Weighed factory powder charges

[nakneker]

I needed some 338 RUM brass. The local store had a couple boxes of Remington with 250 grain swift A frames. I bought them, went home and pulled the bullets. For fun I weighed the powder on all 40 rounds. Lightest load was 85.7grs, heaviest load was 86.8 grains. Weighed on a Lyman M5 tuned Parker scale.

The Remington will do just fine until I can find some Norma or Nosler.

Made me glad I reload.

 

[retired]

while us target shooters don't do that, plus or minus .5 on a case that big in a commercial hunting rifle, probably shoots better than most hunters can shoot.

I needed some 338 RUM brass. The local store had a couple boxes of Remington with 250 grain swift A frames. I bought them, went home and pulled the bullets. For fun I weighed the powder on all 40 rounds. Lightest load was 85.7grs, heaviest load was 86.8 grains. Weighed a Lyman M5 tuned Parker scale.
The Remington will do just fine until I can find some Norma or Nosler.

Made me glad I reload.

 

[dmoran]

while us target shooters don't do that, plus or minus .5 on a case that big in a commercial hunting rifle, probably shoots better than most hunters can shoot.

Good chance that the poor quality control of ammo like that may be in part why you have formed such an opinion. Victims of such circumstances is what I think plagues "most hunters" shooting ability.
Remember well back when I started reloading how much better all my rifles shot and how poorly some factory ammo shot. Even more so yet when I started updating the rifles in general, with triggers, bedding, scopes, barrels, etc.. All of which I can attribute the gains I seen in reloading directly attributed to looking for further accuracy enhancements. All of which made me a more accurate shooter, and believe it could for "many hunters".
Donovan

 

[Westhunder]

Good chance that the poor quality control of ammo like that may be in part why you have formed such an opinion. Victims of such circumstances is what I think plagues "most hunters" shooting ability.
Remember well back when I started reloading how much better all my rifles shot and how poorly some factory ammo shot. Even more so yet when I started updating the rifles in general, with triggers, bedding, scopes, barrels, etc.. All of which I can attribute the gains I seen in reloading directly attributed to looking for further accuracy enhancements as well. All of which made me a more accurate shooter, and believe it could for "many hunters" as well.
Donovan

Amazing what a little attention to detail gets you.

 

[MagnumManiac]

Well, you all might be surprised to learn that factory’s, and that’s every one of them out there, load by VOLUME not by WEIGHING each load.
Another interesting fact, most factory ammo is very uniform in start pressure and this is the SOLE reason why factory ammo often works in a wide range of rifles.
The factories know a lot more about what WORKS in regard to burn rate/density/packing sheme/crimp etc. The factories rarely ever use a slow powder for their loads, they often find low ES/SD with faster middle road numbers due to the faster rise in start pressure which gives uniform rises to max pressure. The result is very good accuracy across many different rifle types.

How often do you blame a bullet for not working when more often than not it is the powder chosen that’s at fault.

Dmoran,
What you say about handloads bettering factory was mosltly true a decade ago, but today the tide has changed. Factory ammo by a good many places is producing very good accuracy and the better our rifles are built the better the ammo appears to be.

Cheers.

 

[M-61]

There was a time long ago when anything I reloaded shot far better than any factory ammo.
I don't buy factory ammo. When I bought my 1st 6BR I did buy some Lapua ammunition knowing it would give me empty brass which I could not buy at that time. Well it gave me the brass alright, but it gave me a few groups that when I looked at them I hoped my reloads could match!

 

[jimmymac]

What you say about handloads bettering factory was mosltly true a decade ago, but today the tide has changed. Factory ammo by a good many places is producing very good accuracy and the better our rifles are built the better the ammo appears to be.

Cheers.

I think a lot of what you say is correct, but at the end of the day factory ammo is still a one size fits all proposition and it will shoot accordingly. It's hard to beat some well tailored handloads, especially if the reloader is going the extra mile to maximize his effort.

