Releoading philosophies
JerryBobCo
Senior MemberPosts: 6,008 Senior Member
My dad started reloading about 40 years ago, and got me into it. His philosophy, for lack of a better way to say it, was to go with the lightest load that would get the job done. For example, if he found two loads that delivered comparable and acceptable accuracy, he would pick the lighter load. I think some of it was to reduce recoil, but it probably had more to do with the times in which he grew up.
Dad grew up on a depression era dirt farm. His family wasn't poor by the standards of that time and place, but they weren't rich. His dad would buy shotgun shells by the shell, not the box. His idea of dove hunting was to shoot them on the ground as the were feeding close to each other. Sportsmanship wasn't nearly as important as getting as much food for the ammo used. It was just the way things were done then.
I think my dad kept a lot of that with him, and may have thought that going with heavier loads was wasting powder. I don't really know. He mostly hunted Texas whitetails with a 30-06, so he really didn't need a hot load. He also used standard bullets such as Hornady interlocks or Speer hot-core. The idea of using a premium bullet was a totally foreign concept to him.
My own philosophy is different, as times are different, and I live a more affluent life style. I like to pick the best bullet for the intended game, and strive for the hottest load that will deliver the accuracy I want. I suspect most in here do the same.
I'm not really sure what led me to post this, but it just sort of came to me. Please add your two cents to this topic.
Dad grew up on a depression era dirt farm. His family wasn't poor by the standards of that time and place, but they weren't rich. His dad would buy shotgun shells by the shell, not the box. His idea of dove hunting was to shoot them on the ground as the were feeding close to each other. Sportsmanship wasn't nearly as important as getting as much food for the ammo used. It was just the way things were done then.
I think my dad kept a lot of that with him, and may have thought that going with heavier loads was wasting powder. I don't really know. He mostly hunted Texas whitetails with a 30-06, so he really didn't need a hot load. He also used standard bullets such as Hornady interlocks or Speer hot-core. The idea of using a premium bullet was a totally foreign concept to him.
My own philosophy is different, as times are different, and I live a more affluent life style. I like to pick the best bullet for the intended game, and strive for the hottest load that will deliver the accuracy I want. I suspect most in here do the same.
I'm not really sure what led me to post this, but it just sort of came to me. Please add your two cents to this topic.
Jerry
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
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That’s pretty my SOP in regards to handloading.
Jerry
ASK-HOLE Someone who asks for advice and always does something opposite
Moderate. Tending slightly above moderate, but nothing like pushing the envelope.
With a 1911 and a 30-06
One of the reasons I did not get into hand loading LONG before was that I knew a few people that did handload and had catastrophic failures that destroyed guns. I like guns. I've worked very hard to get the guns I have. I do not want to scatter them across the range. I also like my fingers and eyes, and want to keep them in OEM configuration. Therefore, I have no need to push limits. Get an accurate midrange load? That is just about perfect.
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
How I load my match ammo is very different from how I load my non-match (hunting, plinking, shooting, etc.) ammo.
My match ammo uses ultra premium components, loaded meticulously in charges exceeding book max.
My non-match ammo is loaded with pocketbook-friendly components at pressures well under maximum .
I'm like a handloading Sybil.
Handguns it depends on the caliber and bullets I'm firing. I know the data for the .44 Spl is for pretty anemic loads in the manuals. But I pay attention to they type gun they used as a test. For example my N frame .44 Spls will do a lot better with hotter loads than say a Charter Bulldog. My L and N framed .357s can take max loads all day long, but in my K framed model 13, I keep them moderate.
I like my .45 ACP loads to be about Mil Spec. I don't exceed the max in my .44 Magnums, but have found backing off a tad from say Elmer Keith like loads is easier on me and the guns.
I like my 9mm near max, my newer model Vaquero up there, but not exceeding tier 2 loads, but a lot more than the wimpy Cowboy loads. My .38 Spl loads usually are right there with factory loads for 158 SCWs/LRN, never watered them down much, always within the envelope, but usually stop just before a +P range unless I want that little bit more.
I find an accuracy load, I'll stick with it without going very much above or below and keeping an eye out for pressure signs when I change any component.
But generally I don't push the envelope. Any case of "Magnumitis" I may of had passed years ago.
So in summary, it depends on the gun, the bullets and what I want them to accomplish.
Words of wisdom from Big Chief: Flush twice, it's a long way to the Mess Hall
I'd rather have my sister work in a whorehouse than own another Taurus!
My 45-70 Marlin is one exception, I use mostly H4895 reduced loads in that, more trapdoor like because there is absolutely no reason to punish myself at the range with bear loads other than to say I did.
Words of wisdom from Big Chief: Flush twice, it's a long way to the Mess Hall
I'd rather have my sister work in a whorehouse than own another Taurus!
