~~~HELP w/ Alliant reloder 22 powder

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r8rdrew

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I just got my Lee Challenger kit today with the works, like brushes, trimmers, lube, tumbler, media, etc. everthing! I am a brand new reloader, but have studied alot and read the LEE Second edition.
MY PROBLEM:
I noticed that the LEE Book and Alliants website say that it is ok to use Reloder 22 with both .30-06 and .270win rounds.(more so for .270, than .30-06) I bought 5 lbs. of it.
I bought 130gr .270 (.277) and 150gr .30-06 (.308) both Jacketed psp, bulk Remington bullets.
NOW, I see that the BOOK list the recipe as "63-c" grains of powder or ( i thinks its 3.7 with the Lee dipper, which the dipper that came with it is only 3.4?????). The 'c' means "compressed". IT IS THE ONLY RECIPE IN THE 150gr SECTION THAT HAS THE 'C' NEXT TO IT. :confused:
But The PAPER that came with the dies (Deluxe set (3) no crimp die) doesnt even show reloder 22. (it does show 15&19):banghead:
QUESTIONS?:uhoh:
Should I follow the book?
Should I follow the paper and not use reloder 22?
Is there a PROVEN recipe i can use? (something middle of the road)
Did they do that to just save space on the paper?
How do I compress the load? (if thats even possible, what does it mean)


Any suggestions and Experiences are greatly appreciated. I have a huge itch to go and try my first rounds tomorrow. I live in california, so I will be checking this post until at least 1am pst - 4am est time.
Thanks, R8rdrew
 
first off, scoops are great for scooping things that don't involve reloading.. use a scale

2nd... good call on being sure and asking when you are unsure about a load before you put it in your rifle and go KaBoom!

3rd, there are lots and lots of recipes, I like to verify that a starting load in in the realm of reality with at least 2 souses normally three or more before I start making boolits. I am not aware of any manual that has every load for every caliber. a 2nd manual is a good idea, I think my next one will be "Pet Loads, 8th Edition" Book by Ken Waters... just sort of like it

4th, are you reloading 30-06 for a garand?
 
My brother in law uses a 270 with 130grt noslers and reloader 19. 57.5 gr and it shoots very good.
My book shows 55.8_60.0 gr of rl 22 for 2956-3160fps. For 270.
As far as the 30.06 there is only half grain diff between 19 and 22 and 80 fps. Both are compressed loads. Personally I like the 19 I have been using it. In the 270 and 7mm. You Get a little more velocity from the 19 but the 22 seems to feel nicer in the gun
 
r8rdrew, Rel-22 works much better with heavier bullets in 30'06, but more importantly, you really need a powder scale to load safely. Did you get a scale with the kit? Scoops do not work well when your start load is a near maximum load, as they are not accurate enough for someone just starting out.
I would suggest starting with 57gr of Rel-22 and work up, but you do need to get a powder scale if you don't have one.
There are other powders that will work a little better than Rel-22 with 150gr bullets.
You can look at the www.alliantpowder.com and see what they recommend using 150gr bullets in 30'06 and 130gr in 270. The loads listed should be reduced 10% for start loads.



NCsmitty
 
+1 on getting a scale. The Lee Safety scale has a reputation of being an inexpensive and accurate scale, though perhaps a bit more difficult to use than a higher end one. It retails for $20 or less typically.
 
I did get a scale with the kit.
I have come to find that the charge of 56grains for .270 and 57grains for .30-06 nearly fill the casing.

Is that normal?

The book states that Its possible to use 63-c grains compressed. We are only using 57 grains tho. We tried a sample case with 63 grains and it loaded the casing all the way up to the base of the case mouth (case neck). Leaving maybe enough room to seat the bullet. My concern is that even with the 56 & 57 grain charges in both rounds doesnt leave alot of void (air-space) for expansion.

Does anyone know if the amount of space left in the case is adequate?
Does it sound like the cases are overloaded with powder?:confused:

I read that there should be some space left in the case after seating. What I have left with usuing Alliant Reloder 22 doesnt seem like alot.

Also, I am not crimping the bullets. They arent moving easily within the mouth. I am only using them for plinking. I have checked them in my gun. This also seems hard to tell if bullet is of the right length. They all measure between 3.245 and 3.250. I have read that the minimum OAL is 3.250. It seems easy enough to load them. Not sure the distance from rifling either. I realize that plays a factor in the firing and start pressure.
