CFE BLK with heavy .500 bullets...

[watermonger]

Anyone tried this load with hornady .500 cal 500gr projos?


How are they getting such high velocity with this powder? The 440gr load with the same powders is only giving a velocity difference of 18 fps between the CFE BLK and 296/H110. Somehow the 500 grain load manages to get 146 fps more with a slight decrease in pressure over 296/H110. Does this carry over in shorter barrels than 10 inches? (this is measured from breech face to muzzle right, not from start of rifling to muzzle?). Does anyone know where I can find some 500gr .500 cal Hornady XTP-FP's for sale? Hornady seems to have discontinued selling this bullet from what I can find. Anyone got any they wanna part with?

 

[Dudedog]

Seems to me normal sort of behavior with slower powder/heavier bullet.

 

[watermonger]

Would that velocity increase over H110/296 carry over into shorter barrels?

 

[Dudedog]

The increase should carry over but the shorter the barrel the less the increase.
For example in pistols the powder with the highest vel in a 4" barrel will generally still be the one with the highest vel in a 2" barrel.
But to make up numbers it might be 100 fps faster in 4" and only 30 fps faster in 2"

 

[watermonger]

Welp, my local reloading store had a single box of 500gr FP-XTP's, so I picked that up with some CFE BLK. Gonna see how this load performs with my 5.93 inch barrel (as measured from the breech face on my S&W 500 3.5" PC).

 

[BC17A]

Welp, my local reloading store had a single box of 500gr FP-XTP's, so I picked that up with some CFE BLK. Gonna see how this load performs with my 5.93 inch barrel (as measured from the breech face on my S&W 500 3.5" PC).

Let us know if you get the listed max charge of CFE-BLK in and still seat the bullet. With a 350gn XTP, 51 grains of the 54 max was all I could fit in the case with the bullet seated to the middle of the crimp groove. With 440gn gas checked lead I could only fit 43 grains of the listed 49 in the case and still seat the bullet.

 

[watermonger]

Let us know if you get the listed max charge of CFE-BLK in and still seat the bullet. With a 350gn XTP, 51 grains of the 54 max was all I could fit in the case with the bullet seated to the middle of the crimp groove. With 440gn gas checked lead I could only fit 43 grains of the listed 49 in the case and still seat the bullet.

Well that is certainly curious, anyone tried contacting hodgdon and asked about that?

 

[ballman6711]

Let us know if you get the listed max charge of CFE-BLK in and still seat the bullet. With a 350gn XTP, 51 grains of the 54 max was all I could fit in the case with the bullet seated to the middle of the crimp groove. With 440gn gas checked lead I could only fit 43 grains of the listed 49 in the case and still seat the bullet.

Hodgdon's site does show both of those loads as compressed, and although I've never made a compressed load it seems to be fine with some powders. As long as the book or manufacture show it then it should be ok.

chris

 

[BC17A]

Hodgdon's site does show both of those loads as compressed, and although I've never made a compressed load it seems to be fine with some powders. As long as the book or manufacture show it then it should be ok.

chris

The problem is not that it's a compressed load, but how much you're able to compress it. Those less than max loads that I used were as compressed as I could manage without breaking my press.

 

[ballman6711]

That is curious, since I assume you used the same bullet that they used in their listing. Not a similar bullet, but the exact bullet. If so, then they have a misprint or maybe the bullet design has been altered.

I know if you look up their 480 Ruger loads it shows them using a 712" test barrel. I assume it's a typo and is supposed to be 7 1/2".

May want to contact them about the powder not fitting in the case and see what they say.

chris

 

[BC17A]

That is curious, since I assume you used the same bullet that they used in their listing. Not a similar bullet, but the exact bullet. If so, then they have a misprint or maybe the bullet design has been altered.

I know if you look up their 480 Ruger loads it shows them using a 712" test barrel. I assume it's a typo and is supposed to be 7 1/2".

May want to contact them about the powder not fitting in the case and see what they say.

chris

My 350gn load was exact with the XTP and Starline brass. My 440gn was a Lee casting but the Hodgdon load is for a 440gn CPB (cast performance bullet). Looking at the CBP bullet, it appears they're very close in length and also the position of the crimp groove.

I did manage find the dimensions of the 500gn XTP, and it's seating depth is within .010" of my 440gn Lee which will leave it 3 grains or so shy of a full book load. Using a fired case, I neck sized it only and the max CFE-BLK I could stuff in was just under 45 grains for the 500gn XTP(estimate), so It'll be interesting what the OP comes up with.

As for contacting Hodgdon, I really don't care about the data as the load being 3 grains short was still very stout considering it was under 40K PSI. A rough calculation of the loads velocity was around 1600fps and mine chrono'd at 1544fps so I'm good.