My own little rule of thumb where these three powders are applicable is under 70gns RL26 and fed 210 over 70gn either 2225 or 2217 and fed 215 it’s not the rules but iv found it to work very well each powder has it quirks with the latter shinning when you can fit enough in a case(over 70) and a heavish for cal bullet
I went out today and had average results, the chronograph didnt like rain. Shooting the 156berger over 60.4gr of h1000 gave 3060fps with average bolt lift, 60.6 had severe ejector marks on one case,heavy bolt lift and second case even lost its primer on ejection.
I think ill be loading up at 60.3 and playing with seating depths, should end up around 3050fps for the 156 which is plenty!
So you had slightly heavy bolt at 60.4gn and you think .1gn lighter will be a good load ?...... the fact you had severe ejector stamping, heavy bolt lift and the primer fall out at 60.6gn suggests to me you are fizzingly hot and really should be a full grain lower at least. You don't want to be right on the verge of pressure as on a hot day you could still be asking for trouble.
Possible issues include the action or bolt suffering catastrophic failure (right next to your face)
You will trash your very expensive and hard to obtain brass in very quick order either by case head seperation or by flogging out the primer pockets.
Seriously you might lose 100fps but what difference will that make ? How far out do you need to shoot this ? If 100fps is a game changer maybe you have the wrong caliber.
I used to be like this trying to squeeze every last fps out of my wsm calibers but in reality it just fucks things quicker and in some situations is down right dangerous.
That's my 2 cents, no more lectures promise no hate just genuine concern
#DANNYCENT
It had no pressure signs at all at 60.2, and even 60.4 was minor so somewhere between the two seems sensible? I want to get the most out of it without blowing my face off
Hornady brass gets ejector marks as soon as you look at it so its not the best to go by but 60.6 was definitely too hot
End of the day it's your call after all its your face next to it, but ejector stamps aside you got slightly heavy bolt at 60.4gn this suggests your already hot, to then get to the point of heavy bolt lift and primer falling out only .2gn higher suggests very very hot.
Personally I like to be a full grain below any pressure signs it gives plenty of saftey margin (hot weather, loading error etc) also if you start fiddling the seating depth and seat them deeper that too will increase pressure.
You might be fine but you also might not, the consequences of being too hot are far more serious than having a slightly slower velocity.
#DANNYCENT
Very fair point and i appreciate your input! Im new to pushing the limits for sure so ill have a break and re-evaluate it
How much 2217 @Tahr?
I'm leaning towards 22" and unsurpressed.
That’s way to hot mate dangerously fast for the combo my 6.5 saum did 3080fps with the 156 with rl26 and that was hot backed down to 3000 the saum has greater case capacity and rl26 is faster for less pressure I was at 62gns of rl26 . Prcs seem to run 2900 well with 22” barrels and rl26 I’d be looking for a node at 2950ish with 2217 and 24” . For example of speed and pressure it takes me 3gns less with reloader 26 for 50fps faster and no pressure than it did to get 50fps less and on right on the ruggered edge of pressure for 2217
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