Re: are all 140 grain bullets equal? stupid quest?
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: paulnyc</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I was wondering lets say I have load data for 140 grain SMKs out of the Sierra manual. Can I use the same load data for 140 grain Lapua bullets? Lapua loading data only gives data for Lapua powders but I have Reloader and others that I would like to use.
Thanks in advance!!
Paul. </div></div>
Paul,
Are all 6.5mm bullets in the 139 to 142 grain exactly alike, NO, they are not. The correct approach to your hypothetical situation where you have load data only for a 140 Sierra, but none for a 139 Lapaua, or 140 Berger, or whatever, is start from the lowest load listed by Sierra for that powder and work up carefully from below.
As you work up you will find your MAX load. Sometimes your MAX will be lower than Sierra's, sometimes it will be higher
than Sierra's, and sometimes it will be the same, even with a different 139 to 142 grain bullet.
That's what reloading is all about, a self-controlled experiment in finding the right blend of accuracy and velocity for your rifle and your application.
Folks like to use the word "recipe" when seeking the "perfect" load. But unlike baking, where so much flour, so much water, and so much ingredients and so much baking time and temperature, will always yield the exact same pie.
In reloading every rifle, barrel and chamber are different, so even using the exact same case, bullet, powder and primer, usually yields different results (different pressure, velocity and accuracy), in different rifles. They may well be close, but close only counts in horseshoes, hand-grenades and thermo-nuclear weapons.
Bob
