I really appreciate the assistance. I have the caliper, the scale and the manual. So, bear with me if I ask another "dumb" question. There seems to be a lot of differential answers to the grains for a green dot load for a 230 g projectile bullet. Buddy of mine says 6.4 g but from what I can gather from the manuals and internet the range is narrow from 4.9 to 5.3. Thanks for the welcome and yeah I can see how someone can really get into this.
Mr Mav -
First things first. And this is awfully hard for some young whipper-snappers to get through their thick skulls..
There are NO "dumb questions" !!
So I'm glad to see you back and asking. We'll be old friends in no time at all. Until you get my bill on the 31st.
Until then, let me see if I can help...
Loads can vary for 2 main reasons...
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Pressure Relationships. As reloaders we are ultimately concerned with safety. That means keeping the pressure UNDER the limits of the barrel. Chamber pressure is a function of many things, but mainly volume inside the cartridge case (as measured externally by OAL [overall length]) AND the amount of powder (aka "the load"). I hope you understand that for a larger volume (larger OAL) you have to burn more powder to generate the same pressure.
So to answer your question, you can't simply talk about the powder. I think if you'll go back and look, you'll see that the sources that told you more powder ALSO told you a longer OAL. So pick an OAL that feeds well in your gun, and then follow that load.
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Materials & Weights. Lead bullets being softer and more easily formed to the barrel take less pressure to push down the barrel than a chunk of lead clad in fairly hard sheet copper. That should be fairly intuitive and easy to understand.
It also takes more energy to get a bowling ball moving at 10 feet/sec than it does a baseball at the same speed. So we also see that the weight of the bullet also plays an important part in determining the correct load.
So to answer your question, when you talk loads, you also have to talk bullet materials and weights. Loads for lead bullets will use much less powder than a load for the same weight jacketed bullet. Therefore, you cannot compare a load for 230gr lead bullet with a load for a 230gr jacketed bullet. Nor can you use the load for a 230gr bullet on a 200gr bullet. And neither situation can be reversed.
You have to be ABSOLUTELY clear about your bullet weight and material you intend to use, and then look those up very carefully. If your Lyman book does not have something that pleases you, then there are plenty of authoritative sources on-line, like the powder manufacturer's web sites. Always go to your powder maker's web site first. If it's not there, then call them on the phone. They have the information you want, they simply can't publish it all.
Finally, I know you like your buddy, and I'm sure he's almost as nice as I am, but let me point this out. If his name did not appear in the paragraph above, then he is no longer on your list of "trusted sources". Because nice guys have a way of visiting you later in the hospital and saying stuff like, "Did I say 6.4gr. Gosh I meant 4.6gr." Follow? We're NOT making a pizza here, where you can double the number of black olives on a whim. Capiche ?
Hope this helps!
PS. If you'll just keep repeating that purple part at the top of the page you'll be OK.
