questions about factory loads ?

06 August 2004, 17:35

.358

Ok, I've been looking at factory ammo catalogs which list MV, energy and drop tables. Most are taken from 24"bbls. Yes, I know vel. differ from rifle to rifle.but,24" vel doesn't do me much good. when I shoot a 20" 30-06 semi ,a 22" .243 Abolt and a 22" .270. plus a 20"bbl .358The list goes on but you get the idea.
So subtracting the 30 fps per inch rule of thumb, will that give me arough idea of what to expect in my rifles ? Yes,I do have a coronograph but don't trust it and right now is in for repairs.
Now the KICKER, What powder does win.,rem, Fed, etc. load
in their ammo so it will work in Any action including a semi-auto such as a Rem 7400 or Bar. or pump or lever etc.?
I'm afraid to load for my auto rifles as I get confusing reports from Mfg. and almost anyone who reloads.
What powders will work for top vel. and accuracy in a Rem 7400, bar, etc. I don't load for my semi's just for my bolt and lever rifles. but I would like to. I have this foolish idea tha I can make my Rem 7400 in .270 shoot 1 1/2 three shot groups if I could tinker with a load for it. My Bar does much less with factory loads so why bother reloading, except I would like to pratice with it more up to 300 yds it has the 20"bbl.Imput Appreciated

06 August 2004, 17:41

Swede44mag

I have been told that the powder the factories load is not available to the public.

06 August 2004, 18:49

Val

Factory ammo doesn't work well in all rifles. Just like reloads, certain guns like different combinations. Some rifles will shoot sub-moa with a particular factory load and that same load won't work on another rifle.

The advantage of reloadin is that you can optimize the accuracy of a rifle by trying different combinations. I always load for optimum accuracy not muzzle velocity. Plus or minus a bit of velocity will not matter in the real world when shooting game.

I ask shooters for their accurate loads and may use their load data as a reference to develop my own loads. I usually drop a couple of grains of powder and work my way up in .5 grain increments.

I load for a friends BAR. I just make sure I full length size the reloads for him. It turns out his BAR loves my basic 30-06 load. He has never had a problem cyclying my loads through his BAR.

Buy a Nosler Reloading manual and/or a Lyman manual. They both indicate the most accurate powders that they loaded and tested. I've got some pretty good loads using the powders that they specify as the most accurate.

Other than a bit slower in velocity I wouldn't worry about the shorter barrels.

07 August 2004, 01:20

<eldeguello>

Quote:

Now the KICKER, What powder does win.,rem, Fed, etc. load
in their ammo so it will work in Any action including a semi-auto such as a Rem 7400 or Bar. or pump or lever etc.?
Imput Appreciated

Not always, but factories quite often use "non-canister" powders. What happens is, for example, a factory makes a batch of IMR 4350 say, and in testing this lot turns out to be enough slower or faster than the acceptance tolerance for canister-grade IMR 4350 that it cannot be packaged and sold as IMR 4350. However, it can't be just scrapped and used for lawn fertilizer, so the ammo company uses it to load factory ammo by developing a load that is within specs as to pressure and velocity. Now, if we took a cartridge apart, wemight have a powder that looks like IMR 4350, but really isn't, exactly, and in an amount which might be somewhat lighter or heavier than the amount of canister-grade IMR 4350 that it would take to give the same pressure and velocity with the same bullet and primer.

For this reason, no-one can make an accurate statement as to what powder a factory used in a specific lot of factory ammo.

07 August 2004, 07:54

Quail Wing

Quote:

....
So subtracting the 30 fps per inch rule of thumb, will that give me arough idea of what to expect in my rifles ? Yes,I do have a coronograph but don't trust it and right now is in for repairs.

Now the KICKER, What powder does win.,rem, Fed, etc. load
in their ammo so it will work in Any action including a semi-auto such as a Rem 7400 or Bar. or pump or lever etc.?

I'm afraid to load for my auto rifles as I get confusing reports from Mfg. and almost anyone who reloads.
...
My Bar does much less with factory loads so why bother reloading...

To answer your first question, some times the formula works. It does not take into account some other factors. But is a decent working rule. Once the chronograph is repaired, you will have your answer.

For as long as I can remember, the powder companies state that commercial production powder is not available in canister lots or even by the keg. So the point is moot. Even if it was, to achieve the factory results would require using their test set up, down to the chamber reamer.

Loading for an auto is a bit different. I have had some bolt guns that did very well with a low power load, maybe because of chamber dimension or perhaps bedding. But an auto needs a cartridge that produces certain amounts of recoil or gas to operate correctly. I believe at one time the Speer manual warned against using low power loads in a Garrand. So the factories have to contend with that issue as well when they produce a product

I recently took a look at the cost of reloading my 30-06 with premium Nosler partitions in 180grn. Remington sells the exact same load over the counter. In my area, they sell for $28.00 a box of 20 plus tax. I figured my cost for reloading 100 rounds. I save approximately $63.00 per 100 rounds by reloading.

Just my thinking, but I really do not worry about velocity. I try to develop the most accurate load I can. This is for hunting. I stand a much greater chance of missing because I am shooting 3" groups rather than 1/2" groups at any distance.

Pete