Just curious if anyone has loaded a 25 cal 75gr bullet in upwards of 4000fps. I did some test loads just to see what fps i could get before pressure signs were evident. (started at max and went up in .2g increments and shot till i saw signs of pressure. With Varget i got up to just under 3900fps before i blew a primer. there was no sign of pressure at all before that last round. my second powder was imr 4350. once again, i started at max and worked up loads in .2g increments. I loaded till the case would not hold any more powder (max load is almost a compressed load) I ended up shooting all the rounds i loaded with the last load showing pressure. the last 4 rounds were over 4000, highest being 4028.

Never have. Can't see a reason to stress everything that far. Don't know what your loads were but in a 26" barrel QL calls the pressure as 70,000+ to reach close to your velocity.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bkmastr:
...... once again, i started at max and worked up loads in .2g increments. [QUOTE]


For all the new reloaders:

THIS IS NOT AN INTELLIGENT RELOADING PRACTICE

I'm sure pressure signs were evident but not recognized before primers blew...

quote:

"It is allways better to keep your mouth shut and have people think you are stupid than to open it and prove them right."

You posted so we'll entertain your query .....

For starters, if you desire performance approaching those you are attempting to obtain I'd suggest a .257 Weatherby Magnum.

While I'm sure the "magic" 4,000 fps barrier could be attained with this cartridge in a purpose built rifle when all of the Stars & Planets are aligned; IMO you're probably already way-y-y into the "Danger Zone" with a vanilla-flavored Factory rifle (you didn't qualify).

Ken Waters (who has some reloading experience under his belt) stated in both of his Trials with the 25-06 Remington that it tended to pressure indications quite quickly when over zealously loaded.

quote:

Originally posted by rcamuglia:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by bkmastr:
...... once again, i started at max and worked up loads in .2g increments. [QUOTE]


For all the new reloaders:

THIS IS NOT AN INTELLIGENT RELOADING PRACTICE

I'm sure pressure signs were evident but not recognized before primers blew...

+1

quote:

I'm sure pressure signs were evident but not recognized before primers blew...

At max loads of Varget a .2gr increase is around 671psi. To me the difference between a safe load and blown primer is more like 9-10 times that.

My little playing with a 257Wby required near max loads for those types of velocity.

is it even accurate at those velocities? maybe a longer barrel could get you the extra fps without going over max loads. you can order custom barrels up to 30 inches. also thinking that the extra pressure isnt going to be good for your barrel. i know of a guy who always uses max loads in his and after about 2k rounds he had a huge drop in accuracy.

First off i do want to clarify to all the new reloaders out there that THIS IS DEFFINATELY NOT SOMETHING A NEW RELOADER SHOULD DO AT ALL. And Secondly, the ONLY reason i did this test was to see if it was possible to push a .257 75g bullet over 4000fps. I certainly am not going to reload anywhere even close to 4000. I had a couple of my reloading friends checking the brass as well as me after i shot each round. We used calipers and measured everything, as well as a visual inspection.
When i posted this thread i knew i would catch hell!

if i were totry it i'd use slower powders than the ones you mentioned.
and cases with the most capacity.
then you could make use of a longer bbl.
anyways, once you go beyong certain pressures with most powders they accelerate thier burning faster and faster.
so even though a program says it'll give this much more for that much more powder it could easily push you into that zone where the powder just sped it's burn rate up on you.

just throwing this out there.

not criticizing pushing the envelope in any way.
heck, iv'e even tried duplex and tri-plex loads in the past.
just make sure you are aware of all the problems you may encounter.

Some people feel the need to test their rifles to the limits of the steel they are made of. Bkmastr, this is interesting, keep going, I want to see your rifle’s breaking point.

At what point did you discover that new primers would seat loosely in the fired cases?

And did you have a precision micrometer to measure case head expansion?

I’ve pushed the 17 caliber to 4650 fps. That was a waste of time and half lived the barrel. It’s your gun, do what you want, just don’t try to impress young reloaders.

i never seated new primers into the fired rounds, but we deprimed them and used the calipers to measure the primer pockets. we did not have a micrometer, just a couple sets of digital calipers that measured to ten thousandths.

ps. i do get the point! it wasn't the smartest thing i could have done with my time.

actually i was not trying to impress anyone. Just a simple test i thought would be plausable. once again "young reloaders", NEVER reload above max. Always start below max and work up if you feel the need to, and ALWAYS checking for pressure signs.

Bkmastr, Let’s just move on down the road and forget it.

I’m getting too old to let little “tiffs” bring on another heart attack.

May I suggest that the next time you try this experiment you seat new primers in the spent cases....you can tell quite readily when they seat loosely.....a calipers is a very poor tool to measure primer pocket IDs!

Also, having been a tool and die maker, engineer, and amateur gunsmith, I can attest to the fact that there are no .0001 worthy calipers.....no matter how they display the reading.

You need a micrometer.....may I suggest a Mitutoyo blade mike...

quote:

May I suggest that the next time you try this experiment you seat new primers in the spent cases....you can tell quite readily when they seat loosely.....a calipers is a very poor tool to measure primer pocket IDs!

Also, having been a tool and die maker, engineer, and amateur gunsmith, I can attest to the fact that there are no .0001 worthy calipers.....no matter how they display the reading.

You need a micrometer.....may I suggest a Mitutoyo blade mike...

+1 except for the tool and die maker part. Speaking from experience new primers would have shown you were way over pressure before you lost a primer.

thanks guys, I hadn't thought of seating a primer in the spent cases. next time.... haha just kidding. there won't be a next time!

my steps in handloading
1st safty
2nd accurace
3rd velocity

a 4000 fps bullet is no good if you cannot hit the target. A deer or coyato can not tell the difference for a bullet with a difference of 200 fps.. so why get into the danger zone. if your loading that hot now wait till you shoot that load in the mid summer..o boy

Note to self: Never buy a used rifle from bkmastr!

quote:

Originally posted by vines:

a 4000 fps bullet is no good if you cannot hit the target. A deer or coyato can not tell the difference for a bullet with a difference of 200 fps.. so why get into the danger zone. if your loading that hot now wait till you shoot that load in the mid summer..o boy

If you read in the above reply's i stated that i only did this as a test and i absolutely DO NOT reload this hot. please read the entire thread before you comment. thanks

one of us
Posted 20 October 2010 01:51 Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by vines:

a 4000 fps bullet is no good if you cannot hit the target. A deer or coyato can not tell the difference for a bullet with a difference of 200 fps.. so why get into the danger zone. if your loading that hot now wait till you shoot that load in the mid summer..o boy



If you read in the above reply's i stated that i only did this as a test and i absolutely DO NOT reload this hot. please read the entire thread before you comment. thanks

"It is allways better to keep your mouth shut and have people think you are stupid than to open it and prove them right."

I DID READ ALL OF THEM... THANKS

gwindrider1
one of us
Posted 19 October 2010 21:18 Hide Post
Note to self: Never buy a used rifle from bkmastr!

+1

its ok! i understand that you couldn't follow the info i shared! I don't judge

its ok..didnt mean to upset you. i dont judge either. it sounds to me you are trying to cover your first post. i understand you cant follow good reloading practice.

quote:

bkmastr
one of us

Posted 19 October 2010 01:29 Hide Post
First off i do want to clarify to all the new reloaders out there that THIS IS DEFFINATELY NOT SOMETHING A NEW RELOADER SHOULD DO AT ALL

neither should someone who has been loading for 30 years

How am i trying to cover my first post sir?