joepistol
Well-Known Fanatic
Just discovered a dumb thing I did earlier today, while loading some 44 Mag cases for my Marlin 1894..
I've decided to experiment with some bullet & powder combinations for this caliber.
In the past, I'd loaded some REM. 240 gr JHP bullets with H-110 powder, and got some of most accurate loads I've shot thru that rifle.
Unfortunately, part of the load label is missing, so I don't have the actual powder charge of those rds.
Having a hard time finding a fresh supply of H-110 at the time I was looking for it, I bought a 1# container of Ramshot Enforcer.. their Magnum powder.,
decided to give it a try.
Found a box of IMI 180 gr JHP's & a large box of Rem. 240 gr JHP's both would be used for my test bullets.
Powders I'll load include the Enforcer, and the last of my supply of H-110.
Looking at the various places I have powder stored , I found small amounts of Blue Dot & 2400 that I'd also load, & include in my comparison.
( Have a note in 1 of my manuals saying that 15.7 gr. Bluedot was an accurate load in my 1894 )
Decided to load the 2400 1st, as I have enough to load a full box (50) rds with that powder.
I checked data online, then in my Lyman & Hornady manuals..wrote out on a piece of paper the starting & max charge of each powder, for each bullet weight.
I checked & separate data exsists for Pistol & Rifle loadings...(loads for a rifle are a little hotter.)
As these were to be used in my rifle, I loaded closer to max. charge than I'd load a pistol. As these were HOT loads, I hand weigh powder charges on a digital scale... 24.4 gr was my goal.. anything more than .1 gr. ( + or - ) was dumped in the hopper & case recharged.
Spent 1 - 1.5 hrs. loading those 50 cases.. finished & labeled box.
Looking at my hand written notes, I discovered I had made a mistake.
The Max charge of 2400 , behind a 240 gr JHP bullet is 20.5 gr=1600fps. (Lyman)
and according to Hornady : 23.0gr = 1800 fps.
So where I got the 24.4 gr charge is a mystery.. esp. after looking up, & writing down the correct data found in my manuals.
Some probably would just shoot it..but not me.
Now, I have 50 rds. to pull apart ..
what a D.A..... at least I caught the mistake.
I've decided to experiment with some bullet & powder combinations for this caliber.
In the past, I'd loaded some REM. 240 gr JHP bullets with H-110 powder, and got some of most accurate loads I've shot thru that rifle.
Unfortunately, part of the load label is missing, so I don't have the actual powder charge of those rds.
Having a hard time finding a fresh supply of H-110 at the time I was looking for it, I bought a 1# container of Ramshot Enforcer.. their Magnum powder.,
decided to give it a try.
Found a box of IMI 180 gr JHP's & a large box of Rem. 240 gr JHP's both would be used for my test bullets.
Powders I'll load include the Enforcer, and the last of my supply of H-110.
Looking at the various places I have powder stored , I found small amounts of Blue Dot & 2400 that I'd also load, & include in my comparison.
( Have a note in 1 of my manuals saying that 15.7 gr. Bluedot was an accurate load in my 1894 )
Decided to load the 2400 1st, as I have enough to load a full box (50) rds with that powder.
I checked data online, then in my Lyman & Hornady manuals..wrote out on a piece of paper the starting & max charge of each powder, for each bullet weight.
I checked & separate data exsists for Pistol & Rifle loadings...(loads for a rifle are a little hotter.)
As these were to be used in my rifle, I loaded closer to max. charge than I'd load a pistol. As these were HOT loads, I hand weigh powder charges on a digital scale... 24.4 gr was my goal.. anything more than .1 gr. ( + or - ) was dumped in the hopper & case recharged.
Spent 1 - 1.5 hrs. loading those 50 cases.. finished & labeled box.
Looking at my hand written notes, I discovered I had made a mistake.
The Max charge of 2400 , behind a 240 gr JHP bullet is 20.5 gr=1600fps. (Lyman)
and according to Hornady : 23.0gr = 1800 fps.
So where I got the 24.4 gr charge is a mystery.. esp. after looking up, & writing down the correct data found in my manuals.
Some probably would just shoot it..but not me.
Now, I have 50 rds. to pull apart ..
what a D.A..... at least I caught the mistake.
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