Am I about to blow my face off?
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Rick Richard
Well-Known Member
In most cases, but not all. That being said, I have had Hornady brass that showed ejector marks even when loaded to minimum loads. Some brass or runs of brass are just too soft. And, attempting to determine pressure signs by looking at ejector marks or primer configuration is very subjective. To each his own, but I prefer loading in small amounts until I feel the heavier bolt lift and then backing off a wee bit.
Bob Wright
Well-Known Member
Did you shoot a 10 shot ladder, starting with less powder, to work up to that ejector mark or, did you just load a max book load?
Varmint Hunter
Well-Known Member
If there are no pressure signs with a given load you may just want to shoot over a different chronograph to confirm velocity. I used a Chrony chronograph before I bought an Oehler 35P. As an experiment, I set up the Chrony directly behind (within 2") the screens of the Oehler. Several loads consistently registered 100 FPS faster on the Chrony.
FWIW - I sent the Oehler back to the factory for testing and it was determined to be recording speeds very accurately.
FWIW - I sent the Oehler back to the factory for testing and it was determined to be recording speeds very accurately.
West Calamus
Well-Known Member
AS you stated the nolser load data was with 24" and your's is 26. I think we all have a chamber/barrel combination that shoot faster then published data and some that shoot slower then published data. I agree with you that ur probably at max, just back off and find your accuracy node. Usually the ones that shoot faster then published will do so with all powders. Just my experience and opinion.
Deputy819
Well-Known Member
If memory serves (I'm not near my log-book right now), but I started seeing the 'typical' pressure signs @ the upper 75gr-low 76gr range. I backed off slightly under that to experiment, but the muzzle velocity was still in the 3100 fps neighborhood and that just didn't 'jive' with the rifle at all....groups/velocity all over the place. I worked back down and everything really came together at 73.1gr.
nkyshooter
Well-Known Member
If you are loading to 3.600" COAL you are 260thou over "published" max COAL - this isn't a problem if you have a throat that supports it (and I'm thinking you must unless you are jamming the devil out of these when you close the bolt) ... that extra 1/4" of internal capacity equates to more speed available to you before hitting pressure because your "tank" is bigger ... simple as that ...
I like @backwoodsshooter comment and guidance in the middle 74's ... but also, as others have stated, know that what you develop in cold weather may not be so gentle in hotter temps ...
nmbarta
Well-Known Member
Generally speaking, this is true. Generalizations, mixed with assumptions, mixed with reloading is how bad things happen.
The rifle that blew up on me was an ar. There were no blown primers, or other indications of being over pressure. There was indications that something wasn't right. My accuracy dropped instantly from 1/2-3/4 moa to about 3 moa. At this point I knew something was wrong and I assumed it was something I messed up during my loading process. I also made the generalization that because I was not seeing signs of pressure that it was safe to continue shooting. Turns out, I was not over pressure. My barrel extension had started to fail, which was not allowing for the cartridge to chamber properly. This went on for about 40 rounds while I continued to try to figure out what was wrong with my load. On the last round of a five shot string, the barrel extension failed, luckily, the rifle did what it was supposed to do, and blew most of the gas through the bottom of the mag well. Aside from a fat lip and a loose tooth from the charging handle, I was not injured. Shrapnel blew through the side of the upper receiver, and made a mess of everything else.
The point here is not to pick on you at all, just to point out that when something seems wrong, or your not sure why your seeing something odd, (like your velocity seems too high) it's time to stop. This is where I messed up. There is no logical reason for my gun to go from shooting 1/2 moa to 3 moa unless something was wrong, or something had dramatically changed. I'm sure if I would have looked with a bore scope, I would have been able to see what was happening, but I chose to continue tweaking my load.
If your seeing numbers that don't make sense, or you don't have the experience to make sense of them. It's better to stop and get your rifle to someone that can verify what your doing is safe.
Another Casual
Well-Known Member
As above, I'd back off and work up in smaller increments watching for pressure signs. I have one barrel that is always faster than published numbers, but it's well broken in. I'd be weary of a very fast barrel when new. If your gut says something is up, it's worth going back and starting from square one.
Having a chrono and understanding what it tells you is a major thing.
"Signs" as we refer to them, me included, we are well into a danger zone when we see them. Without a true pressure reading piece of equipment we are all pretty much guessing.
Throat and chamber variations will make a big difference from one persons XYZ cartridge to the next.
Speed and pressure fall hand in hand. Yet I shoot a fair bit of lilgun in several cartridges, straight and bottle necked, with some fairly high speeds with zero "signs" of pressure.
It's above my pay grade so to speak. A phone call or email to a bullet or powder manufacturer may well be a good route to take.
I just built a 17 Remington a while back. Knowing it is a speed demon anyway, I got some ridiculous speeds with excellent accuracy, like 4400FPS and I was t to the top of my ladder yet!
I quit and looked else where and still came away with higher than normal speeds, at not much over a start load. I ran my info by a lab that does load work. They pretty much told me a premium barrel had benefits of speed, in a nut shell it's a fast barrel and I should play the lotto for a while.
I run a start load with what many chase to get with a hot load.
"Signs" as we refer to them, me included, we are well into a danger zone when we see them. Without a true pressure reading piece of equipment we are all pretty much guessing.
Throat and chamber variations will make a big difference from one persons XYZ cartridge to the next.
Speed and pressure fall hand in hand. Yet I shoot a fair bit of lilgun in several cartridges, straight and bottle necked, with some fairly high speeds with zero "signs" of pressure.
It's above my pay grade so to speak. A phone call or email to a bullet or powder manufacturer may well be a good route to take.
I just built a 17 Remington a while back. Knowing it is a speed demon anyway, I got some ridiculous speeds with excellent accuracy, like 4400FPS and I was t to the top of my ladder yet!
I quit and looked else where and still came away with higher than normal speeds, at not much over a start load. I ran my info by a lab that does load work. They pretty much told me a premium barrel had benefits of speed, in a nut shell it's a fast barrel and I should play the lotto for a while.
I run a start load with what many chase to get with a hot load.
Generally if it seems to good to be true then it probably is . If it doesn't seem right I'd be very leery. Every barrel is different for sure you could have two barrels from the same manufacturer cut back to back and they may be faster or slower than each other . It's kinda a crap shoot for that . But if you're seeing marks on the brass I'd say you may want to back it off to cover your ( it rhymes with brass) . Better safe than sorry
