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Some Vocab for the Uninitiated
I’m going to skip the basic ammunition terms like a bullet, cartridge, and round but you can learn more about ammunition basics by checking out our Definitive Resource on Ammo and Reloading. Instead, I want to really quickly talk about two terms: starting load and maximum load. You can probably guess what these refer to, but just in case, the starting load is the minimum recommended amount of powder in grains (grs, gr, or grn all stand for grains) to use in the round. It’s also commonly called the minimum load or minimum starting or start load. Not every tool gives a minimum starting load recommendation since there are a few reasons that you may want to down load, or intentionally use less powder in, your round, like creating a subsonic round or reducing recoil. If you’re planning on competing with your rounds, keep in mind that most competitions have a minimum power factor for the ammo used, so you can’t down load your competition rounds too much. (If you’re not sure what that means, read our guide on Load Development for Beginners for more info.) When developing a new round, start with the minimum starting load and build up from there to determine exactly how much powder you want in your recipe. Maximum load, on the other hand, refers to the highest recommended amount of powder to use in the round and is much less flexible than the minimum load. When it comes to overloading your round, the best case scenario is creating a round that’s more powerful than you can manage, hurting your accuracy and possibly you with excessive recoil, but you can also end up with a round that creates too much pressure, damaging your gun. The video below shows you how to tell if your reloaded ammo will have excess pressure. If you’re new to reloading or even if you’ve been around the block a few times, you should give it a watch to help you and your gun stay safe when you’re reloading. Though extremely rare, overloading a round can even cause it to explode, ruining your firearm and sending you to the hospital. Not a great way to end your range day, so just don’t overload your rounds and just generally be careful reloading because it can be dangerous if you aren’t careful, okay? Okay. Now that I know you’re not going to hurt yourself (or at least if you do it’s not my fault), let’s move on to the tools themselves.Hodgdon Reloading Data Center
Alliant Powder Reloader’s Guide
VihtaVuori Reloading Data
VihtaVuori Reload App Sample Diary Entry
For each entry, you can save detailed information about the powder, bullet, primer, case (including the number of times it as loaded and trimmed, how it was resized, the trimmed length, and the cleaning method), and final cartridge, as well as the date loaded, purpose of loading, gun it was shot out of, and even a rating for its performance. If that’s not enough, there’s a notes section which you can use to record any other information you could possibly want to save. And if you want to write about your feelings, you can do that in the note section, too. It is a diary after all.
Accurate Reloading Powders Load Data
8 Leave a Reply
Hi Guys i am looking to load an obsolete calibre of 8-72R , the rifle is an 1910 Kreigof drilling , i have cases dies etc and im looking to use 316 cast lead bullets as its not the later 323 type with vit 165 powder (vitavouri) any help would be great
Why doesn't Hodgdon show loads for the .20 Vartarg with H335 powder and 32 grain Hornady Vmax ? I know the .20 is still a wildcat but there are tons of them out there and they SHOOT !
Is there a reference guide for type of powder to use for handgun target loads verses hunting? I went to the Hodgdon site listed above in the article - put in 9mm, 124 gr, .355 diameter and it spit out 20 powder choices for HDT XTP but only 1 choice for FMJ's???? So how do you choose brand and power type? Is the powder I buy for my 9mm and 45acp going to work with my 5.56 or 7mm Rem Mag?
Hornady has become greedy and now charges a fee for the powder weight information. I used to use it all the time - I printed out several recipes and put them in the reference section of my binder. It seems that if we're buying their bullets, they should be glad to supply the data.
I had the Hornady book along with numerous others, but sadly lost all of them along with my loading logbook that had my data from 1975 through 2014.
I would like to dispute the statement that the Hodgdon data center does not have revolver
data. Just click on the "pistol" icon and scroll down the arrow next to any and you will
find a plethora of revolver data including 38, 357, 41, 44, 45 etc calibers. I use the listed
data extensively.
Have at one time or another used any and all of these they are all outstanding . Some you just have to use your a teeny bit more dang! None are any way more useful than others . They are free.
I have a Dillion Square Deal Reloader. I have reloaded several thousand rounds of .45acp. Recently I realized that my "Home Made" reloading bench was inhibiting the lever action. So I cut some wood away. Now my bullets mostly come out at 1.253 in OAL. But sometimes I've used too much pressure and come out under 1.250 anywhere from 2 thousandths to 8 thousandths under. So I usually take them apart and do them again. But I am wondering if I could actually shoot these bullets. I use 230 grain Berry's Plated over the Min Load of 7.6 grains of Accurate #5. thanks, fred.
Having a tiny bit short OAL with a minimum load shouldn't hurt your gun or you and they will fire just fine, however your accuracy won't be as good as if the tip of the bullet is fully chambered in the barrel with the recommended OAL. Basically they are usable but not optimal, however if you do seat the bullet to low with a higher charge you can damage your gun and potentially hurt yourself