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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Reloading
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<blockquote data-quote="Fitch" data-source="post: 398023" data-attributes="member: 19372"><p>Oh oh. I have to say this:</p><p> </p><p>Start at least 10% below max and work up to max. Do not ever just load the max load in the manual with out working up. There are several reasons for this. First, the max load worked in the test rifle of the person who furnished the data, but it may <strong>not</strong> work in your rifle. Your rifle is the one that counts. If you change powder lots or brass manufacturers, drop back and work up again. Safety is the number one priority. A load near max in one manufacturer's brass can go well over in another manufacturer's brass. </p><p> </p><p>For example, loads of 4007SSC that are just below max for 75g Hornady BTHP match bullets in Winchester Brass, and work fine for 8 or 10 reloads of the brass, in my .22-250 are over max (to the point of loosening primers and blowing out primers) in Nosler brass. I have to back off almost 2 grains with Nosler brass. Same bullet, same powder, same COL, but ~2g less powder. </p><p> </p><p>Second, what you are looking for in a handload is minimum repeatable group size (i.e. the most accuracy). That will be the most accurate load. Accuracy is everything, especially at long ranges. The load/velocity at which your rifle is most accurate with the desired bullet is the one to use. Some load recipies (powder/charge wt./bullet/primer/brass/COL) will give a smallest group at higher velocities than other powders. That is why one tries more than one load combination. </p><p> </p><p>Highly recommended that you get Bryan Litz's book "Applied Ballistics for Long Range Shooting" and read it from the front cover to the last printed word on the back cover including the appendicies. You "need" to know what is in it. </p><p> </p><p>Why? Handloading is the process for creating ammunition that meets the requirements developed from an understanding of the Ballistics as they apply to prospective shooting situations. The requirements that the handloading must meet in the field need to be well understood. Bryan's book will go a long way to providing that understanding.</p><p> </p><p>Books on handloading, like the Speer manual I recommended in an earlier reply, deal with the process of making ammunition. This is important, and the basics must be learned, but it is only only one part of a bigger picture.</p><p> </p><p>Myself, I hunt with the load combination that gives me the most accuracy of the load combinations I've tested with the bullet I want to use to kill the game I'm going to be hunting where I'm going to be hunting it. </p><p> </p><p></p><p>That sentence sums up the following process: <ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Decide on the game to be hunted.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Analyze the conditions under which it will be hunted (range, distances the rifle will be carried, terrain, weather) and pick a bullet and cartridge suitable for those hunting conditions based on killing power, trajectory, recoil tolerance, etc.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Pick a rifle system (rifle, support, scope, sling, etc.) to shoot the cartridge.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Do the research on powders and loads for the cartridge to get an initial starting point (bullet, brass, powder, primer, COL, etc.).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Go through the load development process to arrive at a load with accuracy sufficient for the game at the range intended.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Work through the process of developing drop tables and scope settings to cover point blank to maximum planned range.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Go hunting.</li> </ol><p>Examples of how things can vary:</p><p> </p><p>I use a .17Remingto shooting a 20g V-max to hunt ground hogs in rocky pastures at ranges out to 300 yards or so because it is important to minimize the chance for riccochets. I use a .223 shooting 40g NBT to hunt ground hogs in fields where there aren't rocks or problems with riccochets and wind isn't an issue. I use a .243Win shooting an 87g V-Max to hunt ground hogs at longer ranges in fields where wind is an issue but riccochets aren't. </p><p> </p><p>And so it goes. The variations are essentially endless, the combinations and permutations mindboggling - far too many to just brute force through the process trying everything. That's why the Litz book and the reloading books are so important, and they supplement each other, and provide the understanding that allows converging on a good handload for the planned hunt within a practical development program. Neither is the whole picture.</p><p> </p><p>Fitch</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Fitch, post: 398023, member: 19372"] Oh oh. I have to say this: Start at least 10% below max and work up to max. Do not ever just load the max load in the manual with out working up. There are several reasons for this. First, the max load worked in the test rifle of the person who furnished the data, but it may [B]not[/B] work in your rifle. Your rifle is the one that counts. If you change powder lots or brass manufacturers, drop back and work up again. Safety is the number one priority. A load near max in one manufacturer's brass can go well over in another manufacturer's brass. For example, loads of 4007SSC that are just below max for 75g Hornady BTHP match bullets in Winchester Brass, and work fine for 8 or 10 reloads of the brass, in my .22-250 are over max (to the point of loosening primers and blowing out primers) in Nosler brass. I have to back off almost 2 grains with Nosler brass. Same bullet, same powder, same COL, but ~2g less powder. Second, what you are looking for in a handload is minimum repeatable group size (i.e. the most accuracy). That will be the most accurate load. Accuracy is everything, especially at long ranges. The load/velocity at which your rifle is most accurate with the desired bullet is the one to use. Some load recipies (powder/charge wt./bullet/primer/brass/COL) will give a smallest group at higher velocities than other powders. That is why one tries more than one load combination. Highly recommended that you get Bryan Litz's book "Applied Ballistics for Long Range Shooting" and read it from the front cover to the last printed word on the back cover including the appendicies. You "need" to know what is in it. Why? Handloading is the process for creating ammunition that meets the requirements developed from an understanding of the Ballistics as they apply to prospective shooting situations. The requirements that the handloading must meet in the field need to be well understood. Bryan's book will go a long way to providing that understanding. Books on handloading, like the Speer manual I recommended in an earlier reply, deal with the process of making ammunition. This is important, and the basics must be learned, but it is only only one part of a bigger picture. Myself, I hunt with the load combination that gives me the most accuracy of the load combinations I've tested with the bullet I want to use to kill the game I'm going to be hunting where I'm going to be hunting it. That sentence sums up the following process:[LIST=1] [*]Decide on the game to be hunted. [*]Analyze the conditions under which it will be hunted (range, distances the rifle will be carried, terrain, weather) and pick a bullet and cartridge suitable for those hunting conditions based on killing power, trajectory, recoil tolerance, etc. [*]Pick a rifle system (rifle, support, scope, sling, etc.) to shoot the cartridge. [*]Do the research on powders and loads for the cartridge to get an initial starting point (bullet, brass, powder, primer, COL, etc.). [*]Go through the load development process to arrive at a load with accuracy sufficient for the game at the range intended. [*]Work through the process of developing drop tables and scope settings to cover point blank to maximum planned range. [*]Go hunting. [/LIST]Examples of how things can vary: I use a .17Remingto shooting a 20g V-max to hunt ground hogs in rocky pastures at ranges out to 300 yards or so because it is important to minimize the chance for riccochets. I use a .223 shooting 40g NBT to hunt ground hogs in fields where there aren't rocks or problems with riccochets and wind isn't an issue. I use a .243Win shooting an 87g V-Max to hunt ground hogs at longer ranges in fields where wind is an issue but riccochets aren't. And so it goes. The variations are essentially endless, the combinations and permutations mindboggling - far too many to just brute force through the process trying everything. That's why the Litz book and the reloading books are so important, and they supplement each other, and provide the understanding that allows converging on a good handload for the planned hunt within a practical development program. Neither is the whole picture. Fitch [/QUOTE]
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