who to believe? or which to follow?

Ted47

Well-Known Member
Looking through some different load charts I was surprised at the differences some manufacturers of bullets and powders were apart from each other.

Who is the best to follow. The powder manufacturers or the bullet manufacturers?

Cheers Leon
 
You have to look at more more than one manual and realize that some loads are going to be mild because of older rifles out there, such as the 1888 Commission 8x57, the 1893 and 1895 Mausers in 7x57 and 6.5x55mm. Then there will be loads for these in modern rifles. These powder manuals will only have loads using their powders, and will generally choose one bullet of a weight in each chambering.

Bullet manufacturers often have three or four bullets in the same weight, so their loads are safe ones for the hardest bullets, which generate higher pressures. Bullet loading manuals are good for seeing a lot of different powders.

A bullet manufacturer with just one design, like Barnes, is going to be less conservative.

Lyman and Lee both have new manuals out, and they sell neither powder nor bullets, to they have a mix of brands and loads.

If you have a common caliber, just start with the proven, Old Faithful loads which seem to work well in most rifles, and check your COAL.
 
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I would choose powder over bullet first.

I agree. Their livelihood depends on a balance of safety and performance so they tend to concentrate on the performance of the powder with regard to internal ballistics. But that said, all reloading manuals are GUIDES. They are not absolute in any sense. They are what the data supplier got for results in a given day, at a particular set of atmospheric conditions, with a certain rifle, and bullet and case, and primer, and particularly, a certain LOT of powder. Another supplier's data is most likely set with a different set of variables in play. This is why the emphasis on 'start low and work up' when developing loads.

There are some rifles for which cartridge loading data is based on the lowest common denominator of weapon strength as Southern described, but powder makers do not strive for conservatism. They sell performance. And it is simple for them: They simply supply data that stops as SAAMI max. Ah! But some loads don't reach SAAMI max. They fall 5 K psi shot of the max the cartridge is SAAMI'd for. This is not conservatism, this is safety. This will be the point where all loads tested with that particular powder/bullet combo stayed at or under SAAMI max with no excursions over that mark. They have set the charge at the point where it is going to give you the highest level of performance with that component chain that will be safe 100% of the time. ~Muir
 
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