Can you increase a powder charge......

[garth64]

If you seat a bullet higher than the reloading manual's stated minimum overall length, can you safely increase the powder charge by the increased volume? Thanks.

 

[RandyP]

Huh?

Short answer - NO

 

[Walkalong]

Theoretically, yes, realistically, not really. You have no idea how much it will change the pressure.

 

[243winxb]

Moving the bullet in or out will change pressure, now much is a guess. No, you can not just fill the extra space with more powder. If you seat the bullet touching the rifling, pressure is said to rise as much as 10,000 psi in a bottle neck round like 243win. , if you believe QuickLoad data others have posted.

 

[ranger335v]

No offense intended but this is one of those times to suggest that if you have to ask the question the answer is a firm NO.

 

[garth64]

Walkalong, 243winxb,that's what I thought, just wanted to confirm; thanks.

 

[ljnowell]

No offense intended but this is one of those times to suggest that if you have to ask the question the answer is a firm NO.

Why? It seems a perfectly logical question to ask. Following theories it is true also, but lacking equipment to check the pressure change you are playing with fire.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

CAN you? Yes
SHOULD you? Probably not.
As ljnowell said, if you don't have the equipment to know what you're dealing with, you're really asking for something bad to happen.

 

[garth64]

Thanks ljowell; I'm fairly new to reloading and just wanted to confirm what I was thinking; no offense taken ranger335v, the question may be dumb but I figured I'd be given the right info on this forum.

 

[helg]

I would suggest to get a QuickLoad program, and play with desirable "what if" scenarios.

Bottlenecked rifle calibers do not show any significant benefit of seating the bullet higher. Straight wall pistol calibers with short shells, like 9mm, 380, 40, 45 are affected more by the seating depth. The calibers are not used for long-range shooting though, and the benefit that you get with increasing muzzle speed on these calibers is questionable.

 

[jcwit]

Very simple answer here. Do what Walkalong recommends, which you already go along with.

 

[jenrob]

the question may be dumb

Not as dumd as answering the ? what happened toyoufinger hand side of you face or worse yet that person asking the same ? to you wife or parents cause it got you killed.

You can lower pressure a little with OAL but if you go to long as stated above, into the rifling then it has just the oppisite affect in a fast way. I have set lighter loads out to the rifling and even with lighter loads I have flattend primers or cratered them.

Anytime you make adjustments to your loads it good to start light and work up.

 

[ants]

The wisdom offered in the posts above is good. It's more complicated than you think.

Using velocity (not pressure) I varied OAL and powder charge in pistol cartridges to see how much the OAL affected performance, and how you can adjust the powder charge accordingly to maintain the same performance. I was seeking a convenient formula for each pistol cartridge I load.

Here's the conclusion:

It isn't linear. So there is no rule that applies safely in each case.

Not only is the curve non-linear for seating depth, but it's a different set of curves for each cartridge, powder, bullet weight, bullet type, and barrel length. Also, each combination changed the point of impact on the target. Sheesh. After several thousand rounds of shooting fun, I gave up the exercise.

And don't forget the caveat that I was measuring velocity. Who knows how it affected MAP chamber pressure.

 

[garth64]

Wow, very good and informative responses; thanks.