338 Edge load

M

Moosetracker

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Has anyone tried 250grs bullets with the 338 Edge? I'm particularly interested in loads using Nosler 250grs Accubond and Hodgdon H1000.

I checked the Hodgdon site and they list a max load of 98.0grs of H1000 with the 250grs Accubond for the 338 RUM. ADI in Australia has the exact same load for the 338 RUM with their 2217 powder (H1000 equivalent).

The 338 Edge has about 6-7% more capacity (mine averages 116.71 grs of water capacity) than the 338 RUM. so I imagine one could carefully work up a load to from 95 to 103grs of H1000!

I'd appreciate the benefits of your thoughts and experience with reloads in this wildcat.
 
There's H1000 250 grain .338 Edge data on Reloader's Nest. Load for the bullet weight. Who made it doesn't matter. 100 grains of powder, geezuz.
 
Moosetracker said:
...I checked the Hodgdon site and they list a max load of 98.0grs of H1000 with the 250grs Accubond for the 338 RUM. ADI in Australia has the exact same load for the 338 RUM with their 2217 powder (H1000 equivalent).

The 338 Edge has about 6-7% more capacity (mine averages 116.71 grs of water capacity) than the 338 RUM. so I imagine one could carefully work up a load to from 95 to 103grs of H1000!....
Click to expand...

I haven't loaded for the 338 Edge, but I have for other Wildcats. Your reasoning is sound. Since you have published loads to work from, and know that your capacity is 6-7% more than the 338 RUM, you could work up from the 338 RUM max load until you exceed 338 RUM MV by about 2%, i.e. 50 fps. You'll need more than 98 grs to match it (likely about 100grs) and then you'll likely have about 2-3 grs to work with before the pressure would exceed that of the 338 RUM. All to say, your suggested 95 to 103gr range seems reasonable IMO. If 98gr is a full case in the 338 RUM, 103gr will likely be a full case in the 338 Edge anyways, so it's moot. With the slower powders, if a full case is safe in the base cartridge, a full case will generally be safe in the "improved" version.
 
I could run some numbers on quickload for you as well. Give me your seating depth, case capacity, and barrel length.
 
Thanks for your thoughtful comments folks.

I ran an Audette "ladder" test today at 200 yds. The temperature was 67.3F with heavy overcast skies and mild (3 mph) winds. My load paramaters are as follows:

Bullet: Nosler 250grs AB
Powder: H1000
CCI 250
Charges: 94.3 to 102.0grs (in 0.7grs increments)
OAL: 3.815"
Chamber MOAL: 3.855"
Case: RP at 2.835"
Case H2O capacity: 116.71 (ave. of 30 cases)
Necks turned at .0135"
CED Millenium II chronograph

I have Quickload 3.4, but did not trust the data because it was so far off with the 338 Rum. The Hodgdon manual lists 98.0grs of H1000 as max load with Hornady 250grs. and pressure of 62,400 PSI. Quickload indicates 73,646 PSI with the same data.

So I proceeded with my test. I have a Pressure Trace instrument, but on this occasion, as you would have it, the strain gauge failed and I couldn't get any readings. :mad:

Here are my results, as compared with QL data:

Load........ Test fps......QL est. fps......QL pressure....QL Barrel time (in ms.)

94.5..........2817..........2847...............52,095..........1.440
95.0..........2872..........2869...............53,419..........1.430
95.7..........2864..........2890...............54,779..........1.424
96.4..........2930..........2911...............56,180..........1.392
97.1..........2917..........2933...............57,619..........1.376
97.8..........2947..........2954...............59,101..........1.361
98.5..........2973..........2975...............60,626..........1.346
99.2..........2977..........2996...............62,196..........1.331
99.9..........3003..........3017...............63,811..........1.316
100.6........3035...........3038...............65,475..........1.301
101.3........3056...........3058...............67,184..........1.286
102.0........3081...........3079...............68,955..........1.272

First observation, I was surprised to note the narrow gap between the fps numbers in my test vs QL estimates. Secondly, the tests yielded 2 plateaus (sweet spots) where the vertical dispersion between loads was minimal. The vertical spread between the 95.0grs and 95.7grs loads was .168" @200 yds. and the spread between the 99.9grs and 100.6grs loads was .283".

Interestingly, there are Optimal Barrel Time nodes (OBT) of 1.4307ms and 1.2795ms for a 28" barrel. The first corresponds exactly with my first sweet spot (95.0 - 95.7grs). The next faster OBT node (1.2795ms) is slightly faster than the 1.301ms that I get with my second sweet spot (99.9 -100.6grs).

Bottom line, I'm going to try an Optimal Charge Weight (OCW) test between 99 and 101 grs of H1000 at 200 yds. I'll change the strain gauge on my barrel and make sure that I try this test below 70F. :)
 
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