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Thread: Resizing Troubles

  1. #11
    Gunload Grunt kg42's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gaston_r View Post
    I did have to use .71 cc disc cavity to get the pro-disc measure to throw 5.5 gr. This was a couple of sizes larger than the info said. I think it depended on the lot of powder available when they did their testing.. who knows..
    That's a bit off. Usually one size will catch up with LEE's caution. Which scale did you buy? LEE's Safety Scale can be a pain to set up and read.
    On the other hand Unique was reformulated a few years ago and they might not have updated their tables. Tom uses that powder a lot and could tell us about any difference.

    kg

  2. #12
    Dogs Like Him versifier's Avatar
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    The only thing I can say for sure about Unique (and I do use a lot of it) is that it seems to be a lot cleaner burning than it used to be. Anyway, that is a fairly mild load, 9.2gr is the Max. I don't pay much attention to the actual volume, I just set the powder measure with the scale, drop a blockfull, then compare the level in all the cases under a bright light. About the only time I use dippers is when a have a handful of rifle cases to load and I don't want to bother with the measure. But no matter how I'm measuring it, I always check the charges on the scale. As long as you do that, you'll be safe. As you discovered, even data in the loading manuals has to be double checked. Be sure to write down what you learned about the error in the data and leave a note about it in the manual for future reference.

    Let me explain a little about revolvers and POI. They don't behave like rifles and Contenders. What makes the biggest difference with a revolver and POI is the amount of time the bullet spends in transit through the barrel. A slower load will generally shoot higher as the gun is farther along in the recoil impulse and the muzzle has climbed more before the bullet exits. Likewise, the faster the load, the lower the POI because the bullet spends less time in the barrel and the muzzle hasn't had as much time to rise from the recoil, even though the total recoil will be more powerful with the hotter load.

    If the gun itself is solidly rested, it is not as noticable. The higher the axis of the bore is above your hand, the more pronounced the effect will be. It's one of the things that can make developing handgun loads so challenging. When testing, I rest both wrists only on the sandbag and the revolver held free in both hands so it will rise with recoil the same as it does when shooting offhand, so the POI is generally about the same. If you try to adjust sights when it is solidly rested, the POI will be completely different when you shoot offhand.

    The thing is, I will work up one load for a given revolver, then I stick with it, and label the ammo as specifically for that gun. If it has fixed sights (like my m36 S&W carry gun), I will play with the charge weight until the group is right around POI at 10yds. I practice shooting double action only with very mild loads, usually about 100rds of wadcutters, (they impact about a foot high) then finish with two cylinders of the +P SWCHP's that shoot to the proper POI.

    If the revolver has adjustable sights or a scope, I still prefer whenever possible to stick with one load after I find the one I need. My target revolver is a m686 S&W with an 8 3/8" barrel and a Leopold 2X. It shoots a cast gas checked 158gr SWC or SWCHP, and it is the only firearm I own that prefers a max load (of Unique). I shoot it single action at 25, 50, and 100yds, and at small to medium varmints when I'm feeling cocky. If I rest the barrel solidly, there is a noticable difference (about 6") in POI at 25yds than when shooting it offhand, so I never shoot it rested. Luckily, both my SWC and SWCHP moulds throw boolits that are the same weight and balistically identical, and I can load them interchangably. When I shot jacketed bullets in it, I would have to change the sights for different special purpose loads, but I always had a hard time remembering what I had last shot out of it.
    "Stand your ground.
    Do not fire unless fired upon.
    But if they mean to have a war let it begin here."
    - Capt. Parker, Lexington Militia, April 19, 1775

  3. #13
    runfiverun runfiverun's Avatar
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    with my fixed sight guns i usually like to get one good load to hit poa at about 25 yards [about as far as i am really good with a revolver] lets not discuss a pistol, and then make colored marks yellow @ 50 RED @75 and white @100 same load different distances works prettygood i am not really familiar with using volume measurements( although i know a lot of labs and benchrest shooters do this ) iweigh a volume, dillon, and spot check i use a lot of tightgroup.and 2400
    Last edited by runfiverun; 12-19-2007 at 10:51 PM.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check        

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