HuntingNet.com Forums - 2 Gr over MAX ??????

Quote:

ORIGINAL: Fl Still Hunter

I have been working up some loads for a 7MM-08. Well I made a BOO BOO and loaded and tested loads up to 48 Gr of IMR 4350 without any signs of pressure like flattened primers or split cases and the brass extracts just fine. I was looking in the Nosler book at the 120 G bullets instead of the 140s I was actually using.

Nosler 140 GrA-Bonds
I get the best groups with the 48 G load which is by the book 2 Gr over Max, sub 1/2 inch 100 Yd groups ???????
I loaded about 40 rounds for this Year before I cought My mistake.
What do You heavy loaders think, safe or not ???????? :eek:
This is out of a Rem Mod 7.

"Never use a load that is OVER MAXIMUM FOR YOUR RIFLE!!" This means any combination of components that causes difficult bolt opening or case damage such as bright smear marks on the case head from the bolt face, or that results in primer pocket expansion that you can detect when decapping and/or seating new primers!

Any such symptoms require you to at least reduce your charge by 5%, perhaps up to 10%.

As Bob Hagel counselled in his book GAME LOADS & PRACTICAL BALLISTICS FOR THE AMERICAN HUNTER, "All rifles are individuals. What may prove to be a maximum load in one might be quite mild in another, and vice-versa."

Any load designated as a "maximum load" in any reloading manual CAN ONLY BE A MAX LOAD IN THE GUN(S) IN WHICH IT WAS DEVELOPED, AND NO OTHERS!! These "BOOK MAX" loads MAY BE over max. in your rifle, or way under! You won't know until you test it in YOUR RIFLE!! I use case life as my permissible load strength level criterion. I like to get 10 or more reloadings out of a batch of cases. Some people settle for three, or five, etc.

It sounds to me like the load you are describing is a very good one, for YOUR RIFLE! I would continue to use it.