Just started reloading after months of research fired my first loads Sunday and was pleased with the results. Many thanks to all of the contributers to this site. Loaded 308 168 grain hornady boattail bullets. Five per group in four different grain levels using three different powders, Varget, Reloader 15 and Vhita Vouri 540. My question is load density, If you load say 40 gr vs 44gr you have dead air inside the cartridge. When you get ready to fire The majority of your powder is below the centerline of the bullet and the primer is on the centerline. Does this create inconsistency or am i overthinking this. I was half thinking of loading some low end loads and putting some wadding on top of the powder charge so after pressing the round in, the powder stays on the centerline of the round and creates a more cylindrical load on the centerline of the primer or is this nuts!
- Thread starter kish
- Start date
Thats nuts. To answer your question I would guess most would say their best rounds are full of powder up to the shoulder area of the case. Then when the bullet is seated it takes up the "airspace" inside the shell thus packing the powder a bit where isnt not really loose inside the case if you shake it... Thats been my experience. Every once and a while my most accurate load crunches a bit of powder when I seat the bullet. You should probably pick one of those three powders and run a ladder test and see what nodes you get and watch for pressure signs. I'd guess you havent found the higher end node. Read the reloading techniques on this forum at the top of the reloading page. It explains a ladder test.
M
milo 2.0
Guest
That's nuts.
Don't put anything on top of your powder, it will act as a plug.
I've seem hangfires from not enough powder in a case, but it's rare. People discuss fast and slow powders, but even the slowest ignites inside the case faster than you can blink your eye.
If your hell bent on a full case, get a slower burning powder.
I personally like the K.I.S.S. principal.
Part of the expectation of firing is that the loaded round is fired (traditionally) horizontally, meaning the primer detonation lights the powder (unless a compressed charge) at least part of the way down the cartridge, thereby increasing the surface area exposed to the flash blast. If fired vertically, the flash blast would only contact the powder immediately at the end of the cartridge. Ball, flake and stick (extruded) all have different burn properties, but the last thing I would do is stick something in there to take up some room and possibly increase pressure.
If I don't have at least 90% case fill I look at another powder.
Nosler feels that low density, high volume powders deliver better accuracy in their rifle data workups. Generally, you'll see your standard deviations and extreme spreads decrease, the fuller the case.
Chris
Chris
This is what I did once. I put a primer in an EMPTY piece of brass. Secured it facing down in a vice, put a nail on the primer and hit it with a hammer...I then had a very clear idea of what happened inside that brass. I of course was waring eye pro, hearing protection and had not been drinking. I don't necessarily suggest you do this...I'm just sayin
Now there's some thinking!
Be sure to use polyfill taken out of some old blanket. After it melts in your barrel and gums up your gun, you can give the gun to me. But I might hafta charge you a haz-mat fee for disposal of the gun....
Be sure to use polyfill taken out of some old blanket. After it melts in your barrel and gums up your gun, you can give the gun to me. But I might hafta charge you a haz-mat fee for disposal of the gun....
Here is a couple of powder density chart with burn rates and Volume Measure Densities (VMD)
http://www.tacticoolproducts.com/powder.pdf
http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi-data/instruct/VMD'S.pdf
You should learn to measure the case volume (empty and with bullet seated) using water and a scale. You can calculate the % fill for your charges. You'll find that MV consistancy is related to % fill.
Water is 15.432gr per CC so a typical 308 with a 168SMK seated to 2.8OAL will have a ww of 45.3gr or a vol of 2.935cc.
Loads like 42.8 gr 4895 have a % fill vol of 0.991 and 43gr of Varget is 1.00.
http://www.tacticoolproducts.com/powder.pdf
http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi-data/instruct/VMD'S.pdf
You should learn to measure the case volume (empty and with bullet seated) using water and a scale. You can calculate the % fill for your charges. You'll find that MV consistancy is related to % fill.
Water is 15.432gr per CC so a typical 308 with a 168SMK seated to 2.8OAL will have a ww of 45.3gr or a vol of 2.935cc.
Loads like 42.8 gr 4895 have a % fill vol of 0.991 and 43gr of Varget is 1.00.
Thanks... didnt know if that mattered it seems consistency is the key and i didnt know if that would eliminate a variable
