some of my favoite hand load reciepts

grumpyvette

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Staff member
caliber..................bullet............powder

233 rem........55grn fmj................26 grn varget

270 win.........150 grn speer..........54 grn imr 4831

30/06............200grn speer................48-49 grm win 760

340 wby ..........250 hrndy..................80 grn h4831

358 win...........250 speer..................44.5 grn, imr 4064

45/70 ...........405 grn rem................45 grn rel 7

375 H&H.........270 grn hrndy..............70 grn win 760 (lite deer load)

44 mag............310 grn hd cast............21 grn H110

10mm auto..........155 grn jhp...............12 grn blue dot

45acp.................230 hrnady................9.6 grn hs6

the 270 win loaded with a 150 grain speer over 54 grains of IMR 4831 with a fed 215 primer
or
the 30/06 loaded with a 200 grain speer over 48-49 grains of ww760 with a fed 215 primer
will kill any ELK effectively
my 29-3 S&W 10 5/8' revolver has a long record of dropping game with 310 grain hard cast bullets loaded over 21 grains of H110 powder
H22021-L346907109_original.jpg


suggested CAST bullet weights in
REVOLVERS & PISTOLS
357 mag= 158 grain-180 grain
10mm= 170-210 grain
41 mag= 220 grain-250 grain
44 mag= 270 grain-320 grain
45 caliber -300 grain-350 grain
480 caliber 350 grain-400 grain
50 caliber 400 grain-480 grain

but my favorite calibers are the 338 win, 340 WBY, 375 H&H

250 grain hornady over 60 grains of ww760 with a fed 215 primer(338 win,)
and
35 whelen, loaded with a 250 speer over 54 grains of IMR 4895 with a fed 215 primer
or
a 375 H&H

300 grain hornady over 77 grains of ww760 with a fed 215 primer

any of the five work fine PROVIDED you place your shots well,
the three heavier calibers seem to get the job done a bit faster,
but a single hit in the right place with any of those results in a dead ELK
 
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358-171-gc.jpg


http://www.neihandtools.com/catalog/index.html
zoom_1894C.jpg

I load for my B-I-LAWS 357 marlin I cast these from 95% wheel weights and 5% PURE TIN, cast them hot enough to look a bit frosted, as it seems to help consistency, sized .359 with lyman gas checks,and lubed with an alox/beeswax & moly grease lube I make,

LUBE
viewtopic.php?f=90&t=4835&p=13213&hilit=bullet+lube+grease#p13213
LOADS
http://www.handloads.com/loaddata/defau ... er&Source=

http://stevespages.com/page8a.htm

personally Id prefer 1400 fps with a hard cast gas check bullet at about 175 grains cast from 95% linotype and 5% pure tin
but having shot completely through several large hogs and deer with my 8 .375" 357 mag revolver
13 grains of accurate #9
357mg.png

358-175-gc-150-pb.jpg
http://www.neihandtools.com/catalog.html

Id say that if your not killing what your shooting your simply not hitting the vitals
a load like that will certainly punch holes in any bears skull as it punches through and exits many hogs
and the chest gristle plate and breaking bones is rather tough
if you doubt the penetration load some and test them as listed
cast with that alloy and load some up for testing, compare penetration to anything else,
in a easily carried hand gun, the load easily out penetrates 200 grain 10mm in my glock

my brother in law prefers that bullet loaded over a reasonably stiff 9.8 grain load of BLUE DOT, that consistently shoots under 2" 100 yard groups off a bench rest, hes taken easily 10 or more deer with that carbine over the last 30 years, most at under 80 yards and while darn few if any fell instantly, most dropped inside of 50 yards or less. its accurate, low recoil, not excessively loud, reasonably cheap ,easy to assemble , doesn,t lead up the rifling, and kills deer just fine, and its those quality's that endear the rifle and load to my B-I-LAW.
I usually load up about 100 cartridges before the season and he manages to use them all, plinking, after or before the seasons over and still get a deer most years

a good deal of accuracy depends on the bullet diam, matching the cylinder throat and bore size, the cylinder throats should be marginally larger than the bore and bullets should be sized to throat diam. like stated above but bullet alloy (hardness)and lube consistency and formula and use of gas checks can also effect results. Ive found 95% wheel weights and 5% pure tin by weight to be a decent alloy when cast hot enough to look slightly frosted and dropped into a 5 gallon bucket of water to cool.
lube well and groups at 25 yards off a rest from a revolver will be under 2" in most 44 mag revolvers Ive used.
I generally load H110 at 20-21 grains in my 44 mag with the bullet below and seat them out to max functioning length and crimp firmly, keep in mind if the bullet surface length engaged in the rifling slips due to loose fit or soft alloy or just not enough surface contact accuracy suffers, if your getting significant bore leading your lube is not working or the bullets not correct for the velocity or bore.

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/i ... 0152660650
http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/i ... =000037130

how can you even think its not worth reloading for the 458 win?

