The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Posting Loads Above Current Maximums---PLEASE READ!

Bogie · April 30, 2001, 06:05 PM

Disclaimer: I shoot benchrest

A few folks I shoot with have more than once joked about "how to work up the perfect PPC load."

"Keep adding powder until you start to blow primers. Back off a tenth of a grain."

Okay - so we tend to shoot a bit on the "hot" side... 68 gr. custom bullets moving out at 3400 fps. Saw a 300 yard 5-shot group yesterday that was under a half inch. That was no BS...

This is NOT recommended for "normal" rifles (or "normal" folks for that matter...). My match load of 29.5 grains of H322 is about two grains over the published max, and it's safe and accurate in my gun, and was generally safely arrived at... I start popping primers at 29.9, and that is NOT a fun thing to do. Hot gas coming back through the bolt, chunks of primer IN the bolt (instant cleanout time), and it cuts into your firing pin. I definitely wear safety glasses. Just letting my barrel get dirtier than normal increases pressures such that I'm getting cratering, and eventually primers popping. It doesn't take a lot.

I've got a Savage .243 that shoots very well at a grain over published max. And it does so with minimal cratering of primers. I feel comfy shooting it that way. But I know what I'm doing, and I arrived at these loads in a safe manner. FWIW, I've got a .223 that maxes out at the published max loads - that's just the way it is...

If you get REALLY stupid, you're going to either have your rifle seize up (the bolt embeds itself in the receiver due to the pressure), have your chamber blow sideways (do you like being able to see how many fingers you currently possess?), or you're going to shear the lugs off your bolt, and your family is going to have a closed casket funeral for you...

We are NOT playing with toys here. This is serious stuff.

Heck - I saw a .44 magnum that some idjit thought they'd load up - They didn't have any W296, so they substituted an equivalent amount of W700... Whole top of the thing was G-O-N-E...

April 30, 2001, 06:05 PM	#12
Bogie Senior Member Join Date: June 6, 2000 Location: Job hunting on the road... Posts: 3,827	Disclaimer: I shoot benchrest A few folks I shoot with have more than once joked about "how to work up the perfect PPC load." "Keep adding powder until you start to blow primers. Back off a tenth of a grain." Okay - so we tend to shoot a bit on the "hot" side... 68 gr. custom bullets moving out at 3400 fps. Saw a 300 yard 5-shot group yesterday that was under a half inch. That was no BS... This is NOT recommended for "normal" rifles (or "normal" folks for that matter...). My match load of 29.5 grains of H322 is about two grains over the published max, and it's safe and accurate in my gun, and was generally safely arrived at... I start popping primers at 29.9, and that is NOT a fun thing to do. Hot gas coming back through the bolt, chunks of primer IN the bolt (instant cleanout time), and it cuts into your firing pin. I definitely wear safety glasses. Just letting my barrel get dirtier than normal increases pressures such that I'm getting cratering, and eventually primers popping. It doesn't take a lot. I've got a Savage .243 that shoots very well at a grain over published max. And it does so with minimal cratering of primers. I feel comfy shooting it that way. But I know what I'm doing, and I arrived at these loads in a safe manner. FWIW, I've got a .223 that maxes out at the published max loads - that's just the way it is... If you get REALLY stupid, you're going to either have your rifle seize up (the bolt embeds itself in the receiver due to the pressure), have your chamber blow sideways (do you like being able to see how many fingers you currently possess?), or you're going to shear the lugs off your bolt, and your family is going to have a closed casket funeral for you... We are NOT playing with toys here. This is serious stuff. Heck - I saw a .44 magnum that some idjit thought they'd load up - They didn't have any W296, so they substituted an equivalent amount of W700... Whole top of the thing was G-O-N-E...