• The Shot You’ll Never Forget Giveaway - Enter To Win A Barrel From Rifle Barrel Blanks!

    Tell us about the best or most memorable shot you’ve ever taken. Contest ends June 13th and remember: subscribe for a better chance of winning!

    Join contest Subscribe

big differences in loading data

persistant7500

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Oct 27, 2009
44
1
56
Buckeye AZ
I am working on a ball powder load for .223 69 grn smk and have decided to work with H335. Hogdons web site lists 22 min and 24 max, but Lymans new book lists 22.9 - 25.5. This is a pretty big deviation in a small cartridge, what is your experience of should I load up a huge number of individual loads and spend a day working my way up? Thank you in advance Jeff
 
Re: big differences in loading data

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: persistant7500</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I am working on a ball powder load for .223 69 grn smk and have decided to work with H335. What is your experience of should I load up a huge number of individual loads and spend a day working my way up? Thank you in advance Jeff </div></div>

My 2¢. Hit the reloading forums. Find people shooting the same brass, primers, barrel twist, bullet and powder. Read all the data!!!! Start 10% lower and work up.

I load 10 rounds at the starting weight and 10 for .5 gr changes to max.

Using LC brass with wolf primers, 69 SMK and H335... I load 23-23.5gr. No pressure signs and the X is cake at 600m. YOUR MILAGE MAR VERY!

GOOD LUCK!
 
Re: big differences in loading data

"This is a pretty big deviation in a small cartridge,.."

Don't "trust" any of 'em, all they are is books and we shoot guns.

Manuals are no more than guides, they can't possible give us absolutes. The makers develop their data with different rifles and their results reflect those differences, and that's all it amounts to. Asking others who are also using different rifles from your's becomes the blind leading the blind. All of those differences simply prove my point; ONLY <span style="text-decoration: underline">you</span> can develop a full power load that's safe to use in your rifle, no one else can do it for you. Your rifle is different from all of the others so, "start low and only work up to book max unless excess pressure signs appear sooner."
 
Re: big differences in loading data

When I said "trust" I meant their load spread. Not to start with their highest load. That would be asinine. In my experience Hodgdon's numbers are closer to real world numbers than other manuals. It's their powder.