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Compressed Loads?

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3K views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  matt s  
J
#1 ·
I am trying to figure out if my 257 Weatherby load is compressed or not. I asked this question on another forum and havn't got a response yet. I loaded a 100gr barnes Tipped TSX bullet to 3.170 Coal and started to hear powder crunching at 77.5 grains of H-1000. Hodgdon list 78.0 as book max, but they are using a different bullet and a COAL of 3.20. I am just trying to figure out if this a compressed load or not. I went home and did some figuring and this is what I came up with..... Was this done correctly

So, I got home and did a little calculating. I filled the case with water and it weighed 85.5 grains which is consistent with other findings. I then filled the case with water and inserted a bullet to my seating depth which should tell me my case capacity. The water left in the case after removing the bullet weighed 80.7 grains. So my case capacity after seating a bullet should be 94.4% of the original capacity. I then filled the case with H-1000 and it weighed 83.0 grains. Multiplying that by .944 gives me 78.35. Am I correct in thinking that this is my true case capacity after bullet seating and a load at 78.0, although it crunches powder, is not really a compressed load????
 
#3 ·
those loads will settle a little with time, there is still small air pockets between the grains, i have loads for my 300 that compress when i seat the bullets and a while later after being moved and bumped around i can actually hear the powder moveing inside the case. As i'm sure you know , diferrent powders will have different volumes in the same case, if it shoots good , i actually like a powder that will fill the case.
 
J
#4 ·
Just kinda leery shooting a compressed load at dang near 80 grains. One book shows 75.5 another shows 76.5 and hodgdon website shows 78. I plan on starting at 75.5 and working up to 78. I know pressures can spike quick if you compress it.
 
N
#5 ·
You need to find out what the Over All Length of a loaded round that your rifle can handle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overall_length). I try to load my precision rounds to .01" off of lands (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifling). If you are loading rounds to factory recommended specs, which are rounds made to fit all different guns, you could be compressing the load a little without hitting the book max load. If you load the round to the gun's OAL you might find that you have plenty of room in the case for the max charge of powder without compressing the load. Note: your OAL will change for each different bullet that you load.

Depending on what else your doing to the round, like crimping, case length, primer, powder, etc...., you could be causing issues when compressing the charge. Depending on your barrel length and compression of the load, you could be blowing powder out the end of the barrel that would result in a muzzle fire burst (that's what I call it). If you don't have any muzzle fire bursts, then the powder is burning in the case and barrel properly.... then you will need to check on signs of high pressure on the case.
 
J
#8 ·
They throat the weatherby callouses so long that you can't even get close to the lands before the bullet falls out of the case. I emailed barnes and they said 72 was max and thei older versions listed both 75.5 and 76 for my same coal. Gonna start at 75 and shoot through a chrono to check it. It's definitely not compressed at 75.
 
E
#9 ·
With the amount of neck tension that you probably have if using standard dies, I would not be scared to shoot compressed loads. Most of my favorite loads are at least slightly compressed, some are really compressed. So long as the bullets do not start pushing back out compressed loads are not really a problem.
 
J
#11 ·
I ended up pulling the bullets and reloading them from 74 to 76.5 grains which are not compressed. I hit pressure at 76 grains. All of them shot like crap so it was all for nill. Anybody that shoots a 257 care to send me a tried load, I'm having a hard time with mine.
 
#12 ·
Although it is not for a Barnes TSX my Nosler book shows the max load for any of their bullets with H1000 @ 75.5gr. They also show a S.A.A.M.I. max oal length @3.250
 
J
#13 ·
Learned a lesson about getting the book for the bullets you are wanting to shoot. 78 grains would have been a costly mistake on that one. Anyway, ended shooting several groups under .5" with some Re-22 and a 100gr Scirocco's at 3700 fps. Can't wait to try it on an old slick head, should be a hammer.
 
M
#14 ·
My barnes book has 100g tsx bt h1000 75.5g at 3503 fps. has rl 22 71g at 3595. Most accurate load was the h1000 in book. My best load was the 115g tsx r25 73g at 3420. Didn't play with the 100g much tho. I was using cci mag primers.
 
J
#15 ·
matt s said:
My barnes book has 100g tsx bt h1000 75.5g at 3503 fps. has rl 22 71g at 3595. Most accurate load was the h1000 in book. My best load was the 115g tsx r25 73g at 3420. Didn't play with the 100g much tho. I was using cci mag primers.
Click to expand...
Yea, I am 1.5 grains over max with allot longer COL
 
M
#16 ·
I worked up loads above max in the book also and had no pressure signs but lost accuracy in most of them depending on the type of bullet. If your load is accurate and show no signs of pressure, I wouldn't worry about it.
 
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