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...gnum-500-grain-dgs-solid-round-nose-box-of-20

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/3...nchester-magnum-500-grain-partition-box-of-20

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/8...statically-stabilized-solid-bullets-box-of-20

at $6-$12 dollars PER cartridge for factory 458 win ammo
lets say you want to stock up just 300 factory loaded cartridges at the minimum cost of $6 each, thats $1800


DIES $48

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item/0004420804/458-winchester-mag-roll-crimp-3-die-set

$367 for brass
https://www.midsouthshooterssupply....-winchester-mag-unprimed-rifle-brass-50-count

roughly $8 for 300 primers
https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item/00129215/magnum-large-rifle-primer-1000-count

theres dozens of options in bullet molds for under $100
figure on gas checks costing you under $20 for 300
figure powder costing under $100, at $31 a pound , theres several well matched powders
WW748, RL7, IMR3031

rough cost $600 or 1 third the cost, up front, and less than 1/5th the cost for the next 1800 shots, obviously we all make judgement calls on how to spend our own, spare time and income, but Id bet I'm not alone in thinking that saving $1200-$1500 dollars casting bullets and reloading ammo over a few years time, on just that single rifle alone is worth their time and effort, especially when the same powder, cast bullets,gas checks, primers, also work well in a 45/70, 458 LOTT, or 450 marlin
 
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I was asked recently what a starting load was vs a MAX LOAD
in many loading manuals they list both for a cartridge and bullet

well the shorter and generally simple answer is starting loads are designed to be safe in most firearms designed to use a certain cartridge,
these loads are generally producing about 85%-90% of the cartridges potential at a noticeably lower average pressure, if your smart you start loading your rifle or handgun with cartridges loaded to this pressure level and only once you test them in your firearm and see they function safely,only then do you try gradually increasing the powder load , in maybe 10%-20% steps increase (thats a 10%-20% of the difference between the starting load and the suggested MAX LOAD )
but try to find a good consistent and accurate load BELOW the MAX LOAD LISTED

example lets say you have a 357 mag revolver and your reloading handbook suggest you use a load of,

powder (Z) as a starting load of 10 grains under a bullet weight of 158 grains ,
and listed the max load as 12.2 grains of powder (z)


not my357 mag revolver but an identical clone
pix015375925.jpg

you might find the the starting load produced about 1270 fps, and maybe at 30,000 psi
(the manual won't generally list velocity or pressure )
simply because barrel length, bore diameter, bore smoothness , cartridge crimp, seating depth, cartridge overall length and bullet alloy and primer,

and the age of the powder used ETC, ETC,
may all contribute to a higher or lower velocity from your particular handgun.
if there's no pressure signs
(the manual will generally have a section suggesting you look for signs like hard extraction, flattened primers etc.)
you may want to step up the powder charge from 10 grains to lets say 20% higher (this refers to the difference in the lower starting load vs the max load,) in this case the max load 'is 12.2 grains so you have 2.2 grains of potential wiggle room in powder charge,

so a 20% increase in the powder charge from 10 grains would be 10.44 grains, but since most powder scales and your powder measure are usually not that consistently accurate , we will call it 10.5 grains of power, thus were trying increases of 1/2 grain per step, which might get you 31,200 psi pressure and 1297 fps this you repeat the accuracy and looking for pressure signs drill, and if you don't see issues you might want to step up to 11 grains, 32,899 psi pressure and 1327 fps and repeat, in those 1/2 grain steps, but keep in mind the reloading manual is based on results gained through a good deal of pressure and accuracy testing with far more precise and accurate pressure and velocity measuring equipment than you or I could ever afford.
thus use of the max listed load is really not a great idea or option if you want to have safe and accurate ammo.
now obviously firearms vary and your firearm may handle a max listed load just fine in your opinion, but its damn sure to be puting considerably higher stress on the gun than the starting load, so Id suggest yiou rarely use the max loads listed.
consider what you potentially gain vs the risk

that starting load produced 1270 FPS , the max load might produce 1400 fps and a load of lets say 11.5 grains of powder (Z) might produce 1360 fps and at 33,000 psi
the use of the max listed load might gain you 40 fps but at a pressure increase of near 2000 psi, its just not worth the wear and tear issues on the gun vs the gain in velocity in my opinion

max listed operational pressure for a 357 mag is listed at 35,000 psi


its always made more sense to me to use a larger caliber firearm if you need more power rather than try to maximize the smaller calibers highest velocity

a 158 grain bullet at 1360 fps has a potential for 649 ft lbs
a 158 grain bullet at 1400 fps has a potential for 689 ft lbs
the difference in power is all but meaningless on game but the stress on the gun is a concern as stress is cumulative, a gun used with max loads will eventually have problems, a guin used with a bit lower pressure ammo may last a lifetime if you properly lubed, cleaned and cared for the firearm


max listed operational pressure for a 44 mag is listed at 36,000 psi

but lets look at your option, you can throw a 300 grain bullet at 1200 fps without use of anywhere near max pressure
thus a 300 grain 44 caliber bullet at 1200 fps has 960 ft lbs , I've shot completely through a cow elks chest with that 44 mag load.


not my 44 mag revolver but an identical clone
maxresdefault.jpg

remember shot placement and a good knowledge of the games anatomy is just as important as power on target if you don.t destroy vital organs and break critical bone structure the animal may get away or come over to discuss your failures with his sharp teeth and claws on your hide!


you calculate a cartridges muzzle energy with this formula
bullet weight times velocity x velocity divided by 450240= muzzle energy
 
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