load data

[moooose102]

i have bought 3 REAL (hornady, nosler, and lee) hardbound relading books, and have 5 or 6 paperbacks. and still i have on occaision trouble finding a specific load for the powder/bullet combination i want to load. i think this would be ok, but i want to ask. would i be safe to use data from a heavier bullet, with all the rest of the components staying the same? meaning for example loading a 180 grain jsp in a .300 win mag, using imr 4831, my hornady book has no load data for this. so would it be safe to use the load data for a 190 grain jsp starting load ( 59.4 gr. imr 4831) as a place to start from for the 180 grain bullet?

also, i do not understand why the hornady loads are quite a bit lower loads than either the lee, nosler, or hodgedon manuals i have? why would they do that? (specificaly, in a 300 H&H magnum. their HOTTEST load is 63.5 gr of imr 4831 @ 2800 fps, while the lee, and hodgedon is73.0 gr (compressed) @ 3035 psi. i understand not loading the max load until you work up to it, but this is a HUGE difference. in fact, hornady's max load is less then lee's STARTING load (64.8 grains imr4831 @ 2733 fps). do you think this is just a typo? am i missing something?? the only thing i can think of is hornady uses their own brass. but even that shouldn't account for that big of a difference. heck, hornadys load is basicly a 30-06.

 

[okeybug]

You need Load Data from Reloader Magazine. It has 10 of 1000s of loads at your fingertips plus articles. check it out. It costs 29.95 a year but how much are you spending updating your manuals? I switched and like it. You can print out hundreds of loads in your favorate caliper.

 

[dmickey]

Instead of spending almost $30 a year try this site:

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

 

[Branspop]

A great resource that I have used is contacting the powder companies directly with what I am trying to load. They can usually help.

 

[454PB]

I've been handloading for 38 years, and I use the method you describe many times. Back all those years, there was only about 10% of the load information available that we have today. I've also purchased milsurp powders that had minimal to no load data available, and I had to develop my own data.

Every firearm is an individual, and the loading manuals generally use universal receivers with SAAMI spec chambers to develop their data. The kind of wide variation you mention is not unusual. To safely work up your own loads, you have to use their guidelines as a starting point. A chronograph is almost indispensable for this, and they are very inexpensive today.

I use some loads in my own rifles that exceed maximum listed loads by several grains, yet they are safe in my gun and verified by brass life and chronograph data. This is not a practice to be taken lightly, or by the inexperienced. It takes many years of experience and careful testing.

 

[Ol` Joe]

I check the web site of the powder manufacture and see what the min-max is there for my bullet wgt. Then check any manuals on hand for the same in their data with the powder I`m looking at useing. Then I average all the min-max charges I have found and use that as my guide.

BTW a 300 H&H is not a 300 Win. The data isn`t comparable in any way, shape, or form. Forget about H&H data if you are loading the Winchester version.

 

[ants]

I've been loading since the late 1960's. It would be wise to go back and read the post above by 454PB. It's good advice.

When one load data is lower than the others, some folks generally claim that the lawyers made them lower the data, but that's hogwash. No president of any component manufacturer will let lawyers who don't shoot determine his load table for him. Maximum load is determined by the highest Mean Average Pressure from a pressue test plus two standard deviations calculated from the sample data, that doesn't exceed the industry standard SAAMI maximum chamber pressure for a particular cartridge. The entire industry determines max load by scientific means, not lawyers. Thus the published table is entirely dependent upon sample test data taken in one particular lab from one particular receiver on one particular day, and may vary from test to test.

To answer your specific question: If it's the same cartridge, same powder, same primer, same type of bullet (jacketed vs. lead), and same seating depth (how deep the base of the bullet is seated into the case) you can use a lighter bullet with the same published charge. It won't hurt anything.

 

[moooose102]

ol' joe. i load the 300 win mag for my self, and the 300 H&H for my brother. i DO NOT interchange the load data between the two. fortunatly, i can use most of the same componets though. i just do not understand why hornady is only loading the H&H to 30-06 levels. their load data for the win mag is close to the others, but the H&H data is way off.