picking up speed

[svandamme]

Got this from Vihtavuori's load tables



Test barrel: 150 mm (6"), 1 in 16" twist
Primers: Large Pistol
Cases: Remington, trim-to length 22.70 mm (.893"


14,9 230 FMJ-RN Hornady
gram grain m/s fps gram grain m/s fps
N340 0,38 5,9 253 830 0,41 6,4 278 912


12,0 185 TMJ-SWC Speer

N340 0,46 7,1 303 993 0,50 7,7 330 108


I'll start the 230's at 5.7
5 x 5.7
5 x 5.9
5 x 6.2

The SWC's at 195 grain
i'll batch those at 6.9

5x 6.9
5x 7.1
5x 7.3

Guess that should give me a good idea if i'm in the ball park.

I'm stayin .2 grain below the max load, don't feel like pushing the max unless i got good data on my lower loads first.. Gonna ask around in the club if anybody has a chronograph for validation... else order one..

[Grizzman]

I'd say you're definitely down the right path.

It's quite surprising how few people seem to have chrono's, or even that they understand what they're used for.

Every time I use it at the range at least three people come up to ask what it is....and the rest are probably just not outgoing enough to ask the question.

They're really not very expensive (the price of a single stage press), so I do suggest you pick one up. They really are helpful for working up loads.

[svandamme]

That went well

230
5 x 5.7
5 x 5.9
5 x 6.1

5.7 felt very weak, but the gun still cycled just fine

5.9 & 6.1 was fine, not a heavy recoil, easy to shoot

The SWC's at 195 grain

5x 6.9
5x 7.1
5x 7.3

all three loads felt fine, soft recoil, but not weak. the gun cycled fine with em.

None of the 6 loads felt anywhere near the 230 gr Fiocci factory loads in terms of recoil... So i think i got plenty of margin.. I think the copper plated bullets have something to do with that as well vs FMJ ammo..

gonna make a bigger batch now..
2 100 boxes
195 gr semi wadcutters with a 7.5 powder load
230 gr ball with a 6.2 powder load

Or just .2 below the list max,

The idea now is to make the Dillon throw reliable powder loads.
So far it's been hit and miss, to much variation.. I'm doing something wrong so gotta see what i can do to improve on that.

The test batch was hand measured and checked, but that was tediously slow.

[svandamme]

Ran 200 rounds of 230 grain ball, at 6.2 grain of powder.

What have i learned:

- Don't tumble deprimed brass with corn cob. it's a PITA to pick the corncob out of the flashholes

- I want that roller handle. Must have for bigger batches.

- pay attention when picking up primers with the pickup tube..
had a couple the wrong way..

- Must pay attention on the downstroke, forgetting the primer is tedious as i have to disassemble the bullet again and start over.

- Couple of crushed primers, not sure how that happened, maybe i didn't push down on the downstroke enough, primer not seated properly and then banged up when the shellplate rotated..

- Pain in the neck to get the powder charge dialed in.. But once dialed, it throws reliable enough .. I do look in the shell before seating the bullet, but the powder check is my 1st line of defense.

[Grizzman]

This is good info so far.

What's your definition of "reliable enough" powder dispensing?

[svandamme]

pretty much .1 grain..


wanted 6.2, i'm getting 6.2 on the scale, with the odd 6.1 and 6.3's
Seems well within the advertised tolerances of the powder dispensing and the scale....

[Grizzman]

Wow. + or - .1 grain is barely worse than my RCBS electronic powder dispenser and scale can deliver (it's generally either right on or +.1).

I guess that takes care of the powder charge consistency question.

[svandamme]

I think it's depends a lot on how you pull the handle.. slow-ish with a decent pause at either end of the up or down stroke..steady as she goes.

Obviously my scale isn't more accurate then .1 grain either, but if it throws nicely inbetween 6.1 and 6.3 it's decent enough.. At that point my main risk would not be powder, but foreign objects, such as a bit of corn cob stuck in a shell and raising the pressure..

But again, with .45 ACP, i believe there is plenty of margin in terms of pressure..
From what i can tell, my PM7/45 will eat +P ammo and not break a sweat.
Maybe not a good idea to make +P the steady diet, but the gun won't blow up of it does eat a box of +P

Now +P is rated 23000 PSI vs 21000 PSI for regular .45 ACP
That's +9.5% over regular.
But i'm not going for max load either, so my reloads are probably below 21000 PSI, probably a fair bit below 20000 PSI..

So overall i got at leat 15 % safety margin going on.. t would take a big ass corn cob to cause trouble....

Got 200 rounds, all with good primer all with powder that should be in the ballpark (visual check and powder check die).. So they should be reliable..
The only question left is "are they accurate and consistent enough?"

This is not self defense ammo, got factory Fiocchi for that.. All it has to do is go bang and put nice groups in.

[dennisc]

Stijn,
200 rounds loaded and ready to go, sounds like enough for a good trial. Glad to see you've got a handle on it.
You may be able to tweak your Dillon powder measure a little more by cleaning it. There could be a some residue from the original machining oils, or some of that Czechoslovakian powder you started with inside that die. I use rubbing alcohol on a swab or cotton rag to clean out excess gunk.
Dennis

[svandamme]

That's pretty much what i did, took the shellplate off, cleaned it , reassembled it as snug as i could and it made the world of a difference. Before that, the plate was wobbly at #4 and it was spilling powder as station 2 moved to 3. Now no more of that.