The Firearms Forum banner

Berger Manual Comment

815 views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  drymag 
#1 ·
I was at Cabelas today and had the choice of buying 2 jugs of powder or one jug powder and another manual. I went with the powder as it is harder to get. But while I was there, I thumbed thru the Berger manual (my next manual I want to get). Berger (I don't recall the page reference) stated that you can increase the oal and add more powder for more zip while not increasing the pressure. That kind of makes sense, but yet that could mean extending the max which is a taboo. This seems to be in conflict. If this is ok to do, then the only way you know your new max is from pressure signs, accuracy starts going out to lunch, target holes start looking non-circular, and that sort of thing. This also seems that on shorter barrels, it would be a waste of time as the pressure escapes sooner wasting all that pent up energy.
-
Does anyone do this and what sort of methodology do you apply?
 
#2 ·
I......Don't know. Yes when you increase the OAL of a round, you increase the space inside which can decrease pressure. BUT as you increase the OAL, you are pushing the bullet that much closer to the lands, which can increase pressure. I guess if you are loading .050" off the lands, and increase the OAL to .035" off the lands, you would have a decrease in pressure.

I always find my starting place where I want to seat my bullet, and work up my loads from there moving toward max while looking for pressure signs, watching velocity, and accuracy. I always try to have a realistic goal for my velocity, and compare it to the load data.

A good example of this is with my 300wm. I am loading 180gr Nosler Accubonds over H4831sc, and CCI LMRP. Hodgdon says the max is 73gr. In my M70 300wm, 73gr of H4831sc produced .54" 3shot groups & 75fps avg less than the data, and absolutely NO pressure signs at all! The primers are still nice and rounded on the ends, brass is not over expanded, and smooth bolt lift . Now I have gone back and loaded up some with 73.5gr. My goal is 3,000 FPS Avg, and .50" groups. The closer I moved toward 73gr, the tighter my groups got. With this rifle I have also found it likes to have the Nosler AB's close to the lands. I am loading about .010" off so my rounds will fit in the mag box.
 
#5 ·
I have been going thru my manuals unsuccessfully looking and now have muddied the water so to speak. Rather than mis-quote the Berger, I'll have to plead short term memory-ites. I kind of think no data, but don't want to swear on it.
-
I read elsewhere in a mag I think that rifles are opposite pistols in the pressure vs seating. Where shortening the oal drives up pressure in a pistol where lengthening drives up pressure in a rifle. Is that true??!!??
 
#6 ·
I'm interested in doing that a bit but have to wait until my mosin cases get longer. My bullet is seated to where the diameters worth is in the neck with the brass being new. I have some recently once fired that I want to resize to see how much they have changed. I was hoping to find a way to just neck size the brass but haven't found a good way yet. RCBS wants $99 for a neck sizer. 303 Brit only goes part way down the neck if what I read is true. So I'm still looking for a way to just neck size my 7.62x54r brass.
 
#8 ·
Thanks. I've heard that you stop just short of bumping the shoulder. Will this give me the same as a neck sizing collet? I haven't used one yet. I keep wondering if it's that simple, why are they selling so many neck sizing collets??!!?? Thanks again....
 
#9 ·
This is my understanding how to bump the shoulder, measure a fired case from your chamber just at the shoulder. Run it up the FL sizing die until the shoulder is resized no more than .001 with .002 being max. I noticed that this does not resize the entire neck of the case. For me to get the entire neck, the shoulder is resized .006. My understanding of an actual neck sizer die is it will not touch the shoulder and resizes the entire neck. Is this correct?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top