Didn't need to trim my brass, everything I've shot so far was factory FTX, so cases were already shortened. Pretty much the reason I chose the monoflex over the TSX. I had assumed it would be more a case volume than pressure, but evidently even after doing it for 4 years, I still have things to learn about hand loading. I checked the 250 Barnes data. Calls for a minimum of 51 grains of H4198, so that is almost certainly my issue. Just not enough jam, thus for round two I will try significantly more powder, see how it goes.
Sadly I do not have a chronograph, nor do I know anyone with one. Been on my shopping list for ages, maybe I'll have to bump it up the priority list.
Most of us are on some kind of budget, and we want the most bang for the buck. (Pun intended) Chrono testing is a commitment, the chrono itself can be inexpensive, I use a Chrony, and they are in the $100 to $200 price group with other skyscreen chronographs. For the few with a little better budget, the radar ones that will give you velocities to the target.
I use a camera tripod to position my Chrony. I also use a rest of sorts, shooting holes in the skyscreens significantly hinders their performance, it kills them. I've learned from experience that if the bullet gets too high above the skyscreen, reading velocity becomes iffy. So, I have tape marking that height. Don't forget to take into account the distance between the sight or scope and the bore.
It takes me about 15 minutes to set up, so I like to have a few loads to test. in the case of load development, I usually just reload my brass and repeat. Even still, load testing can take up the better part of a day.
I just finished a session, with my 44-40. I ran out of my old Hercules Red Dot and had bought a can of Alliant Red Dot. It says on the container newly formulated, so a quick check to confirm that my old loading recipe was still ok should suffice. Or so I thought.
My very decent load was now a very poor performer. I tried different weights of powder and 4 different primers. In the end i ended up having to lower the charge and use a different primer to get the load to work almost as good as it was with the old powder. This is fairly typical with handgun loads in the Cowboy velocity and pressure range. Rifles are as a rule a higher pressure cartridge with more powder. Primer selection is a bit less dramatic, and there isn't much need to test powder position consistency. But still a process and a commitment with a bit of record keeping.
On the plus side, it takes you to the next level in handloading. Expansion testing is another "taking it to the next level" process.
Expansion testing without ballistic gel is a bit unscientific, but with a bit of ingenuity, you can get decent results. The challenge to testing is the expansion media. For simple tests, milk jugs full of water will suffice. I've also used the paper from my shredder soaked with water. The problem with paper is that the hollow point sometimes fills with paper and the bullet acts as a solid. This happens on game as well, The hair and thick hide on a wild boar is like bullet proof armor.
Paul Harrell has a few videos and he uses a milk jug and a layer of towels, and then uses a meat target with oranges to simulate the lungs. I'm not too excited about spending $50 on groceries to test expansion, but it does mimic real life. If my intended game was wild boar, I'd want to take the hair and thick hide into account.
This was some testing with 9mm and HP bullets to test for suitability in a 9mm carbine to be used as a farmyard gun. Depending on the vermin needing dispatching, bullet performance can be an important factor. And with a 9mm, using factory FMJ is foolish. A rabid skunk or racoon, or a calf killing coyote is serious predator control, life and livelihood are at risk, you do not want to be under gunned. Not using enough gun or bad bullets turns a routine task into a disaster, quick. And unfortunately the blame is all on you and your choices of gun and ammo.
Your gun is a 450 Marlin, you have chosen enough gun. You are testing expansion, so you are well on the way to selecting good ammo.
I'm not a fan of recoil, my biggest rifle is a 350 Rem Mag. I selected a 200 gr Hornady FTX. Deer and Black bear are my intended target. I did contact Hornady about this bullet in the 350, as my velocity was at the top end of the recommended velocity range. They suggested that the bullet would be best not used at handshake distance. Chrono testing confirmed my velocity and I had to back down a grain to get the accuracy I wanted. Considering the scarcity of factory ammo, having a good handload was important.
Actually, my experience with the FTX compelled me to comment on your thread. I tend to not comment on threads where my experience is not directly related to the subject. My hope is that I was able to help in some small way.
Take care, you are on the right track.
PS: I'd probably be tempted to find some Vihtavuori powder, the velocity advantage is just too great to ignore, IMHO.
s RJ