I load mostly for fun. I enjoy reading as much abou it is I can, but don't always apply what I learn for lack of applicable opportunity.
I don't sweat geting everything perfect or getting maximum performance. I do like knowing my ammunition is safe.
Now that I'm getting into much larger rifles, I'm going to probably start going lower cost bullets, at moderate pressure/speed. At least for the guns like the 404, 375 and 9.3x62. Of course with the 404 "lower cost" is still very high. Cheapest I've found are just under $1/ea without going to cast lead
1. It's cheap
2. The bullet exits the barrel.
Hunting I don't go crazy with premium unleaded lubed with unicorn tears bullets. There is no point. Hornady SST are fine. So are a lot of others. I chose precision over speed, if I can get both that's better. May change that up that I'll be loading for longer ranges this year, not my typical 50 yards or less range.
Target stuff, same as hunting rounds.
Zee
As for bullets, I've loaded many types of standard to premium. I've always gone with what shoots best. I think traditional 'cup n core' bullets are fantastic for deer size game. When I hunted South Africa, all the PH's used standard soft point bullets for plains game.
Remington CoreLocks and PRVI soft points are both outstanding bullets for lower prices.
JMHO
It is possible to have both high speed and high accuracy in a safe load. That’s not a bad thing.
If one wants it.
#1) Match the projectile to the intended target at your anticipated range.
#2) Load to the accuracy you need at 100 yards farther than your anticipated range.
#3) Then load that SOB to the highest velocity you can get while staying within the parameters of #2.
Mike
KSU Firefighter
Tip of the hat to Scootertrash.
Mike
KSU Firefighter
Again..........it’s possible to have both. If you want it. And if you want both...........why not have both?
I get that many of you are happy with medium loads. Cool. Great.
But, why do you all seem to incessantly look down upon those that want to push harder/faster/and to the wall? If you choose not to.......no worries. Why do you make it sound bad that I do?
And why do you all think that you have to sacrifice accuracy when pushing for higher velocity? I have many loads that are considerably past book max, fire safely in my guns because I seat long, and shoot relative 1 hole groups?
Why the seemed animosity towards those that seek both?
I love you.
See above.
My original pdog load in my 6mm Rem was 75 grain VMaxes over Varget at 3050 fps. It would do sub .3 all day long. I killed a bunch of pdogs with that load.
One evening, after griping here that I'd had a tough time in the wind much past 400 yards, Dan Johnson PM'ed me asking why was I shooting a 6mm Rem at such a pedestrian velocity.
It took a bit of load development, but I eventually got the same bullet to perform with equal accuracy at 700 fps faster than my original load. Without blowing up my gun. Or sticking a case. Or flattening a primer corner. The first pdog I shot with this load was at 645 yards, 15 mph quartering wind. First shot....varmint mist.
That, gents, is how speed can up your game.
It's not accuracy vs. speed.....you can have both.
Mike
KSU Firefighter
For deer hunting out to a couple hundred yards, it doesn't make a difference. At all.
But, if your goal is to consistently hit something the size of a coke can over a quarter mile away in changing wind conditions, speed matters. A lot. A whole lot.
And, guess what....you can still shoot stuff up close with the same load. The reverse isn't true.
Mike
KSU Firefighter
Speed gives me distance. I’m not worried about trajectory. I can compensate for that by dialing or aiming higher. It gives me distance by increasing the impact velocity at a given range and therefore extending the max effective range of a bullet (operating velocity threshold) fired from a given cartridge.
That. Loading a bit beyond the book recommendation isn't going to hurt anything. Emphasis on a bit.
Therein lies the difference in 'East of the Mississippi' and 'West of the Mississippi" shooting. For most of my deer hunting, 70 yards is a long shot in the woods I hunt. Any of my home built single shot rifles in pistol calibers can handle that and not break a sweat with the loads I have for them. Not pistol safe loads; rifle safe loads. If I hunt the powerlines, I have the .30-06 and good drop tables, and a rangefinder, to put the screaming fast 180 BTSP where it needs to go, out to 350 yards. Powerlines are the ONLY place to really stretch out past 150-200 yards here. Different terrain requires a different way of dealing with the length of shot possible, given the terrain.
I buy Amax, EDL or EDL X type bullets, sometimes but not often I'll use match kings for steel shooting just for a change. I run Lapua brass with everything including the 9.3x62 and use Federal match primers. I weigh each charge with a teaspoon, do not own a thrower. I clean primer pockets and chamfer each mouth each time.
I used to neck size only but have recently gone back to full length sizing everything even though this seems to mean more trimming.
As [9.3 excepted] just about every centerfire shot I take is past 200m I'm not that worried about trajectory because I mostly dial, but I do like to have my bullets going as fast as is accurately possible.
All this doesn't make me a better shot or a better hunter but it keeps me happy and thats what it's all about. .