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.308 reloads

rob g
Has anyone ever had a reloading manual that has incorrect information in it?
I have a Lyman 49th edition manual that says for a .308 with a 110 gr bullet the suggested startng grains for H-380 to be 49.0 and lists max loads at 55.5. I tried to get 55.5 grains in the case and it would'nt all fit. Now Lyman does say that this is a compressed load but I couldn't even come close to getting all of the powder in.
I use a beam scale to weigh my powder but I also check the loads with my digital scale.
Any ideas?
Thanks
Rob
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Comments

4 comments

Date Votes
  • BHAVIN
    What brand of cases are you trying to load? Military cases are thicker and hold less powder. I don't know about a typo but you should drop them an email and ask.
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  • nononsense
    rob g,

    Almost every reloading manual is found to have at least one little mistake while some have had entire sections recalled because of massive misprints or mistakes. Barnes had such an event as did Sierra at different times. Sierra's loose leaf design made the switch easy but Barnes had to reprint the entire book.

    In order to get a compressed load into a standard case you fill the case nearly to the top then hold the case in contact with a vibratory case cleaner to settle the powder deeper into the case. Add the remaining portion and vibrate again. Be sure to have your seating die set precisely before attempting to seat the bullet on a compressed load. H380 is a ball powder and the compression actually crushes the individual balls. But since the powder has a slower burn rate and heat of explosion, the resulting pressure is significantly lower than a standard load and is not considered to be dangeous.

    Hodgdon's own website does not list the H380 load but they do have several other compressed loads in their table for .308 Win.

    If you still can't get all the powder in the case, skip this load and move on.

    Best.
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  • rob g
    I didn't think about going to hodgens website . But what i did do was to drop down to 49.0 gr and that seemed ok.
    Thanks for the info
    Rob
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  • sandwarrior
    rob g,

    I don't know why some manuals give almost impossible loads like that (that are correct and do work) when there is ten other powders out there that work better.

    I suggest, rather than fight this, go to some flavor of 4895 or since it's a really light load in .308 4320, 4064, VV-N140 (135?) or something.

    But working on a case that hard to get the powder down isn't worth the time. Many powders will give a good load. Re-read the manual and try a new one. Tac is a good one. RE-15 too. RE-17 as well.

    Just some suggestions.
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