How important is it to achieve actual factory velocity when working up a load? Will 100 fps +/- have any actual effect on game, trajectory?

It will have some effect upon trajectory, but very little effect in terms of what it does on the targeted animal. Kudude

Measure a few factory rds and I doubt you will get factory velocities from them either. Don`t worry about 100 fps or so. No game animal will notice as long as hit properly. The difference in drop at 300 yds will likely be under 1.5" depending on cartridge. Try holding that close from a field position......

Ol'Joe.....has said it perfectly.....+1!~

quote:

Originally posted by reddy375:
How important is it to achieve actual factory velocity when working up a load? Will 100 fps +/- have any actual effect on game, trajectory?

it's the last thing you should be trying to accomplish!

Those factory velocities look good in brochures but may or may not happen depending on the rifle. Your rifle will only do what it is built to do and the one on the rack next to it will do something different.
That is what makes loading fun and also frustrating at times.

You will be a lot happier if you never buy a chronograph.

factory data is usually not very accurate. In fact factories are quite stationary and don't really have any velocity (another one of those days)

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
factory data is usually not very accurate. In fact factories are quite stationary and don't really have any velocity (another one of those days)

It's 8 below here in southern Nebraska.....it must be a helluva lot colder in Faribault! Those factories at a standstill!!!

quote:

Originally posted by ireload2:
You will be a lot happier if you never buy a chronograph.

And never Chrony your favorite load. Suddenly you will find that it doens't kill so good anymore.

( And I am the voice of experiance).

I remember when I got my chrony I was trying to get every fps I could get for a while but finally came back to earth and focused on accuracy. I haven't used mine in quite a while now but it is in the garage if I curious about a new load.

quote:

Originally posted by ireload2:
You will be a lot happier if you never buy a chronograph.

Gotta agree with those words of Wisdom.

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:

quote:

Originally posted by ireload2:
You will be a lot happier if you never buy a chronograph.

Gotta agree with those words of Wisdom.

To a degree I concurr here but the main use of a chrono is to determine if I'm getting something close to what the book says I should be getting, If I'm not it tells me that something might be haywire! Maybe one should start asking himself some questions!!!!

I once reloaded some 22-250 rounds with BL-C(2) and didn't come close to getting the velocity Hodgdon manual said it should have. This is the wrong powder to be using but if I had the chrony I'd have seen that quickly! The use of the chronograph is a valuable reloading tool....if the information is used in context of "does this load make sense".......

Trying to beat factory ballistics is just the wrong use!.....or worse yet.....loading until a velocity is reached is really bad!!!! and some folks do it!

quote:

Originally posted by ireload2:
You will be a lot happier if you never buy a chronograph.

Yup! Ignorance is bliss.
Paul B.

I am just starting to reload and was going to purchase a chrony. The reason in my mind for the purchase, was to build drop charts on my most accurate loads. I guess as a newby, I was not intending to shoot the fastest load but the most accurate one.

Knowing the velocitiy was just to get my hold over or clicks up worked out.

quote:

Originally posted by Harold R. Stephens:
I am just starting to reload and was going to purchase a chrony. The reason in my mind for the purchase, was to build drop charts on my most accurate loads. I guess as a newby, I was not intending to shoot the fastest load but the most accurate one.

Knowing the velocitiy was just to get my hold over or clicks up worked out.

Harold, nothing wrong with that theory at all. Just keep it there. Chrono's are one tool that evoke emotion for speed over accuracy easily!

As someone else posted, folks seem to think their load won't kill as good as it did when they find out it is 150 fps slower than they thought. I pay no mind to speed unless like vapo said, it is way off and an indicator that something else is wrong. I have some book loads that are damn accurate, and I haven't (and won't) chrono them!

I've had quite a few buddies who wanted to shoot their loads over my chrony and I always asked them why. If the load was accurate and had reasonable speed, it should work. But if they were trying to get to the published velocity of the "book" I would always tell them that they would be disappointed. It usually seemed that the load would come up 100-125 fps slower than they thought. That being said, there are cases where you would want to shoot the most accurate load that was also the fastest to compensate of trajectory estimates, especially in the area of long range varmint shooting.

I would add that the speed difference is relative to the velocity you're aiming for but probably still isn't worth considering.

Falling 100 fps short in a .45-70 is alot more significant than 100 fps short in a 7mm RUM. The difference, both in percentage and in resulting trajectory, is much larger with the 45-70.

But unless you're in that category the difference is really meaningless. Which is why so many folks (myself included) recommend the .30-06 over any of the admitedly very fine 300 magnums available. A good bullet at 2700-2800 fps will kill anything you have any business shooting at with a 30 cal rifle inside 300 yards.

That difference in velocity just isn't worth considering unless you are at a really low level already or, as others have pointed out, you are doing very precise and/or long range shooting.

Regards,

LWD

It's not "important", but I would want my, say 7remmag, to get vel. closer to factory ammo, than say the 7-08. If my 7remmag loads only attained 7-08 vel. then why feed the 7remmag, just get a 7-08, lighter rifle w/ more rounds in the mag.
SOme carts, like my .280, can actual exceed factory loads for vel. Of course, w/o a chronograph you have no idea.

quote:

Originally posted by Harold R. Stephens:
I am just starting to reload and was going to purchase a chrony. The reason in my mind for the purchase, was to build drop charts on my most accurate loads. I guess as a newby, I was not intending to shoot the fastest load but the most accurate one.

Knowing the velocitiy was just to get my hold over or clicks up worked out.

Hey Harold, If you simply "guesstimate" the velocity by comparing the Powder/Bullet combination to any Reloading Manual, then interpolate that info to a velocity - you will be as well off.

That will allow you to "guesstimate" the Drop Rate and you can create your Charts.

But before you go Hunting with those Loads, you really need to shoot them at the distances you plan to take shots at Game. Then create the REAL Drop Charts using that information.

The guesstimating will get you onto the paper, same as the chronograph. And after doing this for awhile, you will realize some "facts" about published Ballistic Coefficients and published Velocities are actually different than what you were lead to believe.

By the way, anytime you see someone mention that he just keeps dumping in Powder until he reaches some arbitrary Velocity listed in a Manual is a person who really doesn't understand how a chronograph is intended to be used. The only thing a chronograph tells you is Velocity, it does not tell you what the Pressure is. And the Home Strain Gauge Systems are the biggest joke of all. The only good thing they do is "stimulate the economy".
---

Go shoot your Loads to create your Drop Charts at the distances you intend to shoot at Game. You will learn a lot more than most folks imagine.

Good hunting and clean 1-shot Kills.