What did you do in the reloading room recently?

Definitely on the low side for 2400.

If you like that, moderate load, you could look into something a little bit faster burning like unique or universal to get a nice mild magnum feel
I generally use unique ans h110 for 357 mag. Unique is a great powder for 357.....economical too for the velocity achieved with only 9 grains per case.
 
I generally use unique ans h110 for 357 mag. Unique is a great powder for 357.....economical too for the velocity achieved with only 9 grains per case.
I stay away from the H110 for my 357. All of the ugly burned up forcing cones are not my cup of tea.
I think 2400 is damn close velocity wise without those concerns.

Unique is a great powder for anything.
 
Do you have to reduce the power for cast loads—rifle or hand gun?
In general......cast lead and swaged lead have less friction going down the bore than copper jacketed therefore reducing the amount of propellant needed to achieve the same velocity.

This is why you'll see faster burning powders will not have any load data for jacketed bullets in certain calibers. For example 700x and bullseye there is plenty of load data available for cast 158 grain projos but when you look up jacketed 158 grain projos there is no data for 700x or bullseye........jacketed projos have more friction in the bore to get them moving and a fast burning powder creates a pressure spike behind heavy jacketed projos.

Obligatory statement.......follow published load data only. If a projo in a load manual says it's for a jacketed projo you should not just assume you can use that data.....or even that powder......by reducing it a little for a cast projo.
 
In general......cast lead and swaged lead have less friction going down the bore than copper jacketed therefore reducing the amount of propellant needed to achieve the same velocity.

This is why you'll see faster burning powders will not have any load data for jacketed bullets in certain calibers. For example 700x and bullseye there is plenty of load data available for cast 158 grain projos but when you look up jacketed 158 grain projos there is no data for 700x or bullseye........jacketed projos have more friction in the bore to get them moving and a fast burning powder creates a pressure spike behind heavy jacketed projos.

Obligatory statement.......follow published load data only. If a projo in a load manual says it's for a jacketed projo you should not just assume you can use that data.....or even that powder......by reducing it a little for a cast projo.
Why would slow powder for jacketed bullet be dangerous for a cast load? It probably won’t be optimal, but why would it be dangerous?
 
Why would slow powder for jacketed bullet be dangerous for a cast load? It probably won’t be optimal, but why would it be dangerous?
I'm really just saying "follow published load data" to be safe.

But.......I've seen jacketed and cast projos of the same weight that have a different bullet profile that requires the cast projo to be seated much deeper into the case......which will increase pressure. So using jacketed data on a cast bullet of the same weight is not necessarily always "safe".
 
I'm really just saying "follow published load data" to be safe.

But.......I've seen jacketed and cast projos of the same weight that have a different bullet profile that requires the cast projo to be seated much deeper into the case......which will increase pressure. So using jacketed data on a cast bullet of the same weight is not necessarily always "safe".
As Andrew said it’s mostly about bullet profile.
I always keep this picture handy so you can see the difference in pressure with deep seating.

If you have a 124 jacketed and 124 cast lead that now has a lube groove added in it ends up being a lot longer. Enough to make a difference depending on the load.

Also some of the slow powders like H110 get a little weird when they’re not loaded just right.
If you’re running a light cast bullet that has way less friction that jacketed and you’re running on the low end of the data then maybe that reduced friction and weight as just enough to effectively be one of those H110 light loads that gets kind of hairy.
That’s more of the exception not the rule. Most times people aren’t trying to push H110 max loads with cast bullets.

F9DC4417-FA9B-469E-92D4-62796E726FEC.jpeg
 
Snuck away for a bit and was able to load up some test rounds for a new cartridge!

26” Bartlein 1-8” 7 SAUM
ADG Brass
171gr Match Burners
H4831sc

Loaded in half gr increments across 2.5 grains just looking for some baseline numbers. Once I have a safe charge to work with will load up 200 to get this bad boy sped up and form brass.
EF02574A-5066-474C-A956-37614E95C03C.jpeg

I’m also still proofing out the BRA load. I loaded up 10 each at 30.4, 30.6, 30.8 to see how they compare to last charge weight test. By the looks of it this barrel might like to run a little faster than the last. 30.6 is running 2850. A70B96B7-F19F-41F1-B2CA-18886B3BEC26.jpeg

Hoping to run these in the morning before it gets too nasty.
 
I dusted off the press last night and loaded a few hundred 9mm while the baby was asleep.

Don’t remember the last time I reloaded. Felt good to have some alone time and do something constructive 😂
Hope you used up some Federal primers. That baby is going to get bigger and might want some room to run around. ;)
 
Snuck away for a bit and was able to load up some test rounds for a new cartridge!

26” Bartlein 1-8” 7 SAUM
ADG Brass
171gr Match Burners
H4831sc

Loaded in half gr increments across 2.5 grains just looking for some baseline numbers. Once I have a safe charge to work with will load up 200 to get this bad boy sped up and form brass.
View attachment 747710

I’m also still proofing out the BRA load. I loaded up 10 each at 30.4, 30.6, 30.8 to see how they compare to last charge weight test. By the looks of it this barrel might like to run a little faster than the last. 30.6 is running 2850. View attachment 747709

Hoping to run these in the morning before it gets too nasty.
Absolutely awesome groups. I suppose you have seen the articles about the guys shooting 7 SAUM in extreme long range competitions and getting excellent results.

What scale do you use to weigh powder?

*** *** ***

Finally getting decent groups with my 6 ARC AR. Surprisingly I didn't fare well with my usual powder, Varget. Best results so far are with 2520, with group size between 0.6 - 0.8 MOA. Out of an AR, I think this is pretty decent.

1680226663059-png.737804


In a few weeks, Compass Lake Engineering should have my 24" 1:7 Bartlein barrel ready. Currently I have a Ballistic Advantage 24" 'Premium Series'. I hope Peterson and/or Starline get off their duffs and release some 6 ARC brass. Right now to have brass I'm stuck buying Hornady ammo which isn't shooting well in this rifle.
 
First 7 SAUM loads went off without a hitch. Nice light loads, thinking of running the 59gr load throughout my virgin brass to form brass and stabilize barrel.

Some more charge weight testing with BRA shows repeats of initial testing. I’m seeing same POI over a 1 gr of powder and sufficient groups throughout so gonna put a fork in that one and let it eat for a while. B7DA5ED5-3B7F-47CF-96BC-BE69CA7D293F.jpeg

I was pleasantly surprised with the recoil of a 12lb SAUM vs a 22lb 6BRA. I figured the SAUM would be unpleasant but I see burning this barrel up pretty quick. 😉 CFC1A6A0-F539-4EE1-98C6-B720A28AD584.jpeg
 
I have been mostly cleaning and organizing as I got too deep into multiple calibers on the bench at once and it turned into a mess. Gotta finish a batch before starting something else.

Was also given these .303 British reloads… send them? Have to buy an Enfield first I suppose.
View attachment 748039
Send it.
 
First 7 SAUM loads went off without a hitch. Nice light loads, thinking of running the 59gr load throughout my virgin brass to form brass and stabilize barrel.

Some more charge weight testing with BRA shows repeats of initial testing. I’m seeing same POI over a 1 gr of powder and sufficient groups throughout so gonna put a fork in that one and let it eat for a while. View attachment 748045

I was pleasantly surprised with the recoil of a 12lb SAUM vs a 22lb 6BRA. I figured the SAUM would be unpleasant but I see burning this barrel up pretty quick. 😉View attachment 748046
How is availability for match 7mm projectiles? 6mm, 6.5mm, and even .30 cal are still hit and miss. Berger hybrids must be hanging out with D.B. Cooper.
 
How is availability for match 7mm projectiles? 6mm, 6.5mm, and even .30 cal are still hit and miss. Berger hybrids must be hanging out with D.B. Cooper.
Just as hard as the popular 6s IMO. My main focus for the SAUM is a do-it-all hunting rifle.

I’d like to find some 160 accubonds but they are harder to come by than Bergers. I picked up the Barnes just because they were cheap and close in weight to the 175 elite Hunter I plan to hunt with. If the Barnes continue to shoot well I’ll buy in bulk just to use for practice.

I’ve got a good supply of Berger 175s that’ll come out once I get the barrel stabilized.
 
Loaded some 10mm with a 180 grain coated lead bullet and Longshot. I've never used Longshot before. This gun throws empties so far, I can't find them all but I don't care. These are all small primer cases which I hate. Both primer sizes in 45acp is bad enough. Now 10mm too? What a pain in the ass.
 
Loaded some 10mm with a 180 grain coated lead bullet and Longshot. I've never used Longshot before. This gun throws empties so far, I can't find them all but I don't care. These are all small primer cases which I hate. Both primer sizes in 45acp is bad enough. Now 10mm too? What a pain in the ass.
What model 10mm do you have?

My sig 1911 launches brass like 25 feet.
 
How is the Tite group for 45? I use 5gr of 231 for all 45ACP bullets from 185's to 230's, lead to FMJ. Makes life so much easier lol
Cheaper per pound than other powders. 5 grains under a 200 grain lswc is a nice mild plate banging load. Meters very well. It's a good economical load......there are more accurate loads for my 1911s but this one fits the bill for hitting plates at 25 feet.
 
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