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Old 01-13-2019, 01:22 AM
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MudderChuck
Nontypical Buck
 
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Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Germany/Calif.
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First off either you or I are a bit dyslexic. Re read your paragraph, the speeds and loads. Recheck your data.
There may be a small print asterisk for the length of the barrel the loads were tested in? I've noticed some pressure discrepancies before also, no idea how this is calculated.
IMO no sense in loading max loads, my quickest for .308 is around 2750 fps (165 pointed boat tail IMR 4350), which seems to be the sweet spot for my most accurate rifle. If you are set on going faster, buy a magnum rifle. For hunting I use IMR 3031 at around 2600 fps
If the brass gets significantly hard to eject that is a sign you've overdone it. If the primers bulge you have a problem.
IMO flirting with disaster isn't what reloading is all about. I not only sort my brass by manufacturer I sort them by weight, empty and the finished product, Consistency is the goal. each round being as an exact clone of the last round as possible. Consistency has more to do with accuracy than speed does IMO.
I'm sure there is a safety margin in the reloading data, max loads aren't exactly what the name implies. But why risk damaging your rifle, no real up side I can see. Velocity really doesn't equate to accuracy, there is usually a sweet spot well below max velocity, which may change from rifle to rifle.
One of the most accurate rifles (out to 400 yards) I've ever seen fires Mauser 8X57 hard lead curved ogive (semi round) projectiles at velocities so slow the reloaded brass barely sealed in the chamber. Point is, what actually works may be contrary to what you expect.

Last edited by MudderChuck; 01-13-2019 at 01:36 AM.
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