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Old March 25, 2007, 03:18 PM   #19
Unclenick
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Join Date: March 4, 2005
Location: Ohio
Posts: 21,022
Lighter loads are safe down to a point. The problem is that nobody can tell you exactly where that point is because nobody can replicate detonation consistently. 3 grains of powder in a .308 is clearly too little. I know a lot of people using 5 or 6 grains and up in .308 and .30-06. None have had a problem yet. Your best bet to avoid trouble is to get rid of the empty space by using a bulky powder. Most rifle powders have bulk density in the range of 0.9 or so. A good bulky light load powder is IMR Trail Boss, which has a density of only about 0.32. I now use it for all very light reduced loads in rifle cases. For middle range reduced loads, IMR 4759, mentioned earlier, is another bulky powder commonly used for the purpose, though not as bulky as Trail Boss. Find the powder that fills the case best for the performance you are after.
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Last edited by Unclenick; March 26, 2007 at 01:21 PM.
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