I was working up some loads for my .22-250 today using H380 and looking in my reloading manuals I was surprised to see some major differences. In my Lyman manual (circa 1982) 40 grains was listed as a max. load using a 55 gr. bullet. In my Nosler #4 manual (circa 1996) 35.5 grains was listed as a max. with the 55 gr. bullet. And my Hornady manual doesn't even list H380. A 4 1/2 grain diff. seems like a lot. Has the sue happy world of today changed things that much or is the Lyman man. a misprint.

Hodgdon says 41.0 grains is max. When in doubt, consult the powder manufacturers recommendations.

Alway work carefully up to any level you wish to be at, however. Variations in bullets, brass cases, and even lots of powder will require that you start low.

FWIW, the Nosler #5 says 39.5 grains of H380 is max with their 55 grain BT. (Most accurate powder tested, and 39.5 was most accurate load). Nosler uses custom barrels (read tight) for their data, so their max loads are often too conservative for factory barreled rifles.

Dan

By the way, this seems like a good place to mention my "trivial pursuit" analogy for load data providers.

It is said that the makers of "Trivial Pursuit" intentionally list incorrect answers to a small number of their questions in order to "trap" plagarists who might use Trivial Pursuit's data in their own games or other "pursuits."

Perhaps Nosler has done the same thing here, listing a ridiculously low powder charge just to see if any other providers of load data would copy it, rather than doing their own testing.

Dan

The "useful" range is:
H-380 From 31.5 grains to 42.0 grains
Remington 9-1/2 Primer

Now, unless they were all using the same firearm, the same lot of powder/primer/bullet/case, and firing under the same conditions, there is absolutely no reason in the world why their data should be the same!

And besides...isn't the first rule of loading, "Alway start low and work up slowly."?

So ... START LOW AND WORK UP SLOWLY until you have signs of pressure with your hardware.

[ 01-26-2003, 19:40: Message edited by: ricciardelli ]

ricciardelli,
I don't expect the data to be the same but I would think it would be a little closer than 4 1/2 grains

I always start low and work my way up using my combo of powder, primer, bullet, case and rifle. I was just stating that it seemed like a rather large difference to me.

Steve,

I'm a little uncomfortable with the idea that we should "start low and work up slowly until you have signs of pressure with your hardware." The A-Square manual says that by the time you have pressure signs you are already 20,000 (?, haven't read that lately) psi beyond what is safe. I'm a real sissy, and I try to use an appropriate or slower powder and stop at or before maximum listed velocity in a reloading manual and hope I'm safe. I have been to your website and I am amazed at the amount of work you have done, and I'm perfectly willing to yield to your expertise.

This question is of more than academic interest to me because I would really like to know what is safe in my P14-actioned .510-.505 Gibbs with the 1.375" dia. 32" barrel. It's been suggested to me that the usual pressure signs will not occur before the action is damaged, owing to the size of the case head and the relatively small bolt lugs.

I've worked up slowly to 2350 fps with 135 gr. of WC852 (slow)and some polyolefin foam filler and a 700 gr. bullet, and it appears to me that because of the slightly smoky case necks and fragments of half-cooked foam clinging onto the end of case mouth, that pressure is very low. There might be room for another 20 grains of powder under the bullet. I have got the case nearly full enough that I might be able to dispense with the foam. Presently I am restocking the rifle to make the recoil more tolerable, and I think that anyway I have just about had enough, but in the event that I wish to add more powder, what will be safe? My best guess has been that the safe maximum would be about 2530 fps, but on the other hand the idea that I won't have much in the way of warning concerns me. Care to make an estimate?

I took Steve's words to mean, "work up until you see pressure signs--but don't exceed published data."

My guess is that his position that you never exceed published data is a given, but of course you stop if you see pressure signs before then...

Dan

So if you never exceed published data.......whose data do you trust!!!

I'm with SDS on this one. Once you have visible pressure signs, it's to late, you have already exceeded the safe limits.