Hi
I am loading a light for nitro cartridge for my 500N. I have followed a load in Graeme Wright's book 'Shooting The British Double Rifle', I am running 72 grains of 2208 (Varget) with foam filler and a 450 grain Woodleigh RNSN (made for black powder 500N).
Now my question..... do I load to the canular or to the same COL that I run the FMJ 570 grains 3.73 inch?
If I load to the same COL as the larger FMJ then I am about 4mm - 5mm short of the canular.
Suggestions please?
Oh by the way, not sure it matters but this is a Merkel 500N not an old British double (I wish).
Cheers Stu

My own experience has been good seating to the cannelure when developing light-for-caliber loads in my doubles including for my Merkel 500NE.

Others have found differences though. Jorge, in working up loads for his 450NE, found that one bullet was better when seated longer than another of exactly the same design and length but lighter as it was a hollow-point. The latter preferred deeper seating.

I'd seat a handful of rounds to the cannelure and see how they shoot - if not acceptable, then play with seating depth.

If you prefer to make as few trips to the range as possible, then seat 5 to the cannelure and several sets of five additional test rounds at incrementally longer depths. If the first shoots to your satisfaction, then you need only seat the remaining deeper when you get back to your reloading bench.

Good luck and stay well

Stu,

If you have not seem the thread 500 Nitro a new exploration you should take a look at it. Michael458 and I did a lot of load testing including light for nitro. We came up with some really good loads using the 440 Woodleigh BP bullet. I will make a new post on that thread to bring it back to the top.

Sam

CCMDoc and srose, thanks so much for the suggestions and for rebooting the thread. I will now have some confidence to proceed.
Sorry for the late reply, work has been hectic.
Best regards
Stu

Stu,

Glad it helped you out. Lots of the same information on Michael458's B&M site and probably easier to find than here.

Sam

Thanks Sam
On the subject of the work you and Michael458 did, I am sure you guys did some stuff with the new Woodleigh Hydrostatic??
Regards Stu

Stu,

We did test it in the 470 in the Double Rifle Bullet of the Future thread. I don't like that bullet at all. We did not test it in the 500 NE.

Sam

Hi Sam
I will check it out in the thread you mention.
I find the bullet shoots really well out of my Merkel. It groups better then the FMJ (Woodleigh) in my rifle and runs a good 50 fps faster, though the load is 1.5 grains more than a FMJ (106 grains 2209 or H4350).
Woodleigh claim in their most recent catalogue that the mono should be run at the same loading as the soft (RNSN) which is standard at 106 grains as mentioned.
My concern is the pressure! Primers are 215 Feds and are not flat after firing, but the Graeme Wright book suggests that the deeper a bullet is seated then there is a greater chance of higher pressure.
In order to allow the double to close and for the bullet to be off the rifling it needs to be seated a LOT deeper than the RNSN / FMJ. I have had a case seperation on about the third loading and a couple showing signs of a seperation about to occur, so I am wondering about pressure being a factor.
Regards Stu

Stu,

Yes pressures do run high with that bullet. It has a lot of bearing surface even though it is grooved and it seems hard. Barrel strains were high with it also. Yes you have to seat that one really deep in most guns. You can not go by primer flatness for pressure indicator in a double rifle. If you are getting pressure signs on the primers you have already damaged the gun most likely. Every bullet is different and even if velocity is the same it doesn't mean the pressure is the same. I've found that just by simply adding a wad or filler you can up pressures by 10000 psi and velocity will not change a lot. Seating deeper is basicly the same as adding a filler but sometimes even worse. If I had some Hydros when we tested the 500 it would have been tested. I still have strain gages hooked up but don't know when I will be able to get back to Michael's to test.

Sam