Load advice for 190 gr Nosler HPBT

[Clint007]

Acquired some 190gr Nosler as above. I’d like to make some plinking rounds with Lil Gun, but can’t find any published data. 180 gr and 208 gr...

Don’t need these to be subs, supers are fine. Just looking for reassurance on a safe practical load before I go rogue and interpolate between 8 gr and 13 gr of Lil Gun and get into trouble....

Thx

[certifiable]

I have used 7.5-9.0gr LilGun with several different bullets ranging from 190-225gr thru 9"-16" barrels without sticking a bullet or blowing anything up.

[ShippWrekk]

I am new to reloading, let me be clear on that upfront. I bought 300ct of Nosler RDF HPBT 210 gr .308 bullets.
I can't find any load data for them? Did I just buy the wrong bullets to reload for 300 blackout?

[dellet]

I am new to reloading, let me be clear on that upfront. I bought 300ct of Nosler RDF HPBT 210 gr .308 bullets.
I can't find any load data for them? Did I just buy the wrong bullets to reload for 300 blackout?

There should be data out there for Hornady 208 ELD M, or 212 ELD X. they are similar length and a good starting point. just load on the low side. Just make sure the bullet does not hit the rifling at 2.260" length.

Here is a data base for many bullet lengths
https://www.jbmballistics.com/ballistic ... ml#Hornady

[ShippWrekk]

Also, just to throw it in there, I am using Hodgdon CFE BLK powder for Blackout.

[ShippWrekk]

The chart you sent the link suggested the Hornady .308 208 grain was 1.4 in length and the 212 grain was 1.6 in length.
Do I start with 1.5 in length? And how do I know how much powder?

[ShippWrekk]

"Just make sure the bullet does not hit the rifling at 2.260" length."...... What does this mean?

[ShippWrekk]

Sierra 210 gr .308" load data calls for 11.8 grains of CFE BLK powder for a 1:10 twist or higher.
Previous posts suggested the "guess-length" as compared to the Hornady 208 gr and 212 gr loads.

Is this my starting recipe? 11.8 grains of powder with an OAL of the referenced Hornady OAL data?

Also, my rifle is a 16" AR. I bought my complete upper from Palmetto, and I think my twist rate is 1:8. ** Sierra load data calls for "1:10 or higher". Does this matter? Many questions here, sorry guys, really trying to be safe over here.

[dellet]

The chart you sent the link suggested the Hornady .308 208 grain was 1.4 in length and the 212 grain was 1.6 in length.
Do I start with 1.5 in length? And how do I know how much powder?

Nosler 210 RDF 1.516"
Hornady 208 AMax 1.488" according to Hornady
Hornady 208 AMax 1.532" according to Brian Litz.
Hornady 208 ELD M 1.535"
Hornady 212 ELD M 1.600"

It is safer to start with a longer bullet with the same weight, if using the same length. What you want is the same amount of bullet in the case to keep the same pressure. Same seated depth is ideal.

If you use the data for the Amax, it could be more or less. In this load, it's not enough to matter. CFE Blk does not create enough pressure to cause a problem, but you need to learn the process to safely substitute data.

Bullet length + case length - COL + seated depth.
AMax, 1.365+1.488-2-260=.597
RDF, 1.365+1.516-2.260=.620
208 ELD 1.365+1.535-2.260=640

Normally I would drop about 1/2 grain from the AMax load data because of the longer bullet.
If Hornady has data for the 208 ELD, and I am pretty sure they do, I would just start with that.

Twist is only listed to give the minimum needed spin RPM to stabilize the bullet, if it needs 1/10, 1/8 will be fine.

Just because a bullet is the same weight and length does not mean they are safe to load to the same length. To take this to an extreme, if you load the same bullet backwards to the same length, the backwards bullet will hit the rifling and either not allow the chamber to close or possibly cause an unsafe pressure spike. So can be vital to know what length the chosen bullet will hit the rifling.

Sometimes one bullet of the same length, but different profile will have the large diameter of the bullet so far down in the neck that the case will catch the feed ramps and not load. These are things to watch for when changing bullets with load data.

Most likely your starting load is safe. But I have never worked with that exact bullet so can't say. Only tell you wjhat to watch for.

[ShippWrekk]

Thanks alot dellet, I very much appreciate the advice. I bought a Lyman reloading manual, I'm gonna go ahead and load these bullets to the 208 Eld the best I can and send em down range. Next time Im just gonna go with the suggested 220gr bullet. New guy struggle lol, but hey, thats how you learn right? Once again, thanks for taking the time.