Starting a new load

[Icewater]

Hello everyone! I'm just getting into reloading and occasional shooting paper in addition to hunting. I just finished reading my Speer #14 manual and have quite a few questions but I think I know some people to help me out in person.
I'm trying to develop a long range load for my savage 10 ba 1/10 twist 24" barrel. I plan to use 208grn amax or hornady's 208grn hp target bullet with r17 powder. I plan to use the numbers a YouTube'r used for his gun that worked well for him.
I haven't found any published data using this combination and my Speer manual stressed to use only published loading data. I'm confident in the YouTuber's info since we have the same gun.
There seems to be a pretty small margin between a min and max load, with no starting point it's a little scary! My manual also stressed that too little pressure was dangerous too.
So my two ??
Is there a mathematical or scientific or other approach to dreaming up a new load?
Was my Speer manual suggesting that too little pressure can blow a gun up, or was the main concern the bullet getting stuck in the barrel and the next shot being the dangerous shot?
Thanks guys!

 

[Icewater]

Whether or not it is relevant, I'll mention my gun is a 308

 

[witchhunter]

I would never use some internet guy's load recipe without backing it up to be safe by published data. Use the powder company's data or the bullet company's data. I like to look at everyone's data. Start on the low side, and work up, looking for pressure signs at half grain intervals. if youloaded 10 or so too hot, no problem, pull m when you get home and reuse the components. Even the same guns crate different pressures, and shoot differently. A too light of a load in a rifle will probably not stick a bullet in the barrel, a primer alone will usually stick a bullet, much less 57 grains of powder instead of 59 grains! Almost all of the manufacturers data is available online so download it and print it out if you need to. Compare all of them, there will be differences. Always start low and work your way up, you will end up with ammo that works in YOUR gun. That is why we do this.

 

[roggom]

OP you are starting your hobby with bad habits. Even if you have the same rifle, there are several variables that can effect pressure: Case volume, seating depth, chamber size, neck tension etc.

Neither the Hornady nor the Alliant reloading manuals have published data for the combination your are seeking. Not that it can not be done safely, there just is no data.

My suggestion is to contact either or both tech support lines and ask them.

Only other option is to get a copy of Quickload and enter all of the pertinent data to achieve a safe load.

In this hobby mistakes can be deadly.

 

[lte82]

+1 for quickload, though it's only as good as the data you feed it.

Before you really dive off into working up a loads like these in the future though, I'd start with some common loads and learn the basics first.

But in answer to your question, start around 43gr and work up from there.

 

[Seandradamus]

Just curious what are the numbers ive been using rl17 lately

 

[Seandradamus]

Ill tell you i was shooting 190 smk
and the pressure sneeks up you i got half way through my workup no pressure signs at all 6th shot had bad pressure signs, needless to say i stopped there.

 

[thespecialist]

R17 has a funky pressure curve in my experience, pressure comes on hard and fast with one load being fine then pronounced pressure signs a couple tenths of a grain higher. In my 260 it went from perfectly fine pressures to having to beat the bolt open within .5gr once I got to MAX. Trying an "experimental" load with a powder that can be difficult to work with is not something I'd recommend for someone who is new to reloading. I do realize that the combo mentioned by the OP is used by a lot of guys, but I'd still recommend getting your feet wet with some published data before wandering out into the deep water.

 

[Icewater]

This will definitely not be my starting load but probably my last. I first plan to break my barrel in and fire form my brass with lighter loads and published data. Eventually there will come a time that I will want to shoot heavier bullets in my 1/10 twist barrel. I will definitely check out quickload. I also want to try 185grn bergers with 4064, but again my first loads will be 168 bergers with varget or r15, tons of info on that. I am a little surprised that there isn't published data out there yet since so many people are shooting heavier bullets and using "non traditional" powders as propellant.
I've heard of people being around 2700fps with 208grn bullets in 24" barrels with no pressure signs, that's why I want to try it for a future long range load and besides r17 has a pretty long shelf life around me where r15 and varget are nearly impossible to get. I've heard of some people loading over 50 grns of r17, it must be pretty dense to weigh that much in that volume.
Thanks for the replies and concerns, all useful knowledge to apply to my situation.