110 GR. Vs. 112 GR. .308 Bullet Trying To Understand a Proper Powder Load

H4831 said:
But Andy, you have to remember that many of those 19 posts were by long time reloaders. And everybody knows you can't go by what the old timers say. They were haywire, knew nothing about reloading or shooting and it is just a miracle that they are still alive!
Would you believe many of the old timers don't even go by everything that is written in the modern loading books?
We all know we have to follow every word in all the loading books and we must never experiment, or try something different, because that would just lead to a KABOOM/blow our fingers/hands/feet off, or at the very least put the cat into orbit.
Click to expand...

Good thing you're a long time reloader. Some people might think you're not kidding. :)

Being a probee at reloading my primary concern *is* losing a hand or my face. I'm a lefty and a cartridge failure to most righty's results in powder burns and maybe a small laceration. For me, I want to keep my face intact.

In all honesty, I presumed experimentation even by the standards of seasoned long time reloaders was frowned upon. I actually expected serious detraction on my experiment here.
 
I don'tnow anything about putting the cat into orbit.

But I can, based on actual experience, testify that trying to dry 2 pounds of FFG (black powder, to you newbies) in a microwave is almost enough for one orbit....
 
Well it was a great research project, but sadly I found out that the projectiles, even though they were pulled from CETME Spanish 7.62X51mm ammunition, they measure in at .312, which is more attuned to being a .303 British projectile rather than one for what I want to do. I have discussed the matter with some of the local members of my club, given them the specs on the bullet (the fact that it has a half plastic core) the rifle I am putting it in (M14 Norinco) the powder load (I was told "not" to back the load "under" the recommended load for 110gr for the powder I am using) and they say either nothing will happen, or I may have problems. Some of them even stated that this projectile measuring in at 0.003 more than what I should be shooting will shoot out the barrel in short order.

If anyone has any further advice, I'd be interested in hearing it.

I have lots of .303's so it's not going to be a problem loading it in my .303's, however there is no loading data for .303 for IMR 4198.

Thanks!
 
Nothing at all will happen. Why do you think "Andy" is shaking his head at all of the BS you guys are feeding yourselves. .003 just isn't enough to worry about. As he stated, the only time it may give you any trouble at all is if you have a match chamber and that's a maybe.

Shoot them. They will either shoot well or not. Your ball won't fall off, hair won't grow on your palms and it won't effect your vision. You won't get pregnant.

Those bullets may just be the best buy you've made in a while or they may not. If your rifle is in such questionable condition, which I doubt, there are other issues to address than a projectile that is grossly underweight and soft cored to boot but a few thou oversize. Load them hot if you want to, it will be next to impossible to get pressures high enough to create any worries. Have fun. It's not rocket science or voo doo.

Think about it this way, the Spanish loaded them into weaker actioned 93 mausers at velocities that were acceptable to NATO and with terminal results within specs. Why would you worry about it in a modern rifle?
 
When a "correctly" sized bullet is fired, it is driven into the lands of the rifling, and they cut 10 thou or so into the jacket - that's normal. Make it 3 thou deeper, and the difference in force is negligible. The neck is the issue.

You should have at least 2 thou neck clearance with a bullet seated. In the M14 I'd prefer more clearance than that, so that the extractor doesn't tear the crap out of the rim. To determine if you have enough neck clearance, take an unsized 308 case fired from your gun, and if one of these projectiles slides in easily you'll be fine. If it doesn't, you might have a potentially dangerous situation, but only a chamber cast could confirm that.

If I was using these bullets in the 303 Brit, with IMR4198 I'd work in the 35.0 to 39.0 gr range - that is data for a 123gr bullet and will be within safe pressures.
 
bearhunter said:
Nothing at all will happen. Why do you think "Andy" is shaking his head at all of the BS you guys are feeding yourselves. .003 just isn't enough to worry about. As he stated, the only time it may give you any trouble at all is if you have a match chamber and that's a maybe.

Shoot them. They will either shoot well or not. Your ball won't fall off, hair won't grow on your palms and it won't effect your vision. You won't get pregnant.

Those bullets may just be the best buy you've made in a while or they may not. If your rifle is in such questionable condition, which I doubt, there are other issues to address than a projectile that is grossly underweight and soft cored to boot but a few thou oversize. Load them hot if you want to, it will be next to impossible to get pressures high enough to create any worries. Have fun. It's not rocket science or voo doo.

Think about it this way, the Spanish loaded them into weaker actioned 93 mausers at velocities that were acceptable to NATO and with terminal results within specs. Why would you worry about it in a modern rifle?
Click to expand...

Thank you for the advice. To be honest, the "in person" advice I was given was that of concern of a breech in the receiver. Being a lefty, if that happens, I'll get it full force in the face. Further, being only 60 days into reloading, I am still on the curve. I am still a probee at this.

Rifle in question is a Norinco M14.
 
I would have normally suggested you buy a Lee 0.309" sizing die, lube them up and size them down, but I thought that the plastic might impede that process - then I saw this pic. The plastic won't be touched much, so it might work. The FMJ keeps it all together even if the bonding of the plastic to the jacket is disturbed.

CETMECSP003.jpg


If you have access to the correct Lee Sizer one, try it, or send me a few and I'll do it.
 
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