Thread: Tiptoeing past max load

" I never took much notice of how much powder I used to put in my shotgun shells 'till one day when I pulled the trigger and the bang rattled the teeth on the other side of my face" - a guy I once knew.

If you've gone past Max Load:

What increments did you use ie .3/.5/1.0, How far did you go, What pressure signs convinced you to stop?

Also what powders did you use, what powders would you never use, and did your alcohol consumption spike soon after testing ?

I realise some of this was covered in the last thread, but I think it's an interesting topic on it's own.

I doubt all that can be covered in one post. Someone would have to wright a book for you.
If it's a small case go up in small increments. A pressure sign is a pressure sign.... Except for maybe crated primers, you can often get that from over size firing pin hole, like rem 700 often has.

Another point, max loads have changed over the years too
My old Nick Harvey manuals max loads are quite different to later editions.
If you’re reloading for a familiar to you rifle, you know how it extracts factory ammo, normal primer strike, etc
Besides going up in small increments means you get to load ( and shoot ) more ammo
Win win.

bully : Fair enough

Frogfeatures: I hadn't realised that max loads had changed. Are max loads more conservative now than they were or vice versa?

Some manuals are, and some arent.
Scan as many as you can and work up slowly. I use 0.2 or o.3 grain increments. If you have no manuals, go buy a SPEER MANUAL as a very good start.

Yes because some clowns don't know how to find their own maximums with out blowing their guns up, It seems starting at the top book load then backing off is
the way to go these days, Start with the recomended start load and go up in .5 grain steps until achieving the best accuracy, if more velocity is required get the next size
cartridge case with the calibre of choice.

A chronograph helps alot too....
If your going up in powder increments but getting bugger all velocity, yes you maybe on a node. But also this tends to happen at a max. Combine this with pressure signs amoung other things and clues start to add up. You have to go slow and be a bit of a detective.

Depends on a lot of factors, My blaser barrels loads are generally under book max, my old Win model 70 is well over.... having a chrony helps. Normally I’ll reference a few loading books/online sites, then run a ladder test over the chrony, one shot & go up a grain each shot until I find the speed I want or pressure signs, then start shooting some groups from that data.

Originally Posted by Max Headroom

bully : Fair enough

Frogfeatures: I hadn't realised that max loads had changed. Are max loads more conservative now than they were or vice versa?

Yip, Nick Harveys are more conservative.
Due to avoiding law suits I’d imagine

I've always found most book max loads are conservative. With every load development I've ever done I ladder test up over book max normally in .5gr increments and stop when I get heavy bolt lift or ejector hole stamps on the case head. That's excess pressure for me in that rifle.

I then look for the highest velocity accuracy node under the excess pressure charge weight.

Originally Posted by Frogfeatures

Yip, Nick Harveys are more conservative.
Due to avoiding law suits I’d imagine

I’ve also found the ADI data to be quite conservative

I have an old 1970's Hornady book that typically on the cartridges I work has higher max loads than the same projectiles on Hodgdon's data.
Not always and by varying amounts..
PS also note that powder energy density's can and do change over time and between batches.
Zq

Loading manuals from yester year had loads quite a bit hotter than today, I load up a few just under max and then on up till pressure signs show or until the velocity I want is reached, that's the best outcome when you reach your desired velocity with no pressure signs.

Max loads are like those yellow signs on the roads that suggest what speed you should take a corner. They are a conservative figure and after you have seen enough of them you ignore them.

Originally Posted by Shearer

Max loads are like those yellow signs on the roads that suggest what speed you should take a corner. They are a conservative figure and after you have seen enough of them you ignore them.

Fella my dad worked with liked to double what it had on the yellow signs. One of those rally drivers.