Do these look too hot?

[jonny315]

I see the same thing with my Rem 700. I only see craters like your 56 gr load when approaching max load. If it's a hunting rifle or for casual target shooting I would stick with around your 54-55 gr load. Go for accuracy and not as fast as you can push it. Most people go up in .3 or .5 gr increments when testing. I cannot comment on whether 56 gr. is dangerous or excessive. You don't have gas leakage. There are always crater to some degree. As pressure goes up the cup gets pushed farther into the FP hole. After big craters I always get ejector swipe marks. ThenI know I have definitly gone to far. Sometime you have to look carefuly to see light swipe marks. Swipe marks are caused by the case head getting pushed into the ejector hole making a high protrusion on the head. Turning the bolt pulls the high spot out of the hole or tries to rub it off on the bolt face.

You didn't mention any cartrigde details. What powder type, wt. bullet? Is it a full size 270 Win case necked from .270" to .264"? Loading data in the Berger reloading manual for a standard 270 Win with a 140 gr bullet gives 10 powders with a max load under 55 grs. and 5 over 55 grs. Your shooting a smaller diameter bullet so the pressures would be higher.

The offset primer strikes are not as bad as they look, the primer on the far right was mushed a little when I installed the primer which makes it look worse then it really is.
The cartridge is based off of a wsm, I make them out of 300 wsm and 270 wsm cases (whichever is cheaper) its a 6.5mm and the shoulder is pushed back almost 1/4'' at 35 deg. the case holds 65 g of water but im assuming I lose 5-10 g once bullet is seated. I wanted about 250 fps faster then the creedmoor and I wanted it to fit in a wssm chamber so that is the thought behind it. Im getting 2850-2915 fps on average
with 143 eldx so far I have tried rl17, rl26, and rl25 the 25 is the powder I used in the cases you see

 

[jonny315]

Here are the most recent shots.
I stepped up in .5g increments with rl25 and rl 26

 

[jonny315]

Last 2 sorry I’m having troubles with the pictures

 

[carlsbad]

Your loads don't look hot at all to me. The cratering might fool some into saying "yep, too hot". --Jerry

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Youre almost to where its getting right. Only issue youll have is that contrary to popular belief you can push a bullet too fast.

 

[corsair4360]

Thatks for the replies, there is not heavy bolt lift and the firing pin has not been brushed that I know of. It’s a stock Winchester super grade model 70, is it common in those?

I have a left hand Winchester Model 70 in 270 WSM, same primer appearance I guess I'll have to have the firing pin bolt hole bushed to reduce its diameter, or just live with it (what I have done so far)

 

[243winxb]

Not sure i like the gouges in the brass??

 

[jonny315]

Not sure i like the gouges in the brass?? View attachment 1126410 View attachment 1126411

The gouges are from the sizing die, I had to shorten a 300 WSM die and the carbide bit slipped and rattled around so it scratches the brass when I make them.

 

[AckleymanII]

Crater is not bad. Every 257 Weatherby I have had cratered primers bad at the accuracy node. I just ignored the crater.

+1 on Carlsbad bushing bolts to eliminate crater....bugs the heck out of me...so does off center primer strikes but as long as the barrel groups, why worry?

 

[CT10ring]

Crater is not bad. Every 257 Weatherby I have had cratered primers bad at the accuracy node. I just ignored the crater.

+1 on Carlsbad bushing bolts to eliminate crater....bugs the heck out of me...so does off center primer strikes but as long as the barrel groups, why worry?

Exactly! AckermanII How is the rifle shooting?! You may not have a problem at all...
But IF you want to have your bolt bushed & the pin turned down, Jerry / Carlsbad - does an outstanding job. I'd bet if you are aware of the slight cratering, you'd appreciate- having none after some work done. I had the same question years back, had bolts bushed. Closer tolerances, less variance, more consistent primer strike. all good.

 

[dsculley]

Were you shooting these over a chronograph? Speed will be your first and best indicator of over pressure. By the time you see the signs on your brass you are usually way over.

 

[jonny315]

Were you shooting these over a chronograph? Speed will be your first and best indicator of over pressure. By the time you see the signs on your brass you are usually way over.

yes I am shooting through a chronograph but it being a wildcat I have no idea how fast it’s really supposed to be shooting. With these loads it’s around 3000 ft./s

 

[243winxb]

The 6.5 Remington Magnum holds 68 grs water. Runs at 2950 fps. Nosler data. Note. Nosler water (59.3) is with bullets seated. https://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/65-remington-magnum/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/6.5mm_Remington_Magnum 63,000 PSI. & 68 grs water

Your primers look ok to me.

Hard bolt lift will be about 76,000 PSI.

OLIN- modulus of elasticity- Cartridge Brass-
Material is 70 copper/30 zinc with trace amounts of lead & iron , called C26000. Material starts to yield at 15,000 PSI when soft (annealed), and 63,000 PSI when hard.
Material yields, but continues to get stronger up to 47,000 PSI when soft, and 76,000 PSI
when work hardened. Modulus of Elasticity is 16,000,000 PSI. This means to pull a 1.000 inch long strip to 1.001 inch long induces a 16,000 PSI stress.
So if you pull a 1.000 inch strip to 1.005 inch long, you get about 76,000 PSI, which is the max obtainable.

CAUTION: The above post includes loading data/info beyond currently published maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, Accurate Shooter, nor the staff of AC assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.

 

[jonny315]

The 6.5 Remington Magnum holds 68 grs water. Runs at 2950 fps. Nosler data. Note. Nosler water (59.3) is with bullets seated. https://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/65-remington-magnum/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/6.5mm_Remington_Magnum 63,000 PSI. & 68 grs water

Your primers look ok to me.

Hard bolt lift will be about 76,000 PSI.

OLIN- modulus of elasticity- Cartridge Brass-
Material is 70 copper/30 zinc with trace amounts of lead & iron , called C26000. Material starts to yield at 15,000 PSI when soft (annealed), and 63,000 PSI when hard.
Material yields, but continues to get stronger up to 47,000 PSI when soft, and 76,000 PSI
when work hardened. Modulus of Elasticity is 16,000,000 PSI. This means to pull a 1.000 inch long strip to 1.001 inch long induces a 16,000 PSI stress.
So if you pull a 1.000 inch strip to 1.005 inch long, you get about 76,000 PSI, which is the max obtainable.

CAUTION: The above post includes loading data/info beyond currently published maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, Accurate Shooter, nor the staff of AC assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.

I just measured the water capacity with an empty case and it was 66.3 g then a seated 143 loses 5.7g giving a total of 60.6 g of capacity after bullet is seated (i used a 6.5 creedmoor for reference on case capacity loss). which is almost exactly what a 6.5 remington magnum is on noslers website.
Also nosler is using a 24'' pipe.
Im getting an average of 3025 ft/s with a 26'' pipe.
according to those numbers it seems to me that im in the right range, What do you think?

 

[jonny315]

Exactly! AckermanII How is the rifle shooting?! You may not have a problem at all...
But IF you want to have your bolt bushed & the pin turned down, Jerry / Carlsbad - does an outstanding job. I'd bet if you are aware of the slight cratering, you'd appreciate- having none after some work done. I had the same question years back, had bolts bushed. Closer tolerances, less variance, more consistent primer strike. all good.

I will be doing the bushing, i had 2 supergrade m70s chambered in this wildcat once the second one arrives im going to compare them and send one off to see the difference.