Originally Posted by
Big Z
I'm with him
I don't even shoot max book-loads in my rifles very often, cause I don't need to. I also load for several friends, and never had anyone ask for a hot load.
When someone KNOWS what they are doing, the book becomes only a guideline. I have guns that show pressure signs significantly below book max, and others significantly above. My 300WM Sendero that I use for elk hunting uses a grain over the book max, I took it even higher than that and saw no pressure signs. However the velocity is in line with what the book says I should be getting so I believe it's just the geometry of the chamber (I seat longer than SAAMI). With my 30-06 I got ejector marks before I even got to book max so it's good I didn't just go for the max from the get-go, I'd have been hot.
The key is I worked it up from low, used a chrono, and a healthy dose of common sense. If I wanted to run a 300WM hot I'd just buy a 300 RUM instead. Intentionally loading hot loads is just stupid. What happens when you work up that "hotrod" load in a cold barrel on a cold day then shoot it on a hot day when the barrel is warm??