Max Load Questions

[Shotgun693]

I notice that most load questions want the hottest load possible for that round/gun. I've always found that the most accurate load was not the hottest load. I think that if you want to get a lot more velocity then you might be better served with a more powerful gun rather than trying to push the limits of what you have.

[steve4102]

Good advice, but on the flip side, why load a 30-06 down to 308 levels? If you want a 308 get a 308 and load it to it's safe potentials.

[brickeyee]

why load a 30-06 down to 308 levels?

Because if you miss it is all useless.

If you want a 308 get a 308 and load it to it's safe potentials.

Or find a less than max load for your .30-06 that runs accuracy circles around the max loaded .308.

The goal is to HIT the target.

[mrawesome22]

I have found that if you pick the right powder, the most accurate load is toward the top end and that is where the best case fill is.

[hooligan1]

Actually my two cartridges I load most are 7mm rem mag and the .270 win,, so far I have found that the most accurate loads have not been case-filling nor Max loads. HST, It may be that the bullet weight and type I choose to use in these two calibers doesn't necessarily require "case-filling" or "max loads" to acquire the accuracy I'm looking for.

[m&p45acp10+1]

For rifle loads most of my accuracy loads are in the sligthly warm range not max. There are a couple that are on the verge of max.

Now with hand gun loads most of my accuaracy loads are nowhere near max.

With that I am now off to the range to burn some rounds.

[rclark]

Hottest load? Not me. I want the most accurate.

[mehavey]

FWIW: The military 308/7.62 load duplicates the military 30-06 load -- intentionally.

That should calibrate things for `ya.

[Nathan]

Good advice, until you consider that the 2 are usually the same load. Seriously, IME, loads which are hot generally are pushing the case head the hardest which is making the case fit the chamber in the most uniform way.

Now, there are over loads which accuracy turns south because the load starts doing something which moves the action/barrel out of alignment or some other issue. I'm not sure why, but overloads do start to have bad accuracy for some reason.

[Jim Watson]

Most Internet Ballistics Questions are overambitious.
Neither a hundred feet per second or a quarter MOA is going to make any real difference in a hunting or even target load.
And if you are a high end long range benchrest shooter to whom it does matter, you are probably not asking a bunch of strangers on the internet what to do about it.

[briandg]

it's kind of funny, but 4350 in my .243 with standard 100 grain sierra btsp gained accuracy as I pushed it up. I was getting 100 yard moa groups. Accuracy actuallyfell when i stqrted using match hp by nosler.

[603Country]

Of the rifles that I shoot often, the 270's most accurate load is near max, as is the most accurate load with the 220. After much load testing, I found that the 223's best load is not max, but is pretty warm. The only rifle of mine that shoots best with a mild load is the 260. And oddly enough, the longest shots I've made in the last 2 years were both with the 260 (360 on a coyote and 390 on a big hog).

[Don P]

Aw, just keep loading them until she blows and then we will know the maximum load we can use to blow up the gun.
I thought folks reloaded to save money and for accuracy. Why use all the extra powder to get loads hotter and hotter? You want more bang get a larger caliber gun.

[Uncle Buck]

I thought it was just a "Kids" game. I am teacing two nephews how to reload. They ask the same questions another nephew asked when I taught him. Mostly, How much (more) powder can you put in this? Why can't you make it go faster. Why isn't more better?

We just loaded some .30-30 rounds with 27.5 grains of IMR 3031. Max powder load on this particular round is 31.1 grains. We loaded up six of each round doing a .5 grain increase. The more powder we used, the worse their accuracy became.

Nephews .30-30 shoots 28.0 grains a little more accurate than the 27.5 grains, but falls off if we do 28.5 grains.

[brickeyee]

Good advice, until you consider that the 2 are usually the same load. Seriously, IME

You are one of the very few to make this claim.

How hard a case is pressed against the chamber walls has not been noted as an important accuracy driver.

[Unclenick]

I think this whole issue is very gun dependent.

A lot of benchrest shooters report best accuracy with near-maximum loads. Floated heavy barrels, carefully bedded stocks, good stable sight systems, very consistent rest support.

A lot of shooters of the as-issued M1 Garand, on the other hand, find mild loads most accurate. One active competitor on another board pulls M2 ball and dumps out about 2 grains of powder to improve its accuracy in the Garand. Lighter barrel, not floated, lots of stuff in contact with it. Best not to rattle it too hard, or accuracy and contact with the other parts is more disturbed and has greater random influence on muzzle location at bullet exit.

So you have to know your gun's propensities. A bolt rifle with a floated barrel may be more like the benchrest gun and less like the Garand. A lever gun, with its magazine hanger and front barrel band, may be a little more like the Garand and a little less like the benchrest gun.

But YMMV. Best just to work loads up and see what your gun likes.

[oneoldsap]

Unclenick , you couldn't be more right . Guns ( rifles especially ) are each an individual . Like snowflakes and fingerprints , there are no two exactly alike ! I developed a load for my 7mm-08 that is a grain over book max charge . The more I stoked it the better it shot , still didn't have any pressure signs .

[WESHOOT2]

John Lawson and I were discussing this very issue, and we both noticed best accuracy from handguns came at proof load levels.
Weird, huh?

[Jim243]

we both noticed best accuracy from handguns came at proof load levels.
Weird, huh?

Not really, when you consider how short a pistol barrel is compared to a rifle's. My best pistol loads are at 0.10 to 0.30 just under max loads. On rifle 0.5 to 1.0 grain under max.

Jim

[Dr. Strangelove]

New loaders want the hottest/fastest/most energy.

It's just part of the process, they'll figure it out, sooner or later...

[Jim243]

Deleted, never mind.

[Don P]

Why Soitenly!!

New loaders want the hottest/fastest/most energy.

Yep and as Curly would say, "What happened? I'm a victim of circumstances"
"But honest Moe it was an accident"

[rex_lee]

Some us are looking for close range loads with maximum kinetic energy. I don't really care if I can get even a full extra minute of angle accuracy for these types of loads. An extra 1/4" at 25 yards doesn't mean near as much to me as an extra inch of penetration on a p*ssed off boar at 10 yards. That might be the difference in reaching his heart at a bad angle.

You guys should try to keep an open mind. Many other scenarios/needs exist other than your own.

[brickeyee]

A lot of benchrest shooters report best accuracy with near-maximum loads.

In tight chambers, some so tight you can load and fire a shell with almost no sizing.

Tight necked chambers, turned necks, minimal clearance (sometimes less than 0.002 in).

Benchrest is a VERY different world (though many of the techniques can be used in suitably set up guns ... they are benchrest guns used for things like varmint shooting).

Loading well into the lands was used for awhile, but seems to be falling into disfavor again.

Benchrest shooters could care less about pressures, and rarely even think twice.

[Brian Pfleuger]

I can't understand the "pure accuracy" philosophy any more than I understand the "max load or nothing" philosophy.

I want both... though I base it on "performance" not "max load". I bought a 7-08 because I wanted it's potential, not a 7mm at 243 energy. I bought a 204 because I wanted it's potential. Not a .204 caliber 22mag.

If I can't get near max performance AND exceptional accuracy, I look for a different powder or bullet or both. Interestingly, though my experience is limited, I have thus far had no trouble finding loads that meet BOTH expectations in loads for .204Ruger, 22-250, 7mm-08, 357sig and 10mm.