Why stretch the limits

[AJC1]

Hand loaders have complete control over every aspect of our creation and development of safe, reliable ammunition is the goal. Why so often do I see people chasing maximum loads. There are reasons like the competitor trying for that last bit of edge in a long range event. More often I see people trying to make 45colt like 454, and a 45/70 like a 458 mag. Recently someone was asking about hotroding a 32/20 for hunting deer. Why not just choose a more appropriate cartridge for the goal.

 

[Olon]

Probably similar to why you'd hot rod a 68 chevelle to make it to go fast instead of building a funny car.

 

[AJC1]

Probably similar to why you'd hot rod a 68 chevelle to make it to go fast instead of building a funny car.

Yeah but would you hot rod a 51 Chevy cabover boom truck

 

[Obturation]

I used to try to push cartridges to the max, then i realized I just needed bigger guns. I still like a full power load in 357 or 10mm but if I want something truly powerful I load up a 454 casull with 360 grain wfngc bullets over a case full of h110. That's as much as I care for, if you find the guy hotrodding a 454, 460sw or 500 mag, you've found someone who has a bad case of magnumitis.

 

[Obturation]

Probably similar to why you'd hot rod a 68 chevelle to make it to go fast instead of building a funny car.

Depending on who you are , a 68 chevelle is a "funny" car. Sorry to anyone who loves the chevelle.

 

[Waterboy3313]

Yeah but would you hot rod a 51 Chevy cabover boom truck

Maybe with out the boom on it.

I have my ideas why people do what they do. I stick with reliable published load data. Some of my combinations are at the upper limit of said reliable sources. I don't push for anything but the best accuracy.

 

[Olon]

Yeah but would you hot rod a 51 Chevy cabover boom truck

Haha you've got a point there. I like pushing the envelope a little but try to do it responsibly. I.e. I'm not trying to make any cartridge something it's not but I do my best to get the most potential out of it.

 

[Olon]

Depending on who you are , a 68 chevelle is a "funny" car. Sorry to anyone who loves the chevelle.

That's ok we all know the el caminos are way cooler anyway.

 

[Bfh_auto]

There is pushing the limits. And there is pushing your luck.

I load for speed and accuracy. I usually want the most accurate, fastest, safe load. If it eats brass. Then it's not safe.
Sometimes it's about getting close to the same performance with a smaller weight or recoil penalty.
Sometimes the book data is too weak because it was taking weak actions into account. 30-40 Krag is an example. If I loaded for a Ruger #1. I wouldn't use Krag data.

 

[splattergun]

My goal is to get the best performance I can out of my working-class firearms. to me this means the best groups I can shoot with my limited skills. I don't usually stretch the limits of safety. It's like race-tuning and finding the best tires and gasoline for a Camaro and I don't need to wear a helmet to go fast and get up the canyon first.
To others, the goal might be to see how much raw power they can get out of it before it causes damage, or to go the fastest in spite of the dangers. Sometimes tends to stretch the limits of safety. So does hotrodding a '68 Nova SS, building Formula1, or even a top fuel dragster. They know it might blow up, but the point is to win at any cost. If it blows up, that's what fire suits are for, and it's even part of the excitement. Besides, a lot of improvements and developments have come from pushing the limits of both cars and guns.
Hot rod cars, hot rod loads, what's the difference? To each his own.

 

[cfullgraf]

Many of the high power, magnum handgun cartridges we have today are because somebody push the limits of existing guns and cartridges of the day and then convinced the firearms and ammunition manufacturers to develop a firearm for the hot ammunition.

Today, if a particular handgun is not powerful enough without hot rodding the ammunition, there is almost always an option that will be.

 

[Walkalong]

There is pushing the limits. And there is pushing your luck.

And sometimes they cross over each other, y'all be careful out there.

 

[higgite]

I look at max loads like redline on a tach. I don’t have any particular desire to exceed or even push either one, but if you’re doing it safely, especially not endangering others, and willing to accept the consequences, why not? Just please don’t do it when I’m in the neighborhood.

 

[Riomouse911]

I’m a pretty conservative reloader, there is one “Marlin only” .45/70 load I’ll approach max on (within a grain of powder), and one .32 H&R Mag load that I loaded at book maximum... to be fired in a Ruger Single-Six only.

The rest I’ll stay within the comfort zone below maximum. (I have found the vast majority of these loads to be more accurate than max loads anyway.)

Stay safe.

 

[EMC45]

I load at middle of the data or a few gr below max. I see no need to push it. My ammo has always been accurate for paper punching and hunting.

 

[Reeferman]

Though I don’t if it wasn’t for guys like Elmer Kieth and others blowing up guns by hot rodding them where would we be?

 

[Lizard1911]

That's ok we all know the el caminos are way cooler anyway.

Especially hot rod ones.
Lol.

 

[Olon]

Especially hot rod ones.
Lol.

Lmao never seen a long box version before but I dig it

 

[film495]

same reason people see if their motorcycle can go 160mph, to see if it can be done

 

[joneb]

I'm pretty conservative with reloading, so I start low and work up the load. I don't want to mess up a good gun

 

[444]

I load rifle ammo for accuracy. I test the whole published spectrum for the ultimate load. If that happens to be a max load, it is what it is.

 

[HB]

I shoot max loads in the 44 mag because its hard not to with h110 or 2400

 

[jmr40]

Why not just choose a more appropriate cartridge for the goal.

That is one of the great things about handloading. You can choose a single cartridge and load it for a variety of uses instead of having to buy multiple rifles in multiple cartridges. It can be hard to justify a bigger gun for something that will be used very rarely. But if someone can come close to matching the performance with what they have by loading it a little hotter, why not.

And what do you call "pushing the limits". I don't consider loading right up to max charges in a loading manual as "pushing the limits". The guys who choose to load above listed max loads are "pushing the limits".

And over time cartridge capability has changed. 30-06 is an excellent example. Typical WW-1 era loads had a 150 gr bullet at 2700 fps. That is as much as 300 fps slower than modern 308 loads. By WW-2 that had increased to 2800 fps. Today most common factory loads are running 2900 fps with some premium and handloads capable of over 3100 fps. And all of those loads are within loading manual limits. If I'm buying a 30-06, Why load it to 300 Savage levels.

The 7x57 and 6.5X55 were developed in the 1890's and there are a lot of old rifles out there. Factory loads for these rounds are very conservative. As are most handloads. But if someone has a modern rifle in these cartridges it is perfectly safe to stretch the limits.

 

[BWS]

I like hitting what I'm aiming at,sometimes it's an "X",other times it's a critter. Different modus operandi.....

I understand the OP's premise,he's saying at some point instead of beating on the gun with top end loads,get a bigger gun. I can see the logic in that but,quite frequently top accuracy "comes" at higher loadings. I have a 116 Savage in 30-06 that became a bugholer at a smidge over "book" with 150 Sierra's and 4350.... so have seen where responsible working up loads can pay off.

As long as folks are careful, responsible,and understands why these pressure values are set.... carry on. Will say,my handguns are getting much milder loads these days. They're just so much easier on the gun,and me.... which translates to better accuracy/precision. Much more user interface with a handgun vs longuns on load intensity.

 

[LoonWulf]

I shoot max loads in the 44 mag because its hard not to with h110 or 2400

Amen......