Has anyone else had issues with powder guidelines in books being inaccurate?

[wce323078]

I won't get into the loading issue with your loads as there has been plenty of good advice on here. I am going to give you some idea of different barrels mean different data. Take any three loading manuals and look up the loads for the caliber you want to load with the bullet, powder etc you want the info for. Look at the load data in all three books, You will find the starting loads and max loads will more than likely be all different. every thing else may or may not be the same. case, primer, powder. and bullet. The only real difference between the three is the barrel. which leads to different max loads.
Case in point I have 3 savage rifles in 3 different config's

One I can get close to max load with it with no pressure signs. the other two I am at starting loads with pressure signs.

Now I haven't found out if its is due to too low a pressure for the one where primers are backing out and the other is hard extraction which could be too high a pressure or chamber issues. The point is every barrel is different and loads have to be worked up starting with the starting load.

So yes you can jump into a load some where close to the middle and if all is well go from there but as stated some rifles will be over pressure at the starting load. It is safer to start at the lower loads and work up.

Lets face it if you blow the thing up you could hurt your self bad and on the other hand if it blows you are going to be out of luck as the maker is going to tell you reload, over pressure no warranty.

 

[mareshow]

I won't get into the loading issue with your loads as there has been plenty of good advice on here. I am going to give you some idea of different barrels mean different data. Take any three loading manuals and look up the loads for the caliber you want to load with the bullet, powder etc you want the info for. Look at the load data in all three books, You will find the starting loads and max loads will more than likely be all different. every thing else may or may not be the same. case, primer, powder. and bullet. The only real difference between the three is the barrel. which leads to different max loads.
Case in point I have 3 savage rifles in 3 different config's

One I can get close to max load with it with no pressure signs. the other two I am at starting loads with pressure signs.

Now I haven't found out if its is due to too low a pressure for the one where primers are backing out and the other is hard extraction which could be too high a pressure or chamber issues. The point is every barrel is different and loads have to be worked up starting with the starting load.

So yes you can jump into a load some where close to the middle and if all is well go from there but as stated some rifles will be over pressure at the starting load. It is safer to start at the lower loads and work up.

Lets face it if you blow the thing up you could hurt your self bad and on the other hand if it blows you are going to be out of luck as the maker is going to tell you reload, over pressure no warranty.

Yeah I'm definitely going to adjust my approach when i comes to reloading. I realize the advice I got was poor and that I'll have to start over.

Now I'm positive if was over pressure because of the following reasons:

- more felt recoil
- cratered primers
- pressure signs on cases
- extractor marks on cases

Now I'm thankful I didnt blow the thing up and after checking the rifle thoroughly, there doesnt seem to be any damage. Good news for me I guess.

I picked up some varget on the weekend so I'm going to try some loads with that as well.

 

[bearhunter]

What do you mean by: "the primers coming out on some of them"?

Were some primers backed out?

Were primer pockets so loose the primers fell out?

Any pictures to help us understand?

Andy, that was my concern as well. Most 308 Win chambered rifles will shoot their best at close to maximum pressures for that particular rifle. The primers backing out are usually caused by pushing back the shoulders to far and causing a headspace issue. This will also occur with a load that is to light, often at minimum specs.

OP, I think you should compare a freshly loaded round to a fired case. Look to see how much the fired case has grown, if it has at all. The length from the base to the case mouth will certainly have increased but the length from the base to the start of the shoulder should be close to identical as this round headspaces on a given point on the shoulder. This is why I am thinking you might have full length resized and your case may be out of spec, as in to short from shoulder to base.

IMHO your powder charge, although not minimum wouldn't normally be an issue in most rifles. Mind you there is always the exception. No two rifles are identical although most fall into a median range.