I am using the Remington bulk ammo, these have the crimping line of notches around them. The bullet is seated very close to the factory rounds depth that I still have laying around.

Is the .005 of an inch gonna matter?
Should I crimp?:confused:
 
Compressed loads (what the c stands for) are pretty common. With an appropriate powder, it is OK for certain cases to be filled to the brim, so long as the charge weight doesn't exceed MAX.

J
 
It is not necessary to crimp your bullets, just set your bullet's OAL to what the manual recommends for that load, even if they push against the powder a bit.
Let us know how they shoot for accuracy.



NCsmitty
 
Powder does not need an "air space" it burn effectively or safely.

A compressed load is perfectly fine as long as the tested data calls for it, and you can seat the bullet on a listed compressed load and get the bullet to stay there.

It will help if to settle the powder granules if you use a long drop tube when filling the case, or tap it several times before seating.

But RX-22 is not a good powder choice for the 30-06 until you get into 180 grain plus bullet weights. It is too slow burning for lighter bullets.

It should work pretty well in the .270 however with your 130grain bullets.

You will very likely have to run compressed charges in either caliber to get the same velocity you could get with slightly faster powder like RX-17.

rc
 
r8rdrew said:
I noticed that the LEE Book and Alliants website say that it is ok to use Reloder 22 with both .30-06 and .270win rounds.(more so for .270, than .30-06) I bought 5 lbs. of it.

Reloder 22 can be used in both the .270 and .30-06 but is not necessarily well suited to all bullet weights. In the .30-06 it will be better suited to the heavier bullets (180g and up). Also, I'd recommend NOT buying powders in bulk until you know which powders are well suited to the guns and particular loads you will be using. Just my opinion, which you can take or leave.

I bought 130gr .270 (.277) and 150gr .30-06 (.308) both Jacketed psp, bulk Remington bullets.
NOW, I see that the BOOK list the recipe as "63-c" grains of powder or ( i thinks its 3.7 with the Lee dipper, which the dipper that came with it is only 3.4?????).
The 'c' means "compressed". IT IS THE ONLY RECIPE IN THE 150gr SECTION THAT HAS THE 'C' NEXT TO IT.
But The PAPER that came with the dies (Deluxe set (3) no crimp die) doesnt even show reloder 22. (it does show 15&19)
When talking about multiple calibers and bullet weights please try and be more clear. I assume you are saying that the Lee book shows 63.0C of Reloder 22 with a 150g bullet in the .30-06?

Ignore the dipper and the load sheet that came with the dies and use a more comprehensive reloading manual. The Lee book is okay, though I prefer Lyman #49 and the bullet manufacturers manuals over it. It's not a big deal that RL-22 is the only powder that has a 'C' next to it. As you said it just means it's "compressed". It's a fairly slow burning powder and isn't the best choice for a 150 grain bullet in the .30-06. A faster powder would probably work better for that bullet weight. In fact, the most recent Alliant reloading manual PDF doesn't even list a load for a 150g bullet & RL-22 in the .30-06.

How do I compress the load? (if thats even possible, what does it mean)
When you seat the bullet it will compress the powder. You can tell as there will be some resistance and the powder will "crunch". That's it, there's nothing special that you need to do.

PLEASE NOTE: The load you are quoting is a MAXIMUM load. It is not a load you just dump in your gun and start shooting. If you've really studied the Lee manual you will know that you should start at 10% below the maximum and work up in regular increments. One example, you could start at 57.6g (90% of max) and work up in 7 stages (0.9g increments)

57.6g, 58.5g, 59.4g, 60.3g, 61.2g, 62.1g, 63.0g. Stop at any point if you see signs of overpressure.

You may find one of the loads nearer the lower to middle will be your best load (which may or may not be a compressed load). Sorry if this last part is something you already know and have done, but you didn't mention if you had done a load work up or not.
 
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I did get a scale with the kit.
I have come to find that the charge of 56grains for .270 and 57grains for .30-06 nearly fill the casing.

Is that normal?
depends on the brass, some have thicker walls than others, so the same charge may fill one case, but be at the neck on another... does this matter?.... yes.... the less volume in the case the higher the pressure...
 
I agree with all the other folk, RE22 would not be my first choice for .270 or 30-06. I works great in some of my magnum calibers such as 300 WBY, 300 RUM and even my 338 RUM.

Like most posted, I would try something a little faster.

LGB
 
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