Thanks Brad! A place to post "Low Node" stuff

F

freebullet

Guest
I must be the oddball. I tend to make cast loads in the 800-1200 range. If more is wanted, we go straight to the 1600-2k area. Have a tendency to skip the 12-1500 area completely except for a few magnum handgun cals. No real reason, it just happens that way.
 

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
Freebullet,
Not the odd ball!
"Most all" of my rifle loads are in that same range and I bet I can speak for Ben also.
If I do go higher it too is in that 1600 to 2 K range on things like my .243 and maybe my .223
Jim
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
The 13.5 gr. Red dot load in a 30-06 is building much higher pressures than most shooters realize. I once read, maybe 45,000 psi. ???

I don't shoot that load in my rifles.

Ben

According tot he Lyman info above it's 39,400 CUP with a 220 gr bullet. That CUP, not PSI. I don't know that you can make an exact trasnistion from one tot he other. It appears to be a hotter load than I thought, but we also have to consider pressure curve and all the other stuff that goes with it. I've never had any issues using 13.0 RD in cases from 7x57 size up with cast, but I will probably be starting down closer to 10-11 grs from now on.
 

Kevin Stenberg

Well-Known Member
I know what you get when you assume something. That being said.
When loading ammunition for high velocity. A person has to adjust seating depth of the bullet in the case to find where that load works the best. Does the low velocity loader also have fiddle with seating depth. For best results.
 

Will

Well-Known Member
Kevin I personally don’t shoot lower velocity rifle rounds but just from my reading I believe most are doing it with bore rider type bullets that are engraved of slightly jammed into the rifling.

Honestly I like to do the same thing when I’m shooting HV loads. I tend to get much better accuracy when I see some light scuffing on the nose of the bullet.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
scuffing/engraving is alignment.
I don't think a lot of people realize just how much work those long noses have to do, and how little respect they get for doing it.
powder is one of the very last things I look at, you can get just about anything to shoot well if you have the bullet going straight into the barrel.
the easiest [almost said best] way to get that is to impress engraving equally all the way around the nose of the bullet and get the case behind it to follow.
 

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
Fiver said it above!
For me my light loads are created from shot & necksized cases. I am hoping that this is best for aligning my bullet in the throat.
I like my bullets to be long enough to lightly engrave on bolt close.
 

Ian

Notorious member
HV is a whole 'nuther kettle of fish. "Bore rider" and "HV" don't go well together 99% of the time because narrow lands can't keep the nose straight. You can get by with almost anything that fits properly at low speed.
 

Cherokee

Medina, Ohio
Until the last few years, I had never tried fast powders in rifle CB loads; I used reduced charges of the normal rifle loads. Since I am now shooting more CB rifle loads, I find the pistol powder do fine for targets (I don't hunt), but my range has only 25 & 100 yd. options, no 50 yd.
So, the slower pistol powders seem to work best for me for the 100 yd shooting.
 

Maven

Well-Known Member
waco, I have some experience with IMR 4198 @ 1,700 - 1,800 fps and Unique @ ~1,200 - 1.400 fps in my .30-06 with CB's between 140gr. (Lee TL group buy on Boolits site years ago) and 204gr. (Ly. #314299 @ .311"). For the plain base Lee TL bullet, I use 8.7gr. Unique because that's what my Lyman rotor throws: repeatably accurate. For gas checked CB's between 160gr. - 204gr., I use 12.5gr. Unique and get wonderful accuracy (also an excellent load for my Arg. Mauser and Finn. Nagant with #314299, sized to .313" and .312", respectively). 13.0gr. Unique is OK, but groups opened enough with that charge to make me drop back to 12.5gr. As for IMR 4198, 23 - 24gr. works well in the .30-06, but velocity is significantly higher, perhaps as high as 1,750fps using something like Ly. #314299. 18 - 20gr. will probably work, but I've never tried it, and thus won't suggest you do so.

One last thought: Blue Dot is another viable choice. With a plain base bullet 9.5gr. was the equal of 8.5 - 8.7gr. Unique. On the higher end, i.e., with gas checked bullets, 13 -14.5gr. would be a good place to start.
 

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
@waco ; I am quite new to the «low node» stuff, but Universal has worked nicely for me, so far. The NOE #315- clone in plain base version seems to like 8,5 grs, in both .308 and .30-06. Bhn 18 (which maybe is a little to hard for this application, but- it was in the pot). I will post results in more detail when I get a little more data.
 

waco

Springfield, Oregon
I ended up loading some of the NOE 312299 Bullets with 10 and 10.5gr of Unique.
I’ll shoot these in the morning and post results.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Anything cast I like to the the nose show a slight engraving if I can. It's just my wacky theory, but I think it helps with consistency in alignment a smidge and, moreover, helps consistency in ignition. I can't do it with every bullet/case combo, but in things like the RCBS 30-180FN in my 30 cals ot Fat 30 in my 311's it seems to help and seems to work out better. Maybe it's just my imagination, but I'm not fixing something that ain't broke.
 

Maven

Well-Known Member
You're most welcome, waco. Also, do a Google search for Sea Fire's Blue Dot loading data, but stay at the starting loads.
 

Maven

Well-Known Member
Here's a cut & paste of Sea Fire's Blue Dot loading data:

SEA FIRE’S BLUE DOT LOADING DATA

Fill a case until it overflows, level it off even with the mouth of the cartridge, and then weigh the amount of Blue Dot for a full case...

20% of that figure is the recommended Minimum load...

30% is a good starting point to work up loads..

40% of that figure is a good point to proceed slower...

This is where it gets important: 50% of that figure should be in the neighborhood of Max, if the case is based on a 30/06 case.

Work up slowly and in small increments above 50% of max in magnum cases, 308 and 7 x 57 based cases...


Max will be near 60% of full capacity in most cartridges depending upon bullet weight except 30/06 based cases; E.g., 25/06, 270, 280, 30/06, 338/06, 35 Whelen

Large Rifle primers are recommended, even in Magnum cases...

Blue Dot is not position sensitive in rifle cases, even with only 20% of max as a charge...

NO FILLER is recommended, as it will actually increase pressures....

Do NOT consider Blue Dot for maximizing velocity potential of a rifle case.

Consider it for accuracy and reduced velocity loads... at 40 to 50% you are not shooting reduced pressure loads.. just reduced velocity loads...