i just bought the hornady reloading manual, and noticed some discrepancies btw start loads and max loads from those listed on this site. i know that different bullets, guns, etc will produce different results and velocities, but some of these seem pretty extreme:

.260 rem

hornady reloading manual (HRM)
(rem 700, 24" 1-in-8", rem brass, rem 9 1/2" primers)

100 gr bullets
H4895 - start 33.7 gr max 39.9 gr for 3100 fps
140 gr bullets
VV N165 - start 38.2 gr max 45.9 gr for 2700 fps

Accurate reloading pages (ARP)
(ruger 77, 28" Hart 1-in-9" barrell, rws 308 brass, fed 210 primers)

100 gr bullets
H4895 - start 40 gr, max 42 gr for 3276 fps

140 gr bullets
VV N165 - start 40 gr max 50 gr for 2899 fps

i was concerned particularly where the starting loads (100 gr bullets) listed on these pages (ARP) exceeded the maximum loads listed in the manual (HRM). This concern really shows itself with the next set of loads . . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6.5 x 284

HRM
(gun is TC Encore Custom "with very short throat", 24" 1-in-9" barrell, using win brass and fed 210 primers)

H4831 - start 35.9 gr, max 45.9 gr, for 2700 fps

ARP
(gun is Hall rifle, 25" barrell with 1-in-9" twist, win brass, fed 210 primers)

H4831 start 51.0 gr, max 55.5 gr, for 2952 fps

obviously, if the hornady guys had to seat the bullets much deeper with their short-throat chamber, that would cut into the powder space, but the 5 grain difference in powder between the hornady max load (45.9 gr) and the starting load listed on these pages (51.0 gr) is a bit confusing to me. is this accounted for by the short throat ONLY?

my reloading experience is limited to putting together some loads for my 30-30 pistol last year under my dad's guidance (dad's reloaded since the mid 70s), but dad says that he's noticed significant decreases in max loads listed in manuals over the years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i WANT to reload, the process seems very satisfying. i know i should start low, work up, look for pressure signs, etc. however, when you have two apparently conflicting sets of data (i.e. start loads in one source higher than max loads in another), what do you do?

secondly, i am very interested in the 6.5 x 284 . . . i like 6.5s (for b.c., etc), and the data here suggests that i could reasonably expect 3200-3300 fps out of 120 gr bullets using this round. i'll be building it in a TC encore:

- do i just need to specify that i will want to be seating the bullets out so that the base of the bullet doesn't cut into the powder space (when i order the custom barrell)?

- can i reasonably expect these velocities (3200-3300 fps) out of the 6.5 x 284 in an encore with a 26" barrell with 120 gr bullets?
- should i just chuck the 6.5 x 284 idea and get a 270 wsm and use factory loads?
any help will be appreciated ...

tcencore260,

Welcome to the forum.

The differences you see between our loads and the Hornady manual might be due to many things.

We do not have access to pressure testing equipment, so we cannot really tell what pressures are generated by the loads we shoot.

We increase our charges until we run out of powder space, or we encounter an indication of unsafe pressure.

These indications are different with different rifles.

High pressure indications can be due to differences in brass too.

Reloading components can make a difference in pressure too. These include, primers, powders and bullets.

We've had different lots of the same powder give us different velocities and pressure.

Velocity indications are also dependent on the individual barrel used.

Once we had 5 270 Winchester rifles from Mannlicher. All identical. We tried Norma factory ammo in them, and the velocity obtained from the fastes to the slowest varied by about 150 fps!?

The bottom line is these loads are safe in the rifle they have been developed in. And might not be safe in any other.

You might actually find that your own rifle might take a a higher charge, and give you a higher or even lower velocity than either our data or Hornady's.

------------------
saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com

leaving the 6.5 x 284 out of the picture for a minute . . . say i want to start reloading for my wife's .260 (instead of buying factory loads)

i've got two sets of data. one set ranges from 33.7 gr to 39.9 gr of powder, the other ranges from 40-42 gr of powder. with this set, its obvious, i guess, to start somewhere below 40, but when i bring the 6.5 x 284 back into the equation, and the max load of 1 set of data is 5 gr BELOW the start load of the second set, then the question becomes a lot more ambiguous.

i guess getting some more data sets to make comparisons would be a good idea, but the hornady manual appears to be the ONLY manual with data on the 6.5 x 284. anyone else have data on this round?

oh, and please don't the rest of you neglect my other questions

[This message has been edited by tcencore260 (edited 05-08-2002).]