308 200.20x over max pressure
- Thread starter Pinkes
- Start date
Small primer brass doesn't change the maximum chamber pressure, it simply reduces the amount of deformation of the primer pocket due to the pocket having more material supporting it. An over hot load is still going to be an overly hot load.
That being said, I use QuickLoad all the time and while I base my load development process on the software I've learned that there is enough error to be concerned about high end loads, the software isn't precise enough to tell you what the exact max pressure is (the software tells you that when you read the manual). And even a pressure transducer system can be installed incorrectly or out of calibration and produce erroneous pressure values. So no pressure system is perfect but if I wanted to have the most confidence in my pressure estimates I'd buy an actual pressure measuring system. QuickLoad is a compromise for me, it's less expensive than a pressure transducer system but it's better than the manuals and with practice you can learn to adjust the input variables to match your pressures pretty well, well enough to not blow up your firearms.
Your load is predicted to be above the SAAMI max. In reality the true max pressure will is going to be some value plus or minus what the software says and that plus or minus tolerance will depend on way too many factors for us to actually predict correctly every time. I look at QuickLoad this way, I don't exceed the SAAMI max pressure for any regularly used load but if I want a unique load that I can use for competition I'll push the max by a few percentage points while being aware that the brass and barrel's lives will be reduced. The proof pressure of any barrel could be used as a guide but remember that even SAAMI recommends that the manufacturers of barrels only run one cartridge through a barrel at proof pressure. If you are a competition shooter then you'll be changing barrels pretty often so pushing the barrel to beyond SAAMI max is a pretty common practice anyways. For the average shooter, it's not smart to exceed SAAMI max since you don't plan on replacing the barrel on any kind of regular schedule and you probably don't track your round count very well. For the average shooter you can't possibly track how long you've been pushing the barrel beyond it's SAAMI max so you have no idea when that barrel might be worn enough to replace it. Borescopes help but all barrels develop micro fractures pretty quickly and novices have a difficult time determining when a barrel has too much damage. There is an entire industry and training process for learning how to non-destructively test mechanical equipment and I doubt that the average person is going to do a very good job of figuring out when their barrel is worn to failure.
That being said, I use QuickLoad all the time and while I base my load development process on the software I've learned that there is enough error to be concerned about high end loads, the software isn't precise enough to tell you what the exact max pressure is (the software tells you that when you read the manual). And even a pressure transducer system can be installed incorrectly or out of calibration and produce erroneous pressure values. So no pressure system is perfect but if I wanted to have the most confidence in my pressure estimates I'd buy an actual pressure measuring system. QuickLoad is a compromise for me, it's less expensive than a pressure transducer system but it's better than the manuals and with practice you can learn to adjust the input variables to match your pressures pretty well, well enough to not blow up your firearms.
Your load is predicted to be above the SAAMI max. In reality the true max pressure will is going to be some value plus or minus what the software says and that plus or minus tolerance will depend on way too many factors for us to actually predict correctly every time. I look at QuickLoad this way, I don't exceed the SAAMI max pressure for any regularly used load but if I want a unique load that I can use for competition I'll push the max by a few percentage points while being aware that the brass and barrel's lives will be reduced. The proof pressure of any barrel could be used as a guide but remember that even SAAMI recommends that the manufacturers of barrels only run one cartridge through a barrel at proof pressure. If you are a competition shooter then you'll be changing barrels pretty often so pushing the barrel to beyond SAAMI max is a pretty common practice anyways. For the average shooter, it's not smart to exceed SAAMI max since you don't plan on replacing the barrel on any kind of regular schedule and you probably don't track your round count very well. For the average shooter you can't possibly track how long you've been pushing the barrel beyond it's SAAMI max so you have no idea when that barrel might be worn enough to replace it. Borescopes help but all barrels develop micro fractures pretty quickly and novices have a difficult time determining when a barrel has too much damage. There is an entire industry and training process for learning how to non-destructively test mechanical equipment and I doubt that the average person is going to do a very good job of figuring out when their barrel is worn to failure.
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I think you will find most people shoot between 2600 and 2700fps. If the gun shoots well at 2690 and you don't have pressure issues then keep shooting it. I would assume you should get at least 6 firings out of the brass. I run 2630-40 and have 8 firings on the 500 piece group I'm using now.
KT
D-4297
Gold $$ Contributor
My thought would be to slow it down . Maybe around 2585 - 2640 . My 20x load runs at about 2610 - 2630 , out of a Kreiger 5r , 30" . And I'm at eight reloads on Lapua SRP brass . Primer Pockets are still good to go . My experience is that .308's generally are more accurate when they are not being "Pushed" at , or above the high node . Push them ; and the group tends to open up .
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