I know everyone recommends starting at minimum loads and work up towards max and watch for pressure signs. 1- with shortages of components, by the time I purchase a box of bullets and work up a ladder of loads for say two powders, I’ve used up 3/4 of the box of bullets. I don’t want to buy multiple boxes of one bullet in case my gun won’t shoot that particular bullet. Then I can’t find those bullets again. Is that what everyone else is doing or are you skipping a few of the lower loads? And if so is that safe?
2- the second part of that safety guideline is because “every gun is different and some may have higher pressures than others”. Makes sense, but how do the ammunition manufacturers do it. They make loads that are for most standard calibers and obviously a wide range of different guns.
Little help from the more experienced guys out there!!
You don't get to have it both ways... and probably not what you want to hear...
If you stick to well known paths, you might get the benefit of a map that saves you getting lost.
If you trail blaze, then you better have strong feet...
To put this another way, the reason I advise rookies to stick with the more "common standards" is to avoid finding themselves trying to develop data without the benefit of being a ballistician with a full lab. Sticking with the more common standards means the ones with the pile of data behind them. If you buy obscure bullets, powders, primers, brass, in obscure calibers, expect to have trouble. These days even the common stuff is hard to get and common popularity can mean shortages.
As a rookie, try to use well established load data with known outcomes in known rifles, don't get caught trying to develop a load map where no man has set foot. Find out what a "Pet Load" means.
When I was a kid, that typically meant a round based on military standards that later turns into a sporting round. So ones like .30-06, 308 WIN, 223 REM etc., were going to be easier than wildcats.
That doesn't rule out ones like 7-08 or 7mmMag, it just means those old military based rounds are easier. Later on, when you get some more experience, there is no reason you can't branch out.
Of course, the way to shortcut all the agony, is to have a good mentor up front. They keep you out of trouble. Doing this solo with no background, makes it harder when you can't buy supplies at will.
In these times, the popularity of the cartridge keeps you out of trouble by having the most available ammo, components, guns, and data selections. That said, be careful not to confuse hype with popularity.
Want to see what's easy, go to your local gun store in the fall and look at what is taking up the most room on the ammo shelves. Look at which cartridges have the most flexibility in terms of bullets and the most load data, avoid the ones with few entries or options.
2. ..."but, how do the ammunition manufacturers do it"... By the time the OEM outfits are selling you a rig or ammo that shoots factory ammo to SAAMI or CIP specifications, the ballisticians have run hundreds to thousands of pressure tests. Then, aftermarket outfits also run hundreds to thousands more tests with their products to publish their manuals. The ballisticians have a long deep background by the time they are working for a lab or OEM outfit. They use pressure and velocity data along with their background to give you advice. Some designs are more than 100 years old, some were born yesterday. Guess which ones have the most available data with round robin confirmation from many labs? YMMV
