Reloading- What pressure signs do you stop at?

[bigbrad53]

Federal primers have softer cups than most other brands, so flattening is allowed for me when using that brand. Any bolt face marks at all in the brass or any heavy bolt lift and I back off a half grain or so.
Good luck and be careful

Yea, same thing here.

 

[Dean2]

I look at all the old wives tale signs spoken about before. Then I realized modern brass is so doggone good it covers a multitude of sins then I just go look at the muzzle velocity.

If it's too good to be true it's too much pressure for a new combo or an unknown combo. It's displacement and pressure behind a bullet weight burned in a length of tube, if you're doing more than can be explained for Barrel speed variation or elevation... it's to much pressure.

Someday I'm going to bite the bullet and figure out what it actually cost to set up a Piezo pressure sensing unit. We have portable dopplers for 650 bucks just got to be someone making a decent setup for the Everyman. For now I trust the muzzle velocity.

Good starting point but a phone call will clarify stuff quite quickly.

System 85 Ballistic Instrumentation – Oehler-Research

Ballistic Instrumentation for the Next Generation The System 85 replaces the venerable Oehler Model 82. The System 85 measures two pressures, action time, muzzle velocity, and […]

oehler-research.com

 

[comfisherman]

Good starting point but a phone call will clarify stuff quite quickly.

System 85 Ballistic Instrumentation – Oehler-Research

Ballistic Instrumentation for the Next Generation The System 85 replaces the venerable Oehler Model 82. The System 85 measures two pressures, action time, muzzle velocity, and […]

oehler-research.com

My reading and comprehension must be getting poor or maybe it's the cold on the brain but I clicked on that Tab and somehow missed it completely!

Maybe it's a byproduct of the gray hairs in the beard...

 

[SSgt G Cody]

I shoot mostly near-max loads using mostly Win Mag primers, so at any primer flattening or extractor marks I back-off the load by .5 gn.; and with stiff bolt I back-off 1.0 full gn. Also, I try to maintain at least .020" bullet-to-land clearance for safety.

 

[Rosebud]

Not just recent years! 30+ years ago I found a full 4 grain discrepancy between older Hornady data and new WW data. When I got to the maximum listed Hornady load, amazing groups….and no obvious pressure signs! Go figure! memtb

Yep, to hear some of the people who started reloading in the last decade people who invented the M1 Gerand and the K98 mauser all without the aid of smartphones and computers were nuckle dragging morons. some of the best record setting rifles and ammunition were built in the 40s and 50s. Any of you newbies know how the 6.5 Creedmoor got its name without the use of Google? Any of you know the name Elmer Keith?

 

[Dean2]

Yep, to hear some of the people who started reloading in the last decade people who invented the M1 Gerand and the K98 mauser all without the aid of smartphones and computers were nuckle dragging morons. some of the best record setting rifles and ammunition were built in the 40s and 50s. Any of you newbies know how the 6.5 Creedmoor got its name without the use of Google? Any of you know the name Elmer Keith?

Read P.O Ackleys books on developing the AI series of cartridges and load testing for them. The lack of pressure gear, he couldn't afford the copper crush technology that was the standard of his time, means they blew up a significant number of guns. AI gets higher velocity partly due to case design but mostly due to running higher pressures. The good old days weren't all that good unless you were big enough to afford to build test rail rifles with chambers drilled for pellets, and go through a crush unit for every shot fired.

I have to say that I get tired of reading seat of your pants beats top notch testing. I built Wildcats 40 years ago by trial and error. If I had access to the tech we have today, it would have been a whole lot easier. I have no desire to go back to the days of pulling the trigger with a sting, just in case.

 

[DoneNOut]

25yrs and I had my first catastrophic over pressure load. 243 WIN with 48gr LeverEvolution. I meant to load 46gr, but found I screwed up when I weighed the other pulled rounds. They were 48gr. I tried loading to many recipes for one range trip and sabotaged myself with Murphy. This was in a new Aero P SOLUS action with dual ejectors. The ejectors were toast, springs and retaining pin blown to heck. The action design did a wonderful job at venting the gasses. I didn't even know something was wrong till I tried opening the bolt. I needed a mallet.

 

[jessej]

25yrs and I had my first catastrophic over pressure load. 243 WIN with 48gr LeverEvolution. I meant to load 46gr, but found I screwed up when I weighed the other pulled rounds. They were 48gr. I tried loading to many recipes for one range trip and sabotaged myself with Murphy. This was in a new Aero P SOLUS action with dual ejectors. The ejectors were toast, springs and retaining pin blown to heck. The action design did a wonderful job at venting the gasses. I didn't even know something was wrong till I tried opening the bolt. I needed a mallet.
View attachment 442170

Prolly orta back off a haf grain

 

[DoneNOut]

Prolly orta back off a haf grain

Nah, let'er rip, Tater Chip!

 

[Barehandlineman11]

I personally like to decap my primer's every trigger pull. Sure i gotta super glue next one in but it burns off

 

[hankle]

25yrs and I had my first catastrophic over pressure load. 243 WIN with 48gr LeverEvolution. I meant to load 46gr, but found I screwed up when I weighed the other pulled rounds. They were 48gr. I tried loading to many recipes for one range trip and sabotaged myself with Murphy. This was in a new Aero P SOLUS action with dual ejectors. The ejectors were toast, springs and retaining pin blown to heck. The action design did a wonderful job at venting the gasses. I didn't even know something was wrong till I tried opening the bolt. I needed a mallet.
View attachment 442170

edit-typo
Thank you for sharing! A lot of people are too prideful to share there mistakes, especially surrounded by the type A personalities on a forum like this. A lot of information doesn't get shared because of lack of humility. These are things we need to see and think through...

Thanks again!
HW

 

[7MMMagnum]

Thats the problem with pushing the envelope. Something changes and now that load that was over max by a little bit is suddenly unsafe. That is why no saami max pressure is over 65k. It gives you some wiggle room. Reading primers is unreliable. By the time you get sticky bolt lift your likely way over max. Bolt design and brass hardness can affect ejector marks. People dont like to hear it but if you want to be safe stay within the realm of published velocities. I can load my 6.5 creedmoor with R 26 and a 140 to 3050 with zero pressure signs.Ql has the pressure on that load at 66K. The max published velocity in the Hornady manual with that combo is 2850 in a 24" so maybe 2900 in my 26". I can live with that.

I agree with using published data and a chronograph. My issue is who can you trust with published data. I have Berger published data that varies up to 5 grains of powder charge between what they published in 2019 and what they published in 2022. All I can saw is start low and work up cautiously. I want to purchase and learn to use the latest Quickload software.

 

[memtb]

Thank you for sharing! A lot of people are too prideful to share there mistakes, especially surrounded by the type A personalities on a forum like this. A lot of information information doesn't get shared because of lack of humility. These are things we need to see and think through...

Thanks again!
HW

If I didn't share my screw-ups…I'd have nutt'n to talk about! memtb

 

[Rich Coyle]

I have one big one and one small one. I stop at sticky bolt and back off a grain and a half and call it max. If I get a bolt swipe I will fire another to verify. It swipes also I back off till there is no swipe.