Weak Weatherby loads in the Nosler manual?

joecool544 · Dec 5, 2004

Andy

I got some reloader 25 it 's Supposed to be a little slower than the 7828, a guy just doesn’t what to go to slow. I will try this and see how it works.

joecool544 · Dec 5, 2004

Andy

I got some reloader 25 it 's Supposed to be a little slower than the 7828, a guy just doesn’t what to go to slow. I will try this and see how it works.

wby · Jun 20, 2005

i have a 300wby accumark and can get 3330 fps using 180grn ballistic tips but this load is right on the edge of being hot,but is where i get my best groups.and would never post it as a maximum load as someone could get hurt.i definitely understand why nosler loads are conservative.and if i had to put out a book with different load data i would go very consevative to.

FOTIS · Jun 21, 2005

Get your hands on the IMR powder manual. You can download it from online.

fredj338 · Jun 21, 2005

Relaoding manuals are guides not bibles. Every rifle is diff. so there is no way the manual's loads are going to be exactly like loads shot it your rifle. I have found the Nosler manual to be pretty close to what I can get form the carts. I use (taking into account bbl. length). I use at least three manuals when working w/ a new caliber or powder & take the avg. max. load & back off 5% & work up to my best load. Nosle, Speer & Hornady are my go to manuals.

Redneck Ron · Jun 21, 2005

Every rifle is different-So very true. I have never used Max load information because I don't want a rifle to blow up in my hands. Now, I you follow other manuals you can see some close similiarities and some differences-sometimes major.

My question are how does elevation effect a bullets velocity?

How do you measure chamber pressure of a round in a rifle or is that a factor in determining loads?

rick smith · Jun 21, 2005

Redneck, chamber pressure is probably the most important factor in determining a load. Pressure can be measured in a couple different ways and are reported as PSI, CUP. Strain gauges are also used to measure pressure. I think it is the Oehler 43 that has a set up to measure pressure and can be purchased by anyone having the $$$. You cannot measure pressure by looking at primers, measuring cases, etc. Velocity is related to pressure but it is not a straight line relation. What a lot of loaders don't seem to realize is that we can't duplicate the loads given in any of the manuals, we don't have the same lot of components or the barreled action used by those who wrote the manuals. If you don't reach the velocity they have at a certain number of grains of powder, you shouldn't just keep adding powder. There is a point where you are adding more pressure without the normal increase in velocity. A chronograph will help you in your search by watching how many fps you get with each addition of powder. If you are getting 40fps with each 0.5gr increase of powder and the next increase of 0.5gr yields 15fps, it is time to back off the powder. You are now adding more pressure than velocity and danger awaits. The few extra fps you gain will make no difference in any hunting situation. I think that people who load for every fps are kidding themselves and one day may be removing parts of their rifle from different body locations.Rick.

LoneStar · Jun 24, 2005

Experienced handloaders know that there can be significant differences in performance between different lots of the same powder; surely I don't have to list examples here. Reloading manuals have to keep this in mind when publishing loads, but I don't know how many different lots of each powder they try. If you can't reach the listed velocity with XX grains of powder in your Weatherby, then perhaps the reason is the lot of powder you are using.

Long-time reloaders have noticed the general trend to lower velocities in the major reloading manuals over the past 30 years. While some shooters insist that this is due to lawyers and lawsuits, there is actually a very valid technical reason for this. In the 1960s and early 1970s the bullet makers used indirect pressure indicators like primer appearance, bolt lift and case head expansion; today we know how unreliable these indicators can be. Today the loading manuals use pressure instrumentation to develop most maximum loads, and they do not exceed the SAAMI specifications for the cartridges. In many cases the old published loads were well in excess of the SAAMI specs, so they were reduced in the interest of engineering design, not litigation.

Would it surprise you to know that most of the loads listed in the Hornady and Sierra manuals were never actually tested? Their data is developed graphically, not by firing every published load. Because of this, their listed max load may be well under the "real" SAAMI-pressured max charge, but they don't list it because it does not occur at a convenient 100 fps interval. Food for thought.

I find the Nosler manuals to be about average for a bullet maker's data. Some loads are higher, some are lower. As stated above, they are called reloading guides for a reason.

perkins42 · Jul 21, 2005

Conservative or not, I I have one 300 wby Mark V and it won't shoot the hotter loads in the nosler manualy as accurately as the middle to low range loads. I have only tried a few powder and bullet combinations, but so far the slower rounds seem to shoot more accurately. Any ideas on this, should I try to push the envelope a little more, because I really think this rifle can shoot better. So far I have had no pressure signs.