Woodworker74
Member
Last night I was sighting in a newly mounted scope on the rifle I recently purchased- a Tikka T3 Hunter in 300 WSM. I love this rifle. If I could just learn to shoot, it's accuracy would be amazing. Anyway, I sighted in using Winchester 150 gr SuperX factory ammo. Upon shooting a few more than it should have taken, I switched to hand loads, utilizing a variety of bullets, powders and once fired brass. After shooting a number of different combinations, there were a few clear favorites (see target photos). The 185 gr Berger Hybrid hunting bullet over W760 powder being the best. Anyway, after a good amount of shooting, I started to notice that a few loads were causing a stickier bolt than others. And then.... a primer blew completely out, spewing hot gas and a tiny little piece of metal into my face.
Now, let me just state a couple things for the record.
#1- NONE of these loads were over published max. All were between 1.5 and 2 grains below max.
#2- I'll admit publicly that I did NOT work these up a few grains at a time. I was simply looking for a good hunting load for bear. Something that had some punch to it. Soooo, I started at a grain or 2 below max, and I accept responsibility for my stupidity.
That being said- do BOTH of the photos seem to show signs of high pressure? The shell in my hand is a factory round that definitely has a mark that I'm guessing is an extractor mark, and the primer looks a bit flat and slightly cratered to my eye too. The hand loads (yes, that's nail polish- it helps me keep my loads straight) seem to show the same thing and possibly some cratered primers?? I guess what I'm driving at is this- the WSM is a high pressure cartridge to begin with. If I'm seeing signs of that with factory ammo AND hand loads, should I be as worried as I am? Was the blown primer a fluke? I've read so much conflicting info on how accurate a gauge of pressure things like primers, shine marks etc. really are. Opinions please!!! Oh, and if anyone has some shooting pointers to help me tighten up these groups- please offer them up too! Thanks!
Now, let me just state a couple things for the record.
#1- NONE of these loads were over published max. All were between 1.5 and 2 grains below max.
#2- I'll admit publicly that I did NOT work these up a few grains at a time. I was simply looking for a good hunting load for bear. Something that had some punch to it. Soooo, I started at a grain or 2 below max, and I accept responsibility for my stupidity.
That being said- do BOTH of the photos seem to show signs of high pressure? The shell in my hand is a factory round that definitely has a mark that I'm guessing is an extractor mark, and the primer looks a bit flat and slightly cratered to my eye too. The hand loads (yes, that's nail polish- it helps me keep my loads straight) seem to show the same thing and possibly some cratered primers?? I guess what I'm driving at is this- the WSM is a high pressure cartridge to begin with. If I'm seeing signs of that with factory ammo AND hand loads, should I be as worried as I am? Was the blown primer a fluke? I've read so much conflicting info on how accurate a gauge of pressure things like primers, shine marks etc. really are. Opinions please!!! Oh, and if anyone has some shooting pointers to help me tighten up these groups- please offer them up too! Thanks!