Does this m14 load sound alright to you guys?

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GunNewb

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About to cook up my first batch ever for the m14. (norinco 18.5")


I hear the 4895's are good but I have a 4 lb of IMR-4064 and I want to finish that before I buy more.



Hodgdon's 4th edition has a load that Im thinking about- Ill start off loading 100 rounds of this and when my rifle gets back from the smith Ill try em out.

- 39.7 gr IMR 4064
- C.O.L- 2.777
- Hornady 150 gr FMJBT

-Winchester commercial brass(cant find LC in Canada)
-CCI #34 primers
-Hornady 150 gr FMJBT


Im a bit of a reloading newb(have reloaded for 1 bolt gun).

Safety- Size, trim, n put a bullet into 1 case. Put this into my lyman 308 headspace gauge. If the projectile fits it should be safe to shoot, yes?
 
8th edition Hornady manual
Test rifle Winchester model 70
Barrel 22", 1-12" twist
Case Hornady
Primer Federal 210
Bullet 150gr BT-FMJ #3037
Powder IMR 4064

2300fps 38.4 gr
2400fps 40.0gr
2500fps 41.7gr
2600fps 43.3gr
2700fps 44.9gr MAX LOAD USE WITH CAUTION
 
Sounds good to me. I usually use IMR 4895 or Win 748, but IMR 4064 is an excellent powder for your rifle.
 
I have read elsewhere that 4064 is a tad slow for the M14,(does this mean that this powder would be better with heavier bullets?), the Hornady manual, lists 37.9gr IMR 4064 starting load going up to 42.1gr with a 155 gr A-Max, where the test rifle was a M1A.
 
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I've put well over a thousand rounds through my 305. All were reloads. Most were 150gr Hornady FMJ's in front of 42 grs of 4064 in commercial cases.. Start low. work up in .5 gr increments and check at least 2 reliable sources before loading your first round.
 
IMR 4064 is one of the GOOD powders for M-14 and M1 Garands. Varget is usually the powder that some people draw a line and argue over.

It is generally recommended to load between 147-173gr bullets for the M1 Garand or M14 using standard jacketed bullet loads.

A powder in the suitable burn rate range for the action of this type of semi auto gas rifle such as IMR 4895, H4895, AA 2495, BL C2, H335, Win 748, IMR 4064 (and there are others).
 
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Just a word of caution- if should get your hands on some mil spec cases do your load developement over again. Reduce the recommended starting load by 10% and work up from there. Military cases are thicker than commercial cases. This makes their internal volume less which generates higher pressures than the same load in a commercial case.
 
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The M14 has issues with port pressure, and the only issue of influence is knowing the upper limit on burning
rate, which is a 4064. I think 4064 is borderline but don’t think it will ever harm a rifle. Others purport
to be right in the range but, VARGET®, for instance, is too slow despite what Hodgdon® says. Shoot some and it’s plain. It hurts
the rifle. IMR® 4895, Hodgdon® 4895, Accurate Arms® 2495 are, I think,the very best choices. These three are close to the same
in burning rates, but I listed them from slowest to fastest. I like Hodgdon® the best and mostly because it meters very well. It also has the more temperature resistant coating akin to VARGET™.
Click to expand...
-From Zeideker "Reloading for the M14"

Now the lists I have looked at say 4064 is slower- I don't quite understand.


Hodgdon BENCHMARK
faster 81 Hodgdon H335
82 Ramshot X-Terminator
83 Accurate Arms 2230
84 Accurate Arms 2460s
85 IMR, Co IMR 8208 XBR
86 Ramshot TAC
87 Hodgdon H4895
88 VihtaVuori N530
89 IMR, Co IMR 4895
90 VihtaVuori N135
91 Alliant Reloder 12
92 Accurate Arms 2495BR
slowr93 IMR, Co IMR 4064

-http://www.hodgdon.com/burn-rate.html
 
Sluggo. I think the text you quoted is poorly written. By "...the upper limit on burning rate, which is a 4064.." I think he meant the SLOWEST powder (burning rate) is 4064. That would make sense.

That said, I don't think there is much to chose between 4895 and 4064 in terms of speed. And both are excellent for service rifle. In my opinion, the slowest powder I would use is RL15, but I would not use a hot load of it.
 
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