Hot Loads,, why bother ??

Brutus said:
My example is that I own an iron sighted target rifle in .308 Winchester with a Kreiger barrel on a Wichita action.
I have pretty good medium range loads that shoot okay to about 800 meters.
The same loads are pretty much sub-sonic at slightly beyond 1000 meters and accuracy is terrrible with many impacts well below the target and dispersed left or right with no consistancy. This was not so obvious at Homestead (900 meters) maybe due to the higher mountain elevation gave this marginal load, artificial ballistic help of sorts.
I now have hotter handloads specifically for this longer distance task, for more common use at lower elevations.
My next task will be experimenting with Varget powder. I hear it's an optimum powder for 308 handloads.
In my case, I want the need for speed/accuracy purely to stay supersonic at 1000 meters or thereabouts on paper targets.

ymmv
Click to expand...

Brutus
I shot TR 308 at Homestead for years. Varget is definetly the powder of choice in nearly all rifles. With the 308 and 155 grain "palma" style bullets you should be well over supersonic speeds even at sea level (eg Ottawa for the nationals) The loads are of course dependent on rifle barrel etc but are in the range of 44-46 grains. Another thing to consider is going with the 154 gr Lapua Scenar as most people find they are a least 1 min higher on the target at 900 meters and prob 1 min less wind drift due to the superior BC.

PM me and I'll give you my exact load data for the Varget.
 
If you consider most benchrest loadings, the most accurate seem to generally be at the very top end of the pressure curve (hottest).
Brass life etc are not even considered by these folks, as it is all about accuracy.
In handgun, however, the higher pressure loadings MAY do well out of a machine rest, but poorly when a human operator is involved.
Increased recoil, noise, muzzle flash etc all have a very negative impact.
You may have a smoking hot - Uber accurate load, but will never shoot it to potential due to operator shortcomings.:stirthepot2:
 
thegunnut said:
If you consider most benchrest loadings, the most accurate seem to generally be at the very top end of the pressure curve (hottest).
Brass life etc are not even considered by these folks, as it is all about accuracy.
In handgun, however, the higher pressure loadings MAY do well out of a machine rest, but poorly when a human operator is involved.
Increased recoil, noise, muzzle flash etc all have a very negative impact.
You may have a smoking hot - Uber accurate load, but will never shoot it to potential due to operator shortcomings.:stirthepot2:
Click to expand...

While generally true, I would disagree somewhat here. My wife and I both shoot 9mm and I load it all. Her load of choice is 4 gr of totegroup with a 124gr berry. Its a little snappy but only pushing around 1000 fps. With that load at 10 yards I can consistently shoot a 3 inch group. My prefered load is 5.4 gr of Unique behinf the same slug. This pushes the limit of Berrys at close to 1200 fps. At the same 10 yards i can cut one jagged hole and time between shots is much less. My wife cant shoot more than 5 of these without complaining about her wrist hurting.

So in THIS case, for me, a hotter load = better accuracy shooting a handgun from a standing position

Plus I like the big bassy thump and muzzle flash :)
 
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