lee or hornaday?

T

tob1onone

Member
EE Expired
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'm reloading 150 gr win pp with h4895 in308 cal. checked lee info and it said start load at 43 gr. checked hornaday manual it said 37.2gr.WOWWW. What a difference in start loads .My question is how can it be so different?
 
Last edited:
it depends on the manufacturer- my speer#11 also says 41 for a low, 43 for mid and 45 for the upper end- of course the velocities are different as well- of course, the 37 grain load is going to generate far less PRESSURE than the 41 or 43 grain loads- and the manuals have been LAWYERIZED over the last few years- the manufacturers are sneaking the loads down a few grains each year- i wouldn't be surprised if that 37 grain load won't function some rifles
 
Hornady loads tend to max out on the mild side - they must be paranoid about potential liability issues. Better off, as noted earlier, to start around the middle ground of Hodgdon's data and develop from there.
 
Differences like this are quite common.The Nosler #4 manual has the 300win mag with a 24" barrel producing more velocity than the 300wby with a 26" barrel,both using 165gr bullets.This is why you need to develop loads for your particular rifle,and not be overly concerned with the max loads listed in the manuals.
 
I agree 100% with stubblejumper, each barrel is different, each lot of powder is different. Develop a load that shoots to your expectations that chonograph the load and live with it.
Only from there you will know your down range ballistic.

However, Hornady books always do show max load a bit lower
 
However, Hornady books always do show max load a bit lower
Click to expand...
I'm currently working on a load for 30.06 and out of the three manuals I have speer, hornady and barnes, hornady has the highest max load but it also has the lowest
 
I find that Hornady is all over the map. some of their start loads I had low pressure issues and some of their max loads gave me over pressure issues.

The data was gathered with another gun so now you have to figure what yours likes. Always a good idea to check 3-4 sources to figure out how you will work up your load.
 
If you take a look at older (like '70's vintage) reloading manuals, the max loads are quite higher than the ones that they will publish today.

It is a pretty good idea, to take a look at as much load data as you can, and start somewhere near the middle or nearer the low end, and work your way up or down if you feel the need.
And remember that load data as presented, only represents a pretty good picture, rather than an exact one, of what the pressures will be like. They are as shown for the exact set of variables defined in the load manual (case, primer, powder, bullet) and in the chamber that was cut on the test barrel.

Cheers
Trev
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom