Tempus Tom
Member
Hey guys,
I am new to reloading and am doing my best to not destroy myself and my firearms.
So far I've successfully reloaded about 1,000 rounds of 9mm & .40 cal. Recently, I decided to step up the fun and purchased some .308 170 grain Speer Deep Curl Soft Point Bullets from RMR (link below) to load in my 30-30.
https://www.rmrbullets.com/shop/bul...rl-jacketed-soft-point-flat-nose-bullets-new/
FYI: I'm using CCI large rifle primers, IMR 4166 powder & starline brass.
According to the data listed on Hodgton's website, my starting load for a 170 jacketed bullet using IMR 4166 is 28.8 grains and the max load is 30.7.
Using the above data as a guide, I recently loaded up some bullets and worked my way up to 30.3 grains. I carefully inspected each case and didn't see any signs of over pressure. But again, I'm really inexperienced at deciphering bulging primers.
But here's the problem.....as you may have guessed from the title the bullets aren't actually .308....they all measure to .309.
And while it's embarrassing to admit, I didn't even think this was a potential issue until after I fired the cartridges. I just thought, "Oh, I guess .308 bullets are .309. Interesting."
Obviously, other things being equal an increase in diameter will result in an increase in pressure. But is the difference of .308 vs .309 drastic enough to create serious issues? I don't know.
Should I be concerned using load data that's listed for .308? Does anyone here have experience that would be useful for me in my situation? And should I even attempt trying to get anywhere near the 30.7 grains listed online? Or is that out of the question?
Or is this really not an issue and as long as I don't see signs of over pressure and stay within the 30.7 grain max, it is very unlikely that I'll have an issue?
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
I am new to reloading and am doing my best to not destroy myself and my firearms.
So far I've successfully reloaded about 1,000 rounds of 9mm & .40 cal. Recently, I decided to step up the fun and purchased some .308 170 grain Speer Deep Curl Soft Point Bullets from RMR (link below) to load in my 30-30.
https://www.rmrbullets.com/shop/bul...rl-jacketed-soft-point-flat-nose-bullets-new/
FYI: I'm using CCI large rifle primers, IMR 4166 powder & starline brass.
According to the data listed on Hodgton's website, my starting load for a 170 jacketed bullet using IMR 4166 is 28.8 grains and the max load is 30.7.
Using the above data as a guide, I recently loaded up some bullets and worked my way up to 30.3 grains. I carefully inspected each case and didn't see any signs of over pressure. But again, I'm really inexperienced at deciphering bulging primers.
But here's the problem.....as you may have guessed from the title the bullets aren't actually .308....they all measure to .309.
And while it's embarrassing to admit, I didn't even think this was a potential issue until after I fired the cartridges. I just thought, "Oh, I guess .308 bullets are .309. Interesting."
Obviously, other things being equal an increase in diameter will result in an increase in pressure. But is the difference of .308 vs .309 drastic enough to create serious issues? I don't know.
Should I be concerned using load data that's listed for .308? Does anyone here have experience that would be useful for me in my situation? And should I even attempt trying to get anywhere near the 30.7 grains listed online? Or is that out of the question?
Or is this really not an issue and as long as I don't see signs of over pressure and stay within the 30.7 grain max, it is very unlikely that I'll have an issue?
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
