How to safely load surplus powder with no data.

[jeeptim]

Here is my deal.....
I have bought spam cans of 7.62x54r corrosive. So I take it apart and reload my non corrosive brass cases lil lighter, get good ammo. I would like to use the same method reclaim the powder and bullets and run them through my enfield.
Both are near the same though the 54r seems a larger case.
The info I do have is the amount of powder in the surplus is 44gr of flake type powder I load 40gr and get nice groups. The bullet is 147gr steel core fmj bt .311 dia.
Now with the 40gr I still get a good kick in my 91/30 and my 303 is a short barell j/c.
Is this just being to cheap for my own good? I would really like to make this happen without shooting my eye out.
And if you think about it three lb of powder and 440 bullets for $125 in these times its as good as it gets for plinking.

 

[plmitch]

Thats an interesting way to go about reloading.

 

[LAGS]

@ Jeeptim
I do much of the same things.
But work up your loads very slowly then switching powders from one caliber to another.
You are trying to cut costs, and have powder availabe so just use the surplus for practice, Plinking, Blasting ammo.
You have no idea what the burn rate is on the powder, and no one can advise you of how to even start, because what you have may not even be close to the same powder that I have salvaged from my 7.62x54's
The.303 with a smaller case may not burn the same as the powder will do in the 7.62x54 case, and you may get pressure spikes sooner out of the smaller case.
Loading is not just related to the volume of the case.
It also has to do with the Shape of the case.
So just going to Less powder in a smaller case is not wlways linier.
Have fun working up the loads for the .303, but be patient and careful.
Are you saving the Berdan Cases for reloading with something like lead bullets and a cheaper less volume powder like 2400 or Unique ?

 

[jeeptim]

The old cases are piling up.....
The idea I have is...... checking load data for simaler powder weight for the bullet I'm pulling with near fps and see what I come up with and start 20% lower in the 303 and tick up or down until I'm happy. My big worrie is pressure.

 

[LAGS]

What worked for me, was to First Identify the salvaged Powder as to type and what powder it Looked Similar too.
The stuff in my Chinese Brass cases ammo looked like , and the grains measured almost the same in diameter and length as IMR-4350.
Then I checked the loading manual and saw if the data for that bullet closely matched up for that bullet weight and the load that came out of the case.
those too came close to loads for the IMR-4350
Other Chinese Brass cases ammo with a different Headstamp looked like IMR- 4895 and others like H4895 the loads too were close but not right on.
With that information in mind, I would look up a load for say the 8mm Mauser with the same kind of powder that I thought it might be close to, and then reduce it like you said by 20% for my base load.
I always fire the first 5 rounds "Absent Of The Body" on a test cradle and a string.

Now some POF .308 cases that I took apart , the powder looked like IMR-4320
And the loads matched up to military Nato Loads.
But Again, I started out LOW when using the powder , especially in a new caliber.