reloading mistake

[sport20]

hi
i'm new to reloading and have been doing alot of research, so i ended up buying the rockchucker supreme kit by rcbs. any way in my speer book which came with it my load data for 22-250 using h4895 was a min of 34 grains and a max of 38 grains.
i've seen what other people have been using so i started with the following


winchester casings . cci 200 primers 60 gr. v-max bullets 36 grains of h4895.
winchester casings . cci 200 primers 60 gr. v-max bullets 37 grains of h4895.
winchester casings . cci 200 primers 60 gr. v-max bullets 38 grains of h4895.
all 3 load groups were .020" off the lands
savage axis

i shot off the 36 grains. all ok
then 37 grains,ok but noticed some marks on end of casing.(afterwards)
then i tried the 38 grains and i could smell powder alot more. when i tried to eject shell i couldn't get it out. after prying the bolt up it came out with some difficulty. primer was completley gone. did this twice with much same results because i'm hard headed. i know oviously it was to big of a load, but i didn't think this would happen if it was listed in the book. can anyone see what i did wrong for this to happen.

 

[matemike]

Mid to upper 30's on the grain scale is not a whole lot of powder. It's nothing near the big magnums or even the every-day magnums like the 7mm rem. So with it being less powder in the 22-250, jumps by a whole grain is a much larger change than say in a 338/378 Wby.

A 1.0 grain jump from 36 to 37 grains is about a 2.7% increase in charge. Doesn't sound like much. But a 1.0 grain jump from 105 to 106 in a 338-378 Wby is about 0.94% increase in charge. (almost 2/3 less change)

You might have wanted to make sure that 36 grains was okay. And when 37 was okay but minor signs of over-pressure, you should have gone up in 0.2 or 0.1 gr increments from that point. It's been stated many times on here, reloading books are for general ballpark min and max loads for common rifles. Every rifle is different. So going to max book load will always have it's risks.

Work up in slower increments. Especially with the smaller powder weight cartridges.

 

[gohring3006]

When ever you notice ejector marks you are already over pressure and should never go higher...

 

[Gene]

When you say "some marks on end of casing", suggests the cases are too long and need to be trimmed back. Check the SAMMI length with a 6" caliper and then measure yours. Trim to about .005" less than SAMMI.
BTW - pinched case necks can push pressures way up. Always check fired length before reloading.

 

[g0rd0]

first thing first
1) ALWAYS and I do mean ALWAYS confirm your load before you load. By this I mean have on hand 2 recent books, you say you have a Speer manual, get another (Modern reloading by Richard Lee, Lyman are just 2).
If your budget is tight use the on line systems for confermation. Hodgdon Reloading | Home Nosler here are 2.
But most important is if for any reason you suspect that a load that you have put together is too hot or that saftey may be compromised don't shoot it. If you continue to keep blasting away with loads that are showing signs of too much preasure you will have a bigger bang than you are bargaining for. And I hope that when it happens to you nobody gets hurt.
Slow down be safe and weigh your powder and double check your listings

 

[CogburnR]

There have been a few loads in the Speer manual that are hot. Hodgdon has 35g for a max with that bullet and powder.

Take Aim at Rifle Reloading Data | Hodgdon Reloading

 

[Corey Schwanz]

Definitely start low and work your way up slowly. I like .5 grain increments until I'm about 2 gr under max, then go up .2 at a time. Just because the load book says XXX is max, doesn't mean you'll be able to get there with your rifle. Some people immediately start at Max or even over and that's scary. Its listed as a "starting load" for a reason .

Cross referencing at least 2 sources is a great idea as well. I like to check the powder company's information I'm using along with the bullet manual if available.


Corey Schwanz
Berger Bullet Tech Support

 

[Tortoise]

And don't forget.... maximum load doesn't necessarily mean most accurate. Sometimes you'll give up more than you get by pushing the velocity envelope to it's most extreme.. Not to mention wear. Good luck and hope you have fun... great caliber for Coyotes..

 

[LoneTraveler]

Something is way out of line. HORNADY Manual No 7 lists the last load for H4895 limits out with the 52-53 gr. Hornady bullet, WLR primer and 33.8 gr of H4895 powder, as Max. Upping the bullet weight 8 gr. and upping the H4895 to 37 gr. of powder is going into an unknown High pressure area. Check your case length and cross reference your loading data with other sources of data. Good Luck and Be Careful.

 

[FearNoWind]

Glad you're still with us and in one piece.
Note that your reloading manual (or most of them) begins each segment describing the characteristics of the cartridge tested. Bullet weight, OAL, case length, etc.. That's the basis of the test data used to list the various loads outlined for that cartridge.
Even if you used precisely the same dimensions printed in the manual your results would be different. No two rifles provide identical results.
ALWAYS start low. As you move up, do it in smaller increments. I typically work in increments of .2 grains. Increasing loads a whole grain at a time equates to suicidal acitivity.
You don't need to push the loads until you get high pressure indications like stiff opening bolt, cases sticking in chamber, marks on case heads, etc.. Avoid falling for the fantasy that hotter faster loads are better; they are not. Those who push the edge of tolerances often find themselves falling over the edge. A detonation is no laughing matter - been there; done that!!!!
Oh - one other thing.
If you blew a primer disassemble and flush out your bolt to ensure you don't have pieces of the fragmented primer inside the mechanism.