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Is anyone out there reloading subject bullets and having trouble achieving desired velocities? I am loading .338 win mag with TSX 225 gr FB. Tried IMR 4350, W760, RL19, RL22. So far best velocity is 2750 fps. This is somewhat below velocities listed in Barnes Manual. Any ideas? Any other powders which might be more successful? Thanks,Richard
G'day Mate welcome to the guide ! You've come to the right place to exchange info ! although I have no data on Barnes bullets .I wonder if you went to IMR 4895 ,ReLoader 12 or BLC2 if the data is avalible that this would get your verlosities up ? I'm personally always very sceptical of the verlosities listed by manufacturers ,as they test under very controled conditions ! I mean to say at the end of the day it's more a case of accuracy more than how fast you can drive a bullet!
Dave
If you are comparing your actual measured velocities to those in any manual, you have to be aware that there could be many differences between your rifle and their test rifle. What they used should be listed in there somewhere and most likely has a longer barrel. Or it could be that they used a universal receiver with a pressure barrel mounted in it. Or the degree of crimp might have been very different, different primer, different mfg of brass used, there are lots of things that could easily explain the velocity difference. But, even if you had two rifles with consecutive serial numbers in the same chambering and barrel length, you wouldn't necessarily get the same velocities with the same ammo. Every barrel has dimensional differences and interior surface differences, and not every chamber is cut quite the same, even with the same reamer. You aren't doing anything wrong, and what you are experiencing is nothing out of the ordinary. What would be really surprising is if the numbers were the same. Also, a dead animal isn't going to argue with you about a few fps, or even a couple hundred fps. If you know the actual muzzle velocity, then you can use a ballistic table to find out how much it will drop at longer ranges, something you would want to do anyway regardless of the published velocity.
Just for the sake of comaprison, my Sierra manual lists under .338WM their 215gr SBT bullet at 2900 with a max charge of 75.7gr of RE-22 or a max charge of 71.8gr H4350EXT, out of a SAV m116 with a 21.5" barrel. Max charges of 69.1gr of IMR-4350 and 73.7gr of Viht N560 list at 2800fps. Five other powders AA-4350, RE-19, AA-3100, and H4831SC all max at 2700fps. This tells me two things: at 2750fps, 1) You are getting very good performance, and 2) You are at or near the maximum safe pressure. If you are not seeing flattened or cratered primers, that's good, but if you have worked up max loads in cooler weather, they might not be safe on a hot day, as the higher temperture may create a dangerous overpressure situation, so be aware. When working at or near max, especially with a big magnum case, the ambient temperture can make a huge difference in chamber pressure. Are you getting your best accuracy with these loads, or were the groups smaller at lower chargs weights?
Hey Richard welcome to the guide!!!
First welcome to the forum. My recomendation would be to go first for accuracy. Pick a manual recommended load in the velocity range you are trying to achieve. If you find a load that is + or - a couple of hundred FPS within the velocity range you want and the load is accurate in your rifle there is little else to do. Not sure if there is anything in N.A. that is going to run very far when shot in the vitals with aany piece of metal weighing around 180 gr traveling at speeds over 2,000 fps no matter what the piece of metal is made of or how it is made. The end game I think should be on accuracy in your gun.
versifier hs given you some signs of pressure problems and when they might occur. When you get to the upper limits of loading you are runing the risk of only hurting yourself which by any measure is not good and the odds of doing so increase in direct relationship to the point of maximum loading from my experience. Not much room for an "opps".
Take Care
Have you though about trying a lighter bullet? I would try the 185gr triple shock if I were you. I shoot a 160gr x bullet out of mine with 3359 fps and never lost an animal. The 185gr looks like you can get up to 3100 fps. The 185gr is the most I would ever think about using, unless I was hunting Moose or something that large. I hope this helps. Michael.
I'm not familiar with the tsx bullet yet but I have used plenty of the X bullets. One thing that one should keep in mind is that they are not lead core thus not as dense as standard bullets. Keeping that in mind they take up more volume for a givin bullet weight. When taking a powder charge from another manual at a givin bullet weight pressures will generally go higher than for the same weight in a lead core. I do this to an extent when using barns but always when starting use the barns manual for some point of refrence, always starting on the low side. Outside of that I think they are some great bullets on game, never lost an animal with them. BTW, welcome to the board.