.300 Savage updated Hornady Handbook reloading specs

300savage · July 9, 2009, 10:00 PM

Hello I have a Hornady Handbook 3rd Edition (1985) and about to start a pressing run of 100 rounds for .300 Savage. I am going to use the 150 Grain Spire Point #3031 on the 30 Caliber (.308 Dia) brass. It says to use the Federal 210 Primers and IMR 4064 powder. Anyone with a newer edition (7th being most current) can verify if anything has changed recommendation wise? Thank you

**Unclenick** · July 10, 2009, 11:25 AM

Welcome to the forum.

Always get load data from at least three different sources, then use the lowest starting load among the three. Manuals make mistakes sometimes. There is a .44 Special starting load in the Hornady 2nd edition manual that gave pressure signs in a light revolver I have. Hence the recommendation to compare sources.

The #6 Hornady manual recommends seating that bullet to 2.600" COL in a Remington case using the Federal 210 primer. It shows 4064 achieving the highest velocity among the 7 powders listed, with a range of 36.5 to 44.0 grains. This is in a Savage 110 rifle, and not a test barrel, so you do not know the chamber was minimum (probably not) so the maximum load could be too high in your particular gun. You will need to start at the very bottom and work up in small charge increments while watching for pressure signs.

The Hodgdon loading site shows a 150 grain Nosler bullet getting a little more velocity and a little less pressure from a load of 38.5 grains of IMR 3031 using Remington cases and Remington 9 1/2 primers. They show no starting load, so knock it down 10% (34.7 grains) and work up.

QuickLOAD also shows IMR 3031 being the top performer and beating 4064 by about 100 fps. QuickLOAD finds the top Hornady load of 44 grains to exceed SAAMI pressure by over 10% in its default case size. That difference is likely to be due entirely to the size of the particular chamber and the case capacity of the rifle Hornady used. The fired case only needs to have a little more than minimum capacity to bring that pressure down. Nonetheless, I'd be wary of the Hornady high end IMR 4064 loads and approach them very slowly, working up in small increments. I show them being compresses powder loads and those can be touchy. My personal choice would be to work with IMR 3031.

July 9, 2009, 10:00 PM	#1
300savage Junior Member Join Date: June 22, 2009 Posts: 2	.300 Savage updated Hornady Handbook reloading specs Hello I have a Hornady Handbook 3rd Edition (1985) and about to start a pressing run of 100 rounds for .300 Savage. I am going to use the 150 Grain Spire Point #3031 on the 30 Caliber (.308 Dia) brass. It says to use the Federal 210 Primers and IMR 4064 powder. Anyone with a newer edition (7th being most current) can verify if anything has changed recommendation wise? Thank you

July 10, 2009, 11:25 AM	#2
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,061	Welcome to the forum. Always get load data from at least three different sources, then use the lowest starting load among the three. Manuals make mistakes sometimes. There is a .44 Special starting load in the Hornady 2nd edition manual that gave pressure signs in a light revolver I have. Hence the recommendation to compare sources. The #6 Hornady manual recommends seating that bullet to 2.600" COL in a Remington case using the Federal 210 primer. It shows 4064 achieving the highest velocity among the 7 powders listed, with a range of 36.5 to 44.0 grains. This is in a Savage 110 rifle, and not a test barrel, so you do not know the chamber was minimum (probably not) so the maximum load could be too high in your particular gun. You will need to start at the very bottom and work up in small charge increments while watching for pressure signs. The Hodgdon loading site shows a 150 grain Nosler bullet getting a little more velocity and a little less pressure from a load of 38.5 grains of IMR 3031 using Remington cases and Remington 9 1/2 primers. They show no starting load, so knock it down 10% (34.7 grains) and work up. QuickLOAD also shows IMR 3031 being the top performer and beating 4064 by about 100 fps. QuickLOAD finds the top Hornady load of 44 grains to exceed SAAMI pressure by over 10% in its default case size. That difference is likely to be due entirely to the size of the particular chamber and the case capacity of the rifle Hornady used. The fired case only needs to have a little more than minimum capacity to bring that pressure down. Nonetheless, I'd be wary of the Hornady high end IMR 4064 loads and approach them very slowly, working up in small increments. I show them being compresses powder loads and those can be touchy. My personal choice would be to work with IMR 3031. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle