reloading question

fisrtcoueswas80inches · Jan 5, 2004

i am a couesd hunter, and as you may or may not know we shoot far(usually)i shoot an 06 and hand load my shells with my grandpa.i was looking in the reloading book and saw that with 57 grains of 4320 powder with a 125 grain bullet i could push 3234 fps. i decided to bumb it up to 59 and load it 2 grains hot to get me close to 3400 fps. will this be ok on my rifle? and also how well do ballastic tips work? i shot a coues at 400 yards with it in 2002 and it went well, blew the shoulder up. please tell me did i mess up or am i going to be ok?
casey

Bambistew · Jan 5, 2004

Casey,

All rifles are different... There is now way to tell for sure if your load is going to be ok in your rifle with out shooting it and checking for signs of pressure... There are a lot of people out there that shoot hot loads with pressure signs and don't even know it... Are you sure that the max load that you shoot right now is safe? More than likely it is, the books usually back off from the max loads a little bit, but its hard to be certain.

Look for extractor marks on the case head, a tight bolt, flattened or blow primers, blow by around the neck, etc. Shooting "hot" loads are not good for your barrel life either... A larger portion of the powder is going to get burned in the barrle rather than in the case, thus eroding the throat... This is not only a problem with "hot" loads but also with shooting light bullets in a large case...

The gain you get by going over max is not really worth it any way... So for an extra 150fps you will be shooting an inch and a half flatter at 500 yards... Is pushing the limit really worth it??? Going to a hot load is rarely the answer to any thing... If you want a flatter shooting rifle buy one, I wouldn't try and push the envelope with an '06 and make it dangerous for yourself or people around you.

Good luck

Ivan

Buckrub · Jan 6, 2004

Casey, Mr. B'stew is on the money with the whole "max load scenario". I don't know what book your using for load reference, but, depending on what edition it is it might be light or heavy in it's load data. I have loading manuals from all the major bullet manu. from the early '70's and the loads are "hotter" then what is published today! I think liability issues being what they are have caused everybody to back-off on their "printed load data". In addition many manuals vary loads, several grains, from book to book. Bottomline,though,is how your particular gun handles the "shellfodder" you put in it!! Ivan covered all the tell-tale signs that denote increased pressure. Be careful and be aware, you'll be fine!!!

fisrtcoueswas80inches · Jan 6, 2004

so knowing how fast this is going to shoot, where should i sight in at 100 yards? in the past i have sighted in at 3" inches high at 100 but this year i think im going to change that because i shot over the back of a running buck this year at 75 yards, should i sight dead in or 1 inch high or what?
casey

Bambistew · Jan 6, 2004

Casey,
Again all rifles are different... Published data is a close estimate, but many times if you shoot through a chonograph you will get much different results. Most likely about 100-250fps slower, or sometimes MUCH slower like 500fps. You really need to shoot at targets at the ranges that you plan on shoot to really find out what your bullets are doing. Generaly the rule is 3" high at 100 will print about dead on at 300 or just slightly low. But you should check this to make sure, by shooting at least out to 300 yards, and shooting out to the distance that you plan on shooting at game.

If you missed by shooting over the bucks back... its because you pulled the shot over him. With a 3" high at a 100 would have made you about 2.5" high at 75, hardly enough to worry about. I would stick with what you have right now and just spend some time practicing at the ranges you plan on shooting.

Good luck

Did you have a Couse tag this year?

fisrtcoueswas80inches · Jan 7, 2004

yeah i had a 2003 deer tag, thats the one that i shot over his back but i did end up gettin him. i didnt pull it over, all i had to shoot at was the horizontal area of his back because he was running out of the canyon below us. i did end up gettin the second one though as he turned to a broadside run when his 3x3 companion was shot dead by my hunting partner, big mistake on his part, first 165 grain bullet went thorugh his front shoulder, blowing out the heart and other side shoulder as well, you can see the pix. ofboth my bucks from 2002 and 2003 on the coues forum under "pictures from casey" they might be on the second page but are there
casey