help with developing starting loads please

[Evanguy]

so ill start off by saying I'm not new to relaoding and I've done a fair bit of playing around, I'm not overly excited by high pressure loads and usually run my pressures well under saami specs, and I only shoot cast bullets.

the other day I bought batch of random powders, 11 different types to go with my other powders I have on the shelf. after I received them I started looking at the burn rates and which powders I would be using first

I figured the powders I have that listed here are suitable for cast bullets are [in order of fastest to slowest]

H116 ---> i read this is basically 3% slower burn rate then Win680, and is the same as AA1680
AA 5744
WIN 680
IMR 3031

I'm looking for starting loads for these 2 rounds 303 british and 43 mauser [every thing else I relaod, I have powder for them and i dont shoot them nearly as much]

right now I load the 303 british at 800 to 1600 fps with cast lead from 90gr to 205gr [205gr at 800 fps is fun for shooting squirrels]
my loads are as followed for it
205gr -- 28gr h4895
90-205gr -- 2.7-8gr titegroup
90-205gr -- 3-8gr win231

and for the mauser I load from 900 to 1600fps and I try and I try and fudge a bit of info together to guess the pressure and I would guess they should be under 18,000 psi. I use 45-70 trapdoor data for the 43 mauser, so if you dont know any loads for the 43 mauser I'd gladly take any 45-70TD loads you have. the mauser case is 7 BP grains LARGER so should be good.
450gr cast -- 30-36gr H4895
385gr cast -- 38-40gr H4895
330gr cast -- 42-45gr H4895



ok so now that you see what im up too, im looking for some starting loads for these powders,


H116-- so far I have no starting point for this in either round

AA5744-- I think ill start with 20gr in the 303 with a 205gr cast bullet, no starting point in the 43 mauser/ 45-70TD

Win 680-- I have no loads for either rifle so far, but may try 20gr with a 205gr cast bullet in the 303

IMR 3031-- I have no loads for either rifles so far, but I can find some on the 303 and the 45-70TD but it seems the pressure can rise really quick with this powder, some of the loads the MIN and MAX are very close in weight but LARGE pressure differences id like a load someone has used or id like to be able to read about other experiences


thanks for reading that mashed up info in my post. and thanks for any tips of thoughts.

 

[kevinm1980]

3031 works well for 303 candy cast bullets my current load is 30gr. With a 200 gr cast, have been as high as 34gr. But a bit too much thump for regular shooting

 

[Evanguy]

^^ thanks for that. 30gr sounds like a good load. Thats where i was thinking id start. But some loads for that powder are quite a bit higher then that 35gr-42gr and i wasnt sure if loading too low would cause unburnt powded in the barrel

30gr seems like a good start. Thanks ill load up 20 rounds of it after work to try it out

 

[FLHTCUI]

11 pounds of Different types of powder ?
Man, save your cash read afew reloading manuals and decide from there.
$32.00 a pound Min. and finally decide on a simple 47 grn of 4350 for the 308 and Bobs Your Uncle.
But, I digress, thank you for keeping the economy rolling.
The Shiny Pony thanks you for the GST too
Rob

 

[Evanguy]

at 8.50 a pound i said " ill take it all",110$ for 11 types totaling 13 pounds from an old relaoder, no tax. When i buy powder at full price i buy titegroup and H4895

And i have a few books and reload for 32 sw short/long, 32 HR, 25-20, 7.62x25, 303, 3006, 43 mauser, i have to pay 50$ a pound here for powder. So when i do buy powder if getting more then 3 pounds its cheaper to order from rustwood and pay for shippng then buy it localy. When i get 13 pounds for 110$ id take any powder and buy a rifle for it if i had too


so i loaded up 5 rounds with 3031 they have 30.0gr in them, and i loaded up 5 rounds AA5744 with and they have 20.0gr in them, all 10 are using a 205gr cast bullet.

ill edit this post in 5 minutes if i don't blow up, I'm going to crony test them now.


EDIT: ok so i lived to tell about it

the 20.0gr so 5744 with a 205gr bullet with 5 shots ranges from 1500-1525fps. that's perfect, ill use that and fine tune it a bit

and the 30.0gr of 3031 with a 205gr bullet ranged from 1775 to 1805fps that seems a bit high, i may tune her down to 28.0gr and see how it goes, im just using plain based bullets so am looking to keep them under 1600 fps

The primers look like they were fired with an empty case, no powder no bullet and the bolt felt the same as it did with the round loaded.

well i still need to figure a starting load for the H116 and the Win680 for the 303 and then for the mauser/45-70TD if no good info comes up i may just keep using the H4895, thats not really a rifle to experiment with,