55_grain
NES Member
.30-40 model 1898 Springfield "Krag"
180gr Sierra RNSP
WC844 powder (load using H335 data).
CCI LR primer
Formed from .303 brass - the neck is a little short, but has more then .30" of contact with the projo.
Bullet is seated to book-suggested OAL, yes, I have more than one book. It does not touch the rifling.
Hornady's web page shows 31.0-34.0 gr of H335 for this load.
I had previously shot this rifle using 50 rounds of 30.5gr of the above load. All good. Nice accuracy from a 100+ year old rifle, I was hitting a 8" plate at 100 yards offhand with a sling about 75% of the time. No pressure signs, cases were really dirty, which is usually a low-pressure sign.
I reloaded them (tumble, lube,size,tumble,prime,etc..) with 31.5gr of the same powder to get a better seal between the brass and chamber wall. This is still a mild load, ~2000fps or so. I haven't put it across a chrony yet.
The first 30 of these were fine. Similar results on the plate. Brass is still dirty.
#31 didn't do anything when I pulled the trigger. Huh. No noise that I heard, nothing.
I pulled the cocking knob back and fired again. Still nothing.
OK. After 10 seconds or so I ejected the case, which landed on the bench. It looked like all the others. I figured that I hadn't operated the bolt enthusiastically enough and #30 had not extracted/ejected and had simply re-chambered itself.
I operated the bolt to load #32 that was waiting patiently in the magazine. The bolt didn't close by about an inch. The projo from #31 was stuck (barely) in the chamber.
I knocked it out with a USGI cleaning rod easily. The remaining rounds shot off nicely, although I was a little twitchy and didn't hit much.
When I got home later, I was sorting the brass to find #31. As I stuck them upside down into a tray, 17.8gr of powder fell out of the brass. Yeah, I measured it. It was clumpy, and some was discolored from the primer.
I don't know how much powder got burned/left on the bench/got lost in my pile of brass on the ride home, etc. Since I charged these one at a time with a off-press Lee powder measure, I don't think I undercharged it. It would have had a full charge or nothing. Either I had a bad primer or didn't develop enough pressure (remember the short neck) to light it off, or ??
Neck length on a .30-40 is .464" (long neck, looks a lot like a .30-30 round if you're not familiar). When formed from a .303, the neck is 0.09" shorter.
Before you go off on my powder choice, I've used ~10 lbs of this stuff quite happily in .223, .308, 7.5x55 Swiss, 6.5 Swede, and others, including 2 lbs or so out of this particular 8lb jug. It's good stuff. I'm not opposed to using a heavier charge of a different powder. I'm also willing to add another 1.0gr to my last load, that's still under book max for this rifle.
Let to my own devices, I'll probably try to find a load for Varget or Benchmark or 4895 or some other extruded-type powder rather than the harder-to-light ball powder that I've been using.
I'm not sure of my best corrective action here, so I'm opening this up for your comments. Have at [STRIKE]me[/STRIKE] it!
180gr Sierra RNSP
WC844 powder (load using H335 data).
CCI LR primer
Formed from .303 brass - the neck is a little short, but has more then .30" of contact with the projo.
Bullet is seated to book-suggested OAL, yes, I have more than one book. It does not touch the rifling.
Hornady's web page shows 31.0-34.0 gr of H335 for this load.
I had previously shot this rifle using 50 rounds of 30.5gr of the above load. All good. Nice accuracy from a 100+ year old rifle, I was hitting a 8" plate at 100 yards offhand with a sling about 75% of the time. No pressure signs, cases were really dirty, which is usually a low-pressure sign.
I reloaded them (tumble, lube,size,tumble,prime,etc..) with 31.5gr of the same powder to get a better seal between the brass and chamber wall. This is still a mild load, ~2000fps or so. I haven't put it across a chrony yet.
The first 30 of these were fine. Similar results on the plate. Brass is still dirty.
#31 didn't do anything when I pulled the trigger. Huh. No noise that I heard, nothing.
I pulled the cocking knob back and fired again. Still nothing.
OK. After 10 seconds or so I ejected the case, which landed on the bench. It looked like all the others. I figured that I hadn't operated the bolt enthusiastically enough and #30 had not extracted/ejected and had simply re-chambered itself.
I operated the bolt to load #32 that was waiting patiently in the magazine. The bolt didn't close by about an inch. The projo from #31 was stuck (barely) in the chamber.
I knocked it out with a USGI cleaning rod easily. The remaining rounds shot off nicely, although I was a little twitchy and didn't hit much.
When I got home later, I was sorting the brass to find #31. As I stuck them upside down into a tray, 17.8gr of powder fell out of the brass. Yeah, I measured it. It was clumpy, and some was discolored from the primer.
I don't know how much powder got burned/left on the bench/got lost in my pile of brass on the ride home, etc. Since I charged these one at a time with a off-press Lee powder measure, I don't think I undercharged it. It would have had a full charge or nothing. Either I had a bad primer or didn't develop enough pressure (remember the short neck) to light it off, or ??
Neck length on a .30-40 is .464" (long neck, looks a lot like a .30-30 round if you're not familiar). When formed from a .303, the neck is 0.09" shorter.
Before you go off on my powder choice, I've used ~10 lbs of this stuff quite happily in .223, .308, 7.5x55 Swiss, 6.5 Swede, and others, including 2 lbs or so out of this particular 8lb jug. It's good stuff. I'm not opposed to using a heavier charge of a different powder. I'm also willing to add another 1.0gr to my last load, that's still under book max for this rifle.
Let to my own devices, I'll probably try to find a load for Varget or Benchmark or 4895 or some other extruded-type powder rather than the harder-to-light ball powder that I've been using.
I'm not sure of my best corrective action here, so I'm opening this up for your comments. Have at [STRIKE]me[/STRIKE] it!