-60 F at the moment) so I don't hit pressure when it warms up....if summer ever does arrive!

Tiff

Just ran the numbers in QL.

Using the standard case volume of 102gr, Sierra 240gr MK seated to a cartridge OAL of 3.7", and 97gr of US869, using 3625psi initiation pressure, the supplied case weighting factor of .55, and a guessed 26" barrel, resulted with 2832fps and a max chamber pressure of 64981 psi. The listed max pressure for the 30-338 Lapua is 63817 psi, so you might want to back off a little more. 94gr shows 57.7Kpsi, and that might be a better place to start! This was done with the Temp setting on 70 deg, but adjusting it down to avg 55 deg, the pressure falls to 63Kpsi, which is right under max listed pressure.

If you want to run the numbers yourself, send me a pm and I'll give you the QL info for US869.