Should I be increasing the COL? Powder crunch.

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lonely_wolf

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I have started reloading and am on my first batch.

I am loading 165gr Hornady SST's for 308 Rem 700. I am using Winchester brass from factory ammo I fired and Winchester primers. Powder is Varget.

I am using the following ladder to work up my load:

42.0
42.4
42.8
43.0
43.4
43.8
44.0

The Hornady manual (7th Ed.) states 44gr as the maximum. It was recommended that I continue up to 45 gr, but stop at the first signs of pressure.

However, I stopped loading at 44 because the cases seem to be quite full. I heard powder crunch as I sat the bullets in. Is this normal? Is it safe? I shook the bullets and still hear some movement inside them. Not much.

So now I am a concerned.

Should I be worried having the powder packed in so tight? Are there any negative consequences? Should I lengthen my COL? I have everything seated as per the manual: 2.750" - Measured from bullet tip to bottom of case.

Add on question: When do I know to increase the COL or to stay within the manual?


Thanks.
 
lonely_wolf said:
I have started reloading and am on my first batch.

I am loading 165gr Hornady SST's for 308 Rem 700. I am using Winchester brass from factory ammo I fired and Winchester primers. Powder is Varget.

I am using the following ladder to work up my load:

42.0
42.4
42.8
43.0
43.4
43.8
44.0

The Hornady manual (7th Ed.) states 44gr as the maximum. It was recommended that I continue up to 45 gr, but stop at the first signs of pressure.

However, I stopped loading at 44 because the cases seem to be quite full. I heard powder crunch as I sat the bullets in. Is this normal? Is it safe?
Click to expand...

Hello Lonely_Wolf:

I don't think that you need to worry about the powder crunch issue; however, I would not exceed the maximum load recommendations of my manual.

Regards,

Chizzy
 
165 grain max loads of Varget are compressed loads. They'll start being compressed below max, as you've seen. Nothing to worry about.
Hodgdon's site gives 46.0 as the max load. Don't worry about the discrepancy either. Manuals reflect the data from the day of the testing in the firearm or universal receiver used.
 
That is good news! Would be plain hateful to pull the twenty odd cartridges I made and miss a day of shooting.


If compressed is normal, why would anyone increase their COL?
 
The couple of s.a. 700 308's I've loaded for had long throats.
Seating the bullet out nearing the lands made them into single shots.
Most guys will make up a dummy round to establish length to lands,(smoke ogive to show contact), then go back to the max oal that will feed from the mag, and live with the difference.
I have been crunching compressed loads for 40 years without issue.
If your bullet seating depth becomes longer than the original setting from the pressure of compression then you have gone too far. This can happen over time while sitting in the ammo box. Especially with light neck tension. I've seen some so jammed tight the case bulged and would not chamber. Prudence demands moderation.
You will feel resistance to seating through the ram handle when approaching heavily compressed. As well as the sound effects of course.
Many of my very best loads are lightly compressed, in fact powder choices are intended to fill the case 100% to 105%. All charges are always visually checked before seating.
The use of a long drop tube helps with the stick powders to make seating and on target results more consistent. Made mine from 18"s of 1/4" brass tubing, with a funnel glued on 1 end and the cut off neck and shoulder of a 25/06 case on the other.
Varget is the powder of choice for many 308 loaders. In a good friend's h.b. match 700 it shoots under 1/2 moa to very long range with lapua 155's, even with that long jump to the lands with the oal set to mag feed. He ended up at 101% density for his working load.
As with all internet data, take my words with a grain of salt. Light to moderate compression is a choice you as a handloader can use to advantage.
 
Extending your COL, or seating the bullets out further, is an attempt to get close to the lands in your barrel. CLoser often means more accuracy. THis is pointless however if you can't fit the cartridges into the magazine, or you seat them out so far you actually jam the bullet into the rifling, which increases pressure and can casue a bullet to get stuck.

Some target shooters DO jam it rigth in, but they are using their rifle as a single shot and they have worked up a load to a proper pressure.

Don't worry abotu compressing or "crunching" some powder. It's fine.
 
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