normaly they aren't even close 06, standard cartridges using the exact same recipes are seldom within 75-100 fps, mags can be off more.
its more to it than barrel length, bore diameter, rate of twist, actual chamber volume, case thickness, lot to lot varience of powder, primers, and difference in bullet jacket hardness, lot to lot all add up.
RR
Manuals are just a guideline, stay within them and you'll be fine, however you may not see the potential of your firearm either.
I start with a midlevel load when working with a new cartridge, I slowly go up to a book max load, then chrony it, its usualy slow by a good deal, I ease up to the max listed velocity, then check everything, if I want added performance and have the room to go up more, I will. Till I see pressure signs, I then back the load down a bit and that is my max load for that rifle.
when changing anything I'll back that load off 5% and start back up till I get the intended results.
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Last edited by Ridge Runner; 02-20-2010 at 09:08 AM.
Location: S.W. Pa.-- Heart in North Central Pa. mountains-
Posts: 2,505
RR is spot on. I pay little or no attention to what the manuals list as fps/load. My philosophy is that while velocity is good, accuracy is better. The best is top velocity and max accuracy with the same load. Consistency with components is critical to achieving this. And yes, a good chrony sure helps a lot. I went for years without one. After I got one, I wondered how I had gotten along so well before without it. Go figure.......
DANG! i was hoping it would be within 100fps or so....
didnt realize that much more was into play...
my true use is for longer range groundhog hunting when im clicking in my distance...hard to do when you dont know your velocity! lol...
and i know it would defiantly help to have a chrony also to see my consistency as a hand loader...
to me, velocity dont mean a whole lot...shoot calibers that are already pumpin what you want from them from the start and you dont need to worry about how fast the bullet is moving...just gotta worry about where its hittin..
guess i'll have to pick up a chrony sometime soon...
im addicted to handloading already! only shot 20rds from my 35 whelen i loaded...got another 21 test loads ready..but waiting on a trigger spring before i go..should be here monday or tues hopefully!
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>>----Give 'em the shaft!--->
I've used a chrony during load developement for 15 years, I can honestly say I don't know how I got along without it. Without it, I'd be plinkin at deer from 400 yards wondering why I couldn't hit them. You can't begin to plott trajectory without one, for the simple reason is without a chrony you do not know the 2 most important pieces of data to make and tune a drop chart, MV and actual BC, you must have 1 to figure the other.
RR
I don't blame the manuals or bullet/powder mfg. Alot of thier data is taken with pressure barrels from quality mfg.
I have had krieger barrels that exceeded most all data, and in fact couldn't reach max load. As RR has details, so much to do with headspace, and freebore, land and groove diameter, barrel smoothness, fouling, you freakin name it.
Years ago I read an article in shooting times by rick jamison, he had published his pet load for a 300 win mag. He was immediately swamped with emails and letters telling him that following his recipe these guys loads were 250+ fps slower than rick had published. So he started experimenting
he purchased all the lot#'s of brass, bullets, powder, primers and powder that were available and assembled loads changing one thing at a time and checking muzzle velocity. each component from a different lot" can have a change on MV, sometimes it would make them faster, sometimes they slowed down.
So, he took all the various components that increased MV, and loaded them, and then loaded all the "slower" components and the difference was the loads went from fast 30/06 MV's to almost 300 weatherby MV's just by changing lot #'s of the same components.
This is why I rework my loads with the use of a chrony when I change lot numbers of anything, if you've ever shot much re-22 you know what I'm talking about!
RR
I have found my loads match the claimed velocities in the Alliant manual but my velocities run quite low approx 70 fps behind the Nosler manual. I have found most factory loads are also approx 50-70 fps lower than claimed in my rifle.
Some of that difference is that the Nosler Manual is determined from a 24" barrel and my rifle has a 22" barrel.
For safety reasons the test barrels are set to minimum SAAMI specifications. This runs pressures up and increases velocities. Not necessarily because they are dishonest just better to error on the side of caution. Factory rifle chambers tend to be sized on the generous side to reduce chambering problems.
I haven't really worried about velocity, too much. I do my load work up and when I have a load that I have settled on then I chrony it and punch the numbers into my shoot software to get the estimated bullet drop at range. That being said there is still no substitute to actually shooting at the intended ranges to know exactly how the load performs at range.
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Just look at the parallels of the Nazi regime and the Obama Administration amazingly similar arent' they.
DANG! i was hoping it would be within 100fps or so....
You might still be. Like these folks stated, your gun has a lot to do with it. Some lots of powder are faster than others. There's also the cases. Some cases are thicker, harder, softer, etc.... Primers can be hotter than others of the same type.
My Barnes manuals use a 24" barrel, even for Weatherby loads. I've tested a few and was close. Better news was that my loads were of similar velocity to each other. That lack of variance means accuracy.
My most disappointing time out with the chrony was with factory 30-06 rounds. 180 grain bullets were barely hitting 2500fps.
Do you have a chrony, Mauser? I bought the Shooting Chrony back in the 1990s for about $120 or so. It can be fun. I brought it to work one day and we were shooting paper wads through it with rubber bands. The slower ones didn't even register.
The good news is, I haven't chronied a load in several years. But they still flatten deer and pulverize watermelons
velocity in manuals...
The slower ones didn't even register.
