He was loading some 270 bullets that my uncle had previously loaded for me. The orginal load was H-4831 behind 150gr NBT with cci 200 primers my friend thinking that IMR 4831 and H 4831 were the same loaded them with the H 4831 with cci 250 primers. Well the loads have worked fine with just some minor cratering of the primer. I am about to load for this gun again and I am not sure if I want to use the excessive load this time. Has anybody loaded a 270 this hot. It is a M-70 push feed. This load is almost 3gr higher than the Hornady book says is MAX ...
Between the Mag primer and the 3 grains OVER max, you must be generating incredible pressure. I think you've been very lucky until now. You didn't say how many you've actually fired and it really doesn't matter. I think ANY GOOD reloader will recommend against shooting those or repeating that same mistake.
Do not reload past the maximum that the book says. You are asking to get your gun blowed up or worse still-you . An animal will not know if he is being shot with 5 less grains and I never could tell any difference in the performance. Besides your barrel will be cooler with the lower loads...
Well, if you don't like your gun, don't like your face, and don't like your life...then go right ahead and be foolish and overload them. Just make sure to tell the guys shooting next to you at the range that you're 3gr over max before you endanger their lives too.
Otherwise, I'd say DON'T DO IT! You very easily could be having pressure excursions on the order of 70,000-90,000psi or more. It's nothing short of a miracle that the rifle hasn't blow up already. In fact, if I were you I'd take that gun to a good gunsmith and have him thouroughly check it for damage before you shoot even normal loads in it again. You could very easily have microscopic stress fractures in the steel that could let go at any time, even under what would be normally safe operating pressures.
Is a few FPS really worth the risk? If you need the performance that the overloads provide, you need to think about another rifle with a more powerful cartridge like a .270 Wby. Mag., 7mmMag, etc...
I am aware of all this and would be very worried about this if I had any other signs of excessive pressure. I know guys push the envelope and was looking to find out how much this was pushed. I have a 220 swift that I push and it shows signs of pressure, Cratered primers , Stuck cases, split cases. But I have none of this.
I have other rifles that are faster and hit harder so I don't have to keep this one this high but it has worked well for years like this. But I guess if there is no need why take the chance, So I will pull the remaining bullets and reload to book specs then resight in the gun.
But I will still like to hear from somebody that pushes and find out how hot they are rather than everybody jumping on me when I already said they were "excessive" and it was "dumb" mistake that worked well.
He was loading some 270 bullets that my uncle had previously loaded for me. The orginal load was H-4831 behind 150gr NBT with cci 200 primers my friend thinking that IMR 4831 and H 4831 were the same loaded them with the H 4831 with cci 250 primers. Well the loads have worked fine with just some minor cratering of the primer. I am about to load for this gun again and I am not sure if I want to use the excessive load this time. Has anybody loaded a 270 this hot. It is a M-70 push feed. This load is almost 3gr higher than the Hornady book says is MAX ...
Dear 338...."It seems very difficult to impress most reloaders with the fact that every rifle is an individual, and what proves to be a maximum load in one may be quite mild in another, and vice versa." Bob Hagel, GAME LOADS AND PRACTICAL BALLISTICS FOR THE AMERICAN HUNTER, 1977
I never get tired of quoting this. [b] Anyone who tells you that the load you are using "is way over max" or that your pressures are "incredible" is whistlin' Dixie, because none of them know how ANY load will perform in your individual rifle without TESTING IT IN YOUR GUN!! O.K.??
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eldeguello ... Thanks.. I am no reloading pro. But I do know what the signs of excessive pressure are and I tried to state there were none but everybody thinks if it is in print it must be fact. Either way I have decided to go back to the origional load .. Thank's Again
because none of them know how ANY load will perform in your individual rifle without TESTING IT IN YOUR GUN!!
True, and none of us, including him, have the sophisticated pressure measuring equipment that the various manual publishers have available to them to test our handloads in our individual guns. Published loads are almost always going to generate less than max pressures because most of them are worked up in min spec. test barrels, while the specs in factory rifles tend to be toward the max side. I think that you, and Bob Hagel, are giving out dangerous advice, because unless he's got a strain gauge or pressure barrel cut to similar dimensions of his rifles barrel, he may very well be over max and never even know it. Primer cratering or flattening is NOT necessarily an accurace indicator of pressure, and by the time he see's primer pocket expansion, gas blowby, head separation or case rupture, he's already gone WAY beyond the max. Pressure limits and cases are designed with some pressure tolerance in mind.
And as I pointed out before, loading over max in a fools errand. The 100-150fps or so you might gain by going 3-5 grains over max isn't worth the danger to oneself or others created by doing so. With reloading, a wise person will always err on the side of caution. If he needs the extra velocity beyond what his .270 can safely do, then it's time he considers a new rifle with a cartridge DESIGNED to produce those higher velocities safely.
Horray for eldeguello! He hit tthe nail on the head. I was just reading my Lyman reloading manual last night to kill some time and what he stated is true - as told by actual relaoding experts.
The Maximum loading may not be a true maximum load for a given rifle. All the manuals do suggest that you start at 10% below these "maximum" loads and work your way up.
(Also notice how the newer versions of manuals list a maximum load that is way below ones that they had previously listed in earlier revisions? Must be a liability thing.)
I've been loading now for over almost 40 years and some of my pet loads in a few of my rifles (based on data from very old manuals), the .270 being one, would make a beginning handloader shudder if he referred to data in some of the newer manuals.
These loads show no signs of excessive pressure but I also would not shoot them out of a different rifle without working my way up.
There are several other factors that contribute to excessive pressures or false pressure signs. Excess case lube on cases may make one believe that pressure is too high due to the lube not allowing the case to hold tight against the chamber. Too long a case neck from not trimming cases to proper length, improper sizing.
My advice - Get yourself a good reloading book and actually read it. Maybe you could teach some of the self ordained experts something.
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