I save them, but I'm reluctant to use the older ones. I had a .222Rem.Mag. case split in half on me and had a hell of a time extracting the front half of the case from the barrel. I couldn't figure out the source of the load. I don't make a habit of exceeding maximum. After much searching I found it in an old Speer manual that was about 15 years old. I guess powders change from one lot to another. Those old loads, especially if max, may no longer be safe. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

Cal,

Just a thought...

Do you think the 222 Rem Mag case split because the charge was too hot ? Or because the case was sized too small for the chamber through repeated excessive sizing ?

Had 220 Swift casehead separation this past week with a perfectly safe load that has been personally fired thousands of times.

The specific case had been fired multiple times in a different rifle and then sized too much to fit the rifle it split in.

In my situation, should keep cases from different rifles separate and set the dies for the specific rifle, but this time didn't.

Hammer

Powder lots do change, and the average can change over time. Take OLD H4831 for instance with an old max load near 78 grains, and the new stuff has a new max load of 72 grains under a 200 grain bullet in the 300WM, yet both loads created near the same pressure. It is the powder, nothing else. Many guys even say that RL25 has changed in the relatively short time it has been out as well as who knows how many powders. When you find a good load, it is a smart idea to buy a large keg of powder and lot of bullets as well as brass so you never have to worry about change in components until your resources run out. I have a very old speer manual that has loads I'd never consider trying.