 

[dmoran]

While I agree, there is premium ammo being produced, better today then years past. But there is still shelves lined with cheap ammo that is "spray & pray", which I see gets bought and used more by hunters.

Have done a fair amount of light gunsmithing, scope mounting, and sight-in for hunters. Most of which will hand me a new gun, a new scope to mount on it, and a couple boxes of "spray & pray" cheap ammo.
Donovan

 

[IdahoSharpshooter]

no offense Magnum, but that is mostly wishful thinking on your part, IMHO.

First chance you get, go to an ELR match (anyone at 600+ yards) and ask around. See if anyone is using factory ammunition.

An awful lot of those shooters load their own ammunition, and there are literally dozens of threads here that discuss the good measures and scales, and weighing to a single grain of powder.

I started reloading in HS in 1965. I had a Lyman Tong Tool. In the time since then, I have twice been able to buy factory ammunition that I could not easily find load combinations to beat it.
Both times, Black Hills in 308 and 300 WM.

 

[dolek]

Good chance that the poor quality control of ammo like that may be in part why you have formed such an opinion. Victims of such circumstances is what I think plagues "most hunters" shooting ability.
Remember well back when I started reloading how much better all my rifles shot and how poorly some factory ammo shot. Even more so yet when I started updating the rifles in general, with triggers, bedding, scopes, barrels, etc.. All of which I can attribute the gains I seen in reloading directly attributed to looking for further accuracy enhancements. All of which made me a more accurate shooter, and believe it could for "many hunters".
Donovan

Well said,that is pretty much the same path I have followed.

 

[dolek]

Well, you all might be surprised to learn that factory’s, and that’s every one of them out there, load by VOLUME not by WEIGHING each load.
Another interesting fact, most factory ammo is very uniform in start pressure and this is the SOLE reason why factory ammo often works in a wide range of rifles.
The factories know a lot more about what WORKS in regard to burn rate/density/packing sheme/crimp etc. The factories rarely ever use a slow powder for their loads, they often find low ES/SD with faster middle road numbers due to the faster rise in start pressure which gives uniform rises to max pressure. The result is very good accuracy across many different rifle types.

How often do you blame a bullet for not working when more often than not it is the powder chosen that’s at fault.

Dmoran,
What you say about handloads bettering factory was mosltly true a decade ago, but today the tide has changed. Factory ammo by a good many places is producing very good accuracy and the better our rifles are built the better the ammo appears to be.

Cheers.

Do you load ?

 

[JimSC]

Lately Hornady has been turning out some great ammo, not just their high end stuff either. I saw a guy at the range shooting consistent 2 inch groups at 300 with their bulk ammo

 

[MagnumManiac]

no offense Magnum, but that is mostly wishful thinking on your part, IMHO.

First chance you get, go to an ELR match (anyone at 600+ yards) and ask around. See if anyone is using factory ammunition.

An awful lot of those shooters load their own ammunition, and there are literally dozens of threads here that discuss the good measures and scales, and weighing to a single grain of powder.

I started reloading in HS in 1965. I had a Lyman Tong Tool. In the time since then, I have twice been able to buy factory ammunition that I could not easily find load combinations to beat it.
Both times, Black Hills in 308 and 300 WM.

My point is not whether the factory ammo is used in matches, which it is in some military matches.
My point is that due to their loading techniques and powder choices, factory ammo is very good, not wishful thinking at all. It takes uniform start pressure to have uniform ES/SD and this is tightly controlled in factory ammo. Crimping is a known cheap enhancer of start pressure, this is WHY the factories crimp MOST ammo they make, match ammo isn’t always crimped but does have neck sealer, which acts the same holding the bullet longer.
Another interesting fact about match/military ammo, those that are Berdan primed are far superior in both ES & SD than those that are Boxer primed.

BTW, I shoot F-Class and am very successful.
I also worked in an ammo plant here in Australia making ammo & powder. It’s called ADI, you know it as Hodgdon powder.

Cheers.