overly charged load?

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VinnAY
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Re: overly charged load?

Post by VinnAY »

I think it's a great conversation to have, sticking to published data for our hand loads. Conversely with this caliber, you can't pickup a Hornady/Hogdon/etc etc book and find Blackout data, supers, subs, or both. It's just not WIDELY available in published format. You're left to forums for this stuff so what's a guy to do? He did right, worked up a load, tested a few rounds with success, found one that didn't work. 7.8 of a max 8.0 load isn't too much, either. Unfortunately he forked his bolt in the process, but I challenge any loader that hasn't had a fubar moment. If you haven't had one, yet, you're due, or you're lying, one of the two.
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cdynaco
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Re: overly charged load?

Post by cdynaco »

VinnAY wrote:I think it's a great conversation to have, sticking to published data for our hand loads. Conversely with this caliber, you can't pickup a Hornady/Hogdon/etc etc book and find Blackout data, supers, subs, or both. It's just not WIDELY available in published format. You're left to forums for this stuff so what's a guy to do? .
This!!

Very frustrating. I'm not a wildcatter. I want tested, successful, safe load data.

300 BLK should be "mainstream" enough by now.
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Re: overly charged load?

Post by ugareloader »

[quote="VinnAY"]Conversely with this caliber, you can't pickup a Hornady/Hogdon/etc etc book and find Blackout data, supers, subs, or both. It's just not WIDELY available in published format

Actually it is in the Hornady book and has quite a few powders in there. Also data is available on Hodgdon and several bullet manufacturers websites. I always stick with the published stuff and never had a problem
kroeker
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Re: overly charged load?

Post by kroeker »

I've found plenty of legit published data but 90% of it is loads to cycle gas guns not much out there that I've seen for bolt guns
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Dr.Phil
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Re: overly charged load?

Post by Dr.Phil »

I will refrain from jumping on the dog pile here, but I will add one thing.
300 BLK is a bit different from other cartridges.
The same thing that make it so "efficient" also makes it sensitive to small differences in loading.

These differences can be as slight as:
- small variance in seating depth
- difference in bearing surface compared to a bullet of the same weight
- which primer is used
- what brass is used
- whether the bullet is crimped and if so, how much of a crimp
- difference in the chamber reamer used by the barrel manufacture
- the rifling in the barrel and what the actual diameter of the bore is
- whether or not you are using a sound suppressor and if so, which model

All that said, one should always use safe load work up procedures.
But with 300 BLK in particular, not doing so can lead to dangerous or catastrophic results when such an err might otherwise be benign in a more forgiving cartridge such as 308 Win.

I was foolish enough to trust someone else's load data and included it in a test batch.
It was 19.5 grains of H110 under a 110 V-max, using Federal 205M primer, and LC converted brass.
My barrel is a Gen I Noveske 10" 1:8 300 BLK barrel and wears a TBAC 30P-1 suppressor.
That H110 load is not uncommon and I didn't think twice about using it.
In MY rifle, it was so hot that the primers would pop out, the primer pockets were stretched, and there was a distinct ejector swipe on the brass.

I was lucky in that it just jammed up my gun with a popped primer.
It easily could have worked out differently.

Sure, loading components are not cheap and they can be difficult to come by.
(Especially good 300 BLK bullets.)
But damaging your rifle or worse, hurting yourself / bystanders, it worth every penny.

(Hopefully this post wasn't too preachy...) ;)
If you need help finding a good load development protocol, please let me know and I will share mine with you.
"Don't tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly,
don't tell them where they know the fish."
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TMD
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Re: overly charged load?

Post by TMD »

Experimenting with Titegroup is a recipe for disaster. Being a superfast fine grain powder that's normally used in small quantities it's very easy to double charge a load. With the case capacity of the 300bo you could easily triple and maybe even quadruple the charge.
kroeker
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Re: overly charged load?

Post by kroeker »

TMD wrote:Experimenting with Titegroup is a recipe for disaster. Being a superfast fine grain powder that's normally used in small quantities it's very easy to double charge a load. With the case capacity of the 300bo you could easily triple and maybe even quadruple the charge.

This is what I first thought happen. I use a Lee 4 hole turret press but I use it in manual 1 stage at a time just like a single stage and add powder by hand. I thought I double charged the case that gave me the problem but after pulling the bullet on the other one and it having powder in it ruled that out. I'm still surprised that going from 7 grains to 7.8 grains was that dramatic of a difference. The 7 grain load was like shooting a 22 and the 7.8 like something with a lot more snort. No pressure signs at on the 7 grain case either.
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dellet
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Re: overly charged load?

Post by dellet »

Hey kroeker I almost forgot :shock:

Welcome to the forum and all things 300Blk. A big part of which is sharing load information that doesn't work. :lol:

and yeah I've had too much gas in the face. :mrgreen:

Your jump from 7 grains to 7.8 was not .8 grains, it was a powder load increase of 11.5%.
300 Blackout, not just for sub-sonics.
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Dr.Phil
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Re: overly charged load?

Post by Dr.Phil »

One other option is SEE.
(Secondary Explosive Effect)
Usually only an issue with slower powders, but small charges in a big case do strange things.
(This article describes it happening with fast powders. http://www.reloadammo.com/liteload.htm )
By your description, this very may be what happened to you.

Just for the sake of consistent ignition, I try to select powders that come as close to 100% case fill as possible.
"Don't tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly,
don't tell them where they know the fish."
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kroeker
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Re: overly charged load?

Post by kroeker »

Dr.Phil wrote:One other option is SEE.
(Secondary Explosive Effect)
Usually only an issue with slower powders, but small charges in a big case do strange things.
(This article describes it happening with fast powders. http://www.reloadammo.com/liteload.htm )
By your description, this very may be what happened to you.

Just for the sake of consistent ignition, I try to select powders that come as close to 100% case fill as possible.
Actual makes sense after reading that. Especially after reading this part,

Your pointing it at the ground just before firing probably put all the powder up against the bullet

Almost all of my shooting so far has been laying on my stomach on the ground shooting off a sand bag. This time around I was shooting standing up and point of aim was actually about 30° downhill. Might be a stretch but ya never know.
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