Hello all. I have been out of reloading for about 10 years, but luckily some old habits die hard. Now that I have a couple boxes behind me I have a few questions that I would really appreciate answers to.
If any of these have been dealt with in earlier threads, I apologize.
Old primers… How can I get rid of them safely? Soak them in water and put them in the trash? Ten years ago, if a few primers went off when the garbage man ran the compactor it might have been treated as a bad prank. Today it would probably result in an ATF or Homeland Security visit. I’d rather avoid that, thanks.
Case length… All of my straight walled, pistol brass has been reloaded a couple times, but none even come close to trim length let alone maximum length. For example, my reloading manual (Hornady 7th edition) lists trim length for the .45 Auto as 0.893”. My resized brass comes in between 0.885” and 0.890”. What gives? I can not think of any problems this might cause in a revolver except elevating pressure a little, but in my .45 ACP could this lead to headspace issues? I get 0.451” when I measure bullet diameter, so my calipers work.
Wide differences in powder charges in different sources… I knew what powders I wanted to use, so I went to the Accurate and Hercules websites and downloaded their load data. Turns out I still like a book, so I updated to the Hornady manual. For the .45 Auto, the Accurate site gives a load range of 7.8 to 8.7 gr. of AA #5 with a 230 gr. jacketed bullet. The Hornady manual for the same powder and bullet combination is 7.1 to 8.3 gr. The range of powder charges from both sources is about 1 gr., but the max load is 0.4 gr. greater on the Accurate site. On the other side, Hercules lists a max of 17.5 gr. of 2400 for my .41 Rem. Mag and a 210 gr. jacketed bullet. The Hornady manual lists a max of 20.0 gr. for the same combination. Applying the rule of thumb of a 10% reduction from max for a starter load for the Hornady data leaves you 0.5 gr. over the Hercules max. Not much of a question here, I guess, but doesn’t it make you pucker up just a little when the “starter” load in one source can be over the maximum in another? When starting from scratch, any opinions on how to balance the risk above with reducing an already conservative load too far?
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i have posted tirades about this very thing.
all of my books contradict each other.
i wish i could help you.
i could look in my books and give you the loads i have.
if you think that would help?
__________________ "I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kind of person I'm preaching to."
I try to make an educated guess between my sources. Between the manufacturer's manuals, Hornady, Lee, and Internet sources, I can generally come up with something that, at least to date, is safe.
One would think that such data would cross reference, especially powder charges, but they don't.
Billy,
Thanks for the offer. I might take you up on it some time, but for now that would take the fun out of building loads. Naturally I had the "hotter" load data first, so I loaded up a series of rounds at 0.1 gr. steps. I'll just have someone on hand to chase down the brass so I can give it a good look over before shooting any more or moving up to the next level.
What about the old primers? Can't build a fire with them! Well, maybe, but...
Primers. Put them in a can of old motor oil, throw in garbage bag.
Brass: Seems ok, from what I read.
Powder: +1 with Billy! Seems odd. Are there such great differences because people are shooting OLD 45's, and the powder compaies are playing it safe? Just mulling it over. Hopefully, more experienced will wegh in.
__________________ I keep tellin ya Doc, I'm in pretty good shape considerin the shape I'm in !!
I think the books recommended powder charge depends on what equipment they used to measure the pressure.
As for case length I do not think I have ever had to trim my .38 specials. They don't tend to flow much with my moderate load in a model 10. Until they get past the maximum, I wouldn't worry about it. Overall length is more important I believe.
I have used old primers with no difficulty. On the rare occasion I find a 20 year old box, I will prime a few cases, 10 or so, to make sure they still function without failure and load em up. If they still work reliably, I wouldn't chuck em.
Otherwise, spraying them with WD40 is a sure thing to kill primers.
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The old primers will work just as good as new ones.The cases are straight walled and when fired stretch out,not up.When resized,no die will push them back to factory meisurements so they are slightly shorter than SAAMI max oal.Sounds like you already know how to work a load up. sam.
Location: a secret lab on the shores of lake titicaca
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with all my books when i look up cowboy loads i go for the max load or just under.
the min loads wouldnt kill a fly.
with my latest for the 45colts i am getting a satisfiying 727fps.
its not dangerously high but it is enough to make me feel like i am shooting something/
p.s. i have started with min on all my c.b.loads
__________________ "I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kind of person I'm preaching to."
IF you are loading Hornady Bullets, Use Hornady Data ! If Speer Bullets, use Speer Data. Bullet Manufacturing Tolerances are different as is Bullet Design and Performance, So it is best to go by the manufacturers recommended Loads and load for accuracy...Different bullets can cause different Pressures.
Rich
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[I]You know you might be facing your doom,when all you get is a click when you're expecting a BOOM!:( [/I]
IF you are loading Hornady Bullets, Use Hornady Data ! If Speer Bullets, use Speer Data. Bullet Manufacturing Tolerances are different as is Bullet Design and Performance, So it is best to go by the manufacturers recommended Loads and load for accuracy...Different bullets can cause different Pressures.
Rich
Is what I do. If I dont incur any pressure signs with a given manufacturer and feel that I can gain something or just want to fool around, I will take a higher listed charge from a different manual and apply it to the bullet I like. I slowly work up load like any other that way. I have found excellent loads doing so with no pressure issues. I also found different powders listed for a given caliber/bullet weight that way.
Example:Nosler manual #4 doesnt list RL22 as a powder for my .338wm 225 grn partition. Barnes #1 does for their 225grn X bullet begining at 73 grains, and max at 78 grains powder charge. I tried RL22 and worked to 75 grains RL22 with a CCI250 primer in Rem or Win brass behind a 225 nosler partition, and my Ruger shoots them sub MOA at 100yards at 2800fps.
Just use common sense. It is OK to experiment in a sane fashion.
10 year old primers should be just fine if they have been stored in the factory packaging and kept dry.
I think it's a good idea to always compare load data from several sources. I called Hornady years ago about some 300 Weatherby load data in their manual (2nd or 3rd edition) that that didn't look right. The Tech immediately told me not to use that data, there had been a mix up and the book was wrong. He gave me the correct info.
Sometimes I wonder if powder burn rates evolve a little over time. I have an 8 lbs bottle of H1000 that recommends on the label to use 76.0 grains (reduced 6% to start) for a 7mm Rem mag with a 140 bullet. My Hornady manual fourth edition lists the max to be 75.0 grains. I used the 76.0 grain load for several years without noticing any pressure issues. Now the Hodgdon web site has listed the maximum load with a 140 grain bullet to be 70.0 grains.
