Couple Rookie Questions

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Baal

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Hi guys,

New to reloading. Got all the gear I need, and then some. Bought and read 3 manuals. And I've loaded 100 rounds with no problem so far.... 308win 150 gr FMJBT.

Now a month or so ago I purchased a couple hundred tracers from one of the fine folks on this board. IIRC, vietnam era, pulled from 30-06. Tonight I started to load them. Have completed only two rounds and thought I should stop and check with the experts here...

The bullets differ in weight slightly. All the ones I've checked are between 143 and 144 grains. I'm using H4895 powder. Looking at the various charts, a 140 gr bullet would start at 41 grains of H4895, and a 150 gr bullet would start at 43 grains of H4895. So I've split the difference at started with 42 grains. That make sense?

Next, these tracers are pretty long. In order to achieve a maximum length of 2.8in the crimping ring is completely hidden a couple mm inside the case neck. So of course I'm not going to try to crimp them. But is it okay to have the crimp ring that far inside the case neck? I assume it means I'm running out of room for working up to a max load (H4985 with 140gr bullet would be max 45 grains of powder).

Okay, enough of that. Next thing, I've got several hundred rounds of Winchester Super X 180 grain power points. Can anyone tell me what powder they use? I've searched all over the Winchester site with no luck. Would like to pull the bullets and reuse the primed brass and powder with a lighter bullet.

Thanks folks
B
 
Baal said:
The bullets differ in weight slightly. All the ones I've checked are between 143 and 144 grains. I'm using H4895 powder. Looking at the various charts, a 140 gr bullet would start at 41 grains of H4895, and a 150 gr bullet would start at 43 grains of H4895. So I've split the difference at started with 42 grains. That make sense?
Click to expand...

The tracers will vary slightly in weight, 1 grain isn't going to make a lick of difference.

Don't expect great accuracy from them either, they are not built to be tack driving, match grade bullets. At 500M with my .223 I could most times hit the Steel Ram, the other 30-40% were all around, above and below the ram. They lose weight as they travel down range (that's if they actually light up) and they don't always light up at the same point in flight either. Some may light at 100m, some at 200m and some almost right out of the barrel, and as stated above, some may not even light up.
 
You can ignore the crimping groove altogether. Load for the OAL you want. Mind you, a 140 grain bullet is shorter than a 150 anyway.
Use 140 grain data. Don't expect to be able to shoot them at a range either. Most ranges don't allow trace.
 
I'm living in the middle of no where. No ranges anywhere near here. Got a nice big sand pit with 30-40 foot high banks and 300 to 400 yards long to shoot them in though.

Thanks for confirming that i can ignore the crimping ring.
 
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