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Weight of factory ammo compared to hand loads

3K views 40 replies 8 participants last post by  jwdurf 
#1 ·
I just reloaded my 7mm rem mag to 60 grains with a 150 grain Barnes ttxs. I put it on a scale and then put a federal soft tip 150 grain factory load on the scale. I noticed the factory load was about 10 grains heaver then the hand load. Is that normal. I didn't notice any variations in the powder specs to account for a 10 grain diff.
 
#6 ·
First, the powder used by the manufacturers is NOT the same stuff sold for reloading.

Then, unless it is from the same lot, the brass won't be the same, even if both are the same brand.

If you trimmed it after sizing it, you lost weight in the brass.

The odds of having a reloaded cartridge that weighs the same as a factory load are quite high. I'm kinda surprised there is only a ten-grain difference.
 
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#7 ·
I'm here to tell you that you are probably OK. Not too long ago (three weeks) I loaded up a bunch of .45 ACP. I decided to weigh a few of the completed cartridges and the spread was unreal. I was afraid that I had missed the powder drop stage so I pulled down about 30 fully loaded ones. Extremely time consuming and every one of them had the exact same weight of powder in them. That day, I decided to NEVER weigh any completed cartridges,

With all of that said, if you feel uncomfortable with those rounds, please pull them down and check them out!! Remember safety first!!
 
#9 ·
I loaded the min for my powder that my buddy's reload manual called for on 150 grain bullet. Then later looked at the Barnes web site and found there max load for my powder was the min in the book. So I thinknim safe that way. Just shacking the reload then factory it seemed light is all.
 
#13 ·
You can't just look at powder charge and bullet weight alone. The bullet construction and OAL makes a huge difference. If your buddy's load data was not for a Barnes bullet then it is useless. As a point of comparison, Hogdon's data shows 60.5-65gr with an OAL of 3.225" for the 150gr TTSX BT. What OAL does Barnes' data use?
 
#12 ·
It's almost impossible to duplicate the weight of a factory charge with that of another load or reload.

Besides the fact that the charge will be different (most likely) and the powder will be different (again most likely), the fact is that you will be dealing with different LOT of materials. One of the basic rules in loading super accurate ammunition is to keep everything exactly the same. One of the biggies here is the brass cases: cases WILL change in weight and structure from batch-to-batch (lot), not to mention manufacturer to manufacturer. Even two cases from different batches (lots), trimmed to the same length, will likely vary in weight due to thickness/density of the cases material.

Secondly, even though you are using a great quality bullet, I'd be pretty sure that if you took 100 bullets and weighed them all that you would find that not many will weigh exactly the same. I've seen good quality bullets that were supposed to weigh 168 grains actually spread anywhere from 167.5 to 168.6 when weighed individually. That was only checking 100 bullets - and I'm pretty sure the spread would have increased had I checked more.
 
#17 ·
The Barnes OAL is 3.24" which is longer than the Hodgdon data which all else being equal will result in lower pressures for a given powder charge, but yet the Barnes data is more conservative. The only other difference that I see is primer brand.

This is one of those frustrating loads where the max in one data source is the starting point for another data source with no obvious reason why. Which ever data source you use please begin with their starting powder charge and work your way up. If you ignore this advice please have a buddy film your first shots from a safe distance just in case it turns into a lesson for all reloaders to learn from.
 
#16 ·
Was just wondering cause the case is only 2/3 full and when I shake it by my ear there is a lot of air in there. Then when I shake the factory load it feels like there is much less room and more powder. I was just wondering if factory ammo is heavier or if they have to load it heavier cause it's not as good or why it would have a 10 grain diff in weight on the overall bullet. That's all. Also the max load from Barnes is close to the min load in the real order Manuel my buddy has.
 
#21 ·
You raise a GREAT point: Data from different sources vary - sometime a whole bunch. I think that's why you always start at the minimum load and work your way up slowly. Never - ever - use data that doesn't come from a reliable source (reloading manual). My super-dooper whiz bang load might blow you and your rifle to Kingdom Come.
 
#24 ·
Right up till you find out that the profile of the TTSX puts the bullet right up so that it is touching the lands in your rifle. Pardon me if I sound a bit harsh, but you don't even know the variables involved nor understand why jumping straight to a maximum load is foolish for an experienced reloader and self-correcting Darwin style for a beginner.
 
#29 ·
He was trying to say-velocity,max load very rarely equals accuracy...and having the bullet too far out may make it touch lands=raising pressure even though load is correct.Some start at minimum powder weight-I normally start in the middle.A good tool is a OAL guage -look on interweb for description.I have a .308 that puts 10shots in 7/8" all day long-at 2450fps...max load for that bullet is 2750-2"groups.And remember-EVERY rifle is different-even ones a single digit ser# apart.
 
#31 ·
Kyle - no shame in starting at the beginning. Lots of things being brought up here suggest that maybe you are starting off. One of many things is "shaking the cartridge" tells you absolutely nothing - other than there is something in the case.

You've looked at some manuals and charts and can see that there are lots of different powders to choose from. Finding powder data that is inter-changeable from one cartridge to the next is about as rare as finding a complete set of hen's teeth.

The over-all length is critical. As has been pointed out already, you can seat a bullet that will cycle into your chamber and be too long. Do that and you can jack up chamber pressures that will blow your mind (and your head off).

Go slow- buy and read and understand a good reloading manual. Don't skip anything. I always recommend Lyman's Cartridge Reloading manual, simply because that manual explains what you need to do and why you need to do it. All of this advice is offered in a friendly way - and nobody intends to offend you. Only you can decide weather or not you'll heed this advice.
 
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