Is this a bad idea?

[Mark204]

A buddy of mine came across a pound of R11....unopened. He said he has looked high and low for any load data with no luck to speak of, which can be expected since it was discontinued in the early 70's. He was hoping to use it for .308, 30-06 and .204. I found one of my old Lyman books from 1967, gave it to him and said have at it. He did find load data for the .308 and '06 and also found some for the 222 Rem Mag. He knows the parent case for the 204 is the 222 RM and asked if it would be possible to use the 222 RM data in the 204. I compared the two cases and they are quite similar other than a 7* difference in shoulder angle. Case water volume is within .1 between the two cases also. I told him I'm not sure if its safe or not, but suggested maybe he could start at the same starting load for a 40gr bullet, which I believe was 24grs. I told him I would post on here and get some input. It doesn't sound dangerous, but I may be missing something very obvious.

So, is this a bad idea?

As always, thanks for any input.

Mark

 

[KMart]

May be a bad idea. About the time he finds a good load for his application, he won't be able to find any more powder.

 

[Rsadams]

Use only data for the rounds your loading... It's not worth the danger for 1 pound to me..Why would you chance blowing up a gun or loseing an eye or finger or both over 1 pound of powder when there is no shortage of components?

As stated above by the time , if you're lucky , you find a load that shoots well you will be half out of powder.. that doesn't make sense to me...

 

[Shynloco]

Use only data for the rounds your loading... It's not worth the danger for 1 pound to me..Why would you chance blowing up a gun or loseing an eye or finger or both over 1 pound of powder when there is no shortage of components?

As stated above by the time , if you're lucky , you find a load that shoots well you will be half out of powder.. that doesn't make sense to me...

+1. Ain't worth the potential danger and damage that COULD occur trying to find a load for a powder you cannot get anymore. Feed the plants with that stuff.

Alex

 

[bobinpa]

Seems like a big potential risk for $20.00 - $30.00 worth of powder.

 

[M-61]

A couple of folks said it best.....once you find a great load for this....then what? Safety factor noted, but it is why I won't bother with some one off bullet makers product that I will not be able to re-purchase for multiple reasons and how I was able to stop myself from being addicted to VARGET having almost fallen into the belief it was the best powder period, and then became unobtainable during the last shortage. Plenty of other stuff out there and I just went back to finding those that worked and were available. I don't need VARGET and the regular manufacturers bullets (Berger, Sierra, etc.) meet my needs just fine. Surely not for some, but for me they are OK.

 

[DOGCAPPER]

Getting past the danger, It aint worth the trouble for 1# of obsolete powder.

 

[jonbearman]

I put in r-11 powder loads and the site cast boolits has a whole page on charges listed in the lyman 1967 load manual for 30-06 with cast and jacketed bullets. But like everyone else said why chance it when you have only one pound and for 25 bucks you have up to date better fresh powder to be on the safe side. If he had 10 eight pounders then maybe it would be worth the time to research it to use it up. I wont risk a rifle despite its cost over anything potentially unsafe because I like my eyes and life.

 

[Mark204]

Thanks gentleman........I showed him the response here, he gets it now. I told him at least he could use the R11 for two, (308/'06) out of the three, I also told he would be better off in the long run if he DIDN'T find an accurate load, because once the R11 is gone, it's gone.
Thanks again.

Mark