Doing a little load development tonight. I always start out by laddering up just to see where pressure starts in.
Action - lawton 7000 repeater
Barrel - 18" Lawton 308 3-groove
Brass: Winchester
Primer: CCI 200
Powder: Varget
Bullet: 175SMK
Primers are flat from 42gr - 47gr. No cratering, no split necks. Bolt wasn't stiff at 47gr. I usually hit pressure around 45... so I was quite surprised to see this. I didn't go above 47... but it would appear that I could.
The next step would be to load a few from 44gr and up for groups and slinging through the chrono. Wondering if I should test at 47 and consider that for a full time load. I've seen plenty of folks running 45 under 175, but 47 is a bit higher... and gives me pause, even though I'm not running into pressure. (at least that I'm seeing)
Thoughts?
Action - lawton 7000 repeater
Barrel - 18" Lawton 308 3-groove
Brass: Winchester
Primer: CCI 200
Powder: Varget
Bullet: 175SMK
Primers are flat from 42gr - 47gr. No cratering, no split necks. Bolt wasn't stiff at 47gr. I usually hit pressure around 45... so I was quite surprised to see this. I didn't go above 47... but it would appear that I could.
The next step would be to load a few from 44gr and up for groups and slinging through the chrono. Wondering if I should test at 47 and consider that for a full time load. I've seen plenty of folks running 45 under 175, but 47 is a bit higher... and gives me pause, even though I'm not running into pressure. (at least that I'm seeing)
Thoughts?