rbTanzan
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2012
- Messages
- 221
So we've all seen it advised a bazillion times; "....work up a load slowly in your gun, watching for pressure signs". And, "If you change any component, start over on load workup with a reduced charge".
Now sometimes it is difficult when reloading to match the performance, at least in terms of velocity, of factory loaded ammo. To be competitive, and keep the buying public happy, (and brand loyal), factory ammo has to have relatively high velocity performance for each given cartridge.
So how do they do it? How do they make rounds with respectable velocity, that are safe in "any gun of modern manufacture in good condition"??
I realize they use powders that we don't have access to, but where's the "magic"? High performance loads, that work in ANY gun, (and are safe) ,with no gun specific load workup.
What am I missing here??
Vettepilot
The reason for the handloader to exercise caution is that different powder lots may burn at different rates, different cases may have different volumes up to, e.g, 3 grains, different brisance in primers, different diameter in bullets, different friction coefficients, malleability, etc. So the handloader must verify safety when any changes are made, including seating depth.
The factories, of course, have already verified the safety of the particular combination before massive production. Once the whole combination has been determined to be safe and within SAAMI spec, then they can mass produce safely, as long as they don't change anything. They know that some batch of new powder is not going to suddenly 'blow a primer' because they won't add such a powder without testing and "working up," like we do.
PS: I remember blowing a couple of primers with factory 'Czech' ammo in Africa in the 80's. The bullets had a lot of slop inside when shaken, so I suspect that they used a too fast powder to save costs and meet production goals.