Conflicting Load Data

U

UncleLoodis

New member
Greetings All,

I want to load some 300 Win Mag. I have H4350 powder, and 180 grain Sierra Matchking Hollow Point Boat Tail bullets. I mention IMR-4350 below because I've heard that IMR-4350 and H4350 are almost identical. I ordered IMR-4350 but a vendor sent me H4350 instead, so that's what I have.

My Lyman's manual (49th edition) doesn't give load data for H4350, but it does give load data for IMR-4350 (180 grain bullet). Min load is 65 grains, max load is 72.5 grains. COAL is 3.340"

Hodgdon's web site load data for H4350 for a 180 grain bullet is 62.1/63 grains minimum (depends on bullet type), 66.8/67 grains max.

Obviously, if I use Lyman's IMR-4350 data at max 72.5 grains, it would exceed Hodgdon's H4350 max load data of 67 grains.

Regardless--does anyone have any accurate (that you've tried yourself) 300 Win Mag load data for H4350 with Sierra 180 grain HPBT?

Thanks in advance,

Uncle Loodis
 
If you're going to shoot Sierra bullets, what does Sierra say???

seriously, no one knows more about the bullet than the people who make it, and all bullets are NOT the same.

"almost identical" can cover a lot of ground, especially if its something you heard somewhere...

I've heard other powders were "the same" but you know, the manual list them separately and that's probably for a reason...;)

Don't load any powder using data from a different powder. It's just BEGGING for trouble

in the world of gunpowder, "similar" and "ALMOST identical" are not good enough to ensure safety.
 
Use only load data for what you have.

The velocity you get with your rifle and the components you use can be well over 50 fps different than what's claimed in the data.
 
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Guys, thanks for the replies. I know that it's not the same powder, and that's why I was asking if anyone had any specific favorite loads.

What does Sierra say? Sierra says buy their reloading manual for $33.75 plus shipping. I suppose I'll have to pony up the dough for yet another reloading manual.

But if anyone wants to share their favorite 300 Win Mag load with H4350 and Sierra Matchking HPBT, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks,

U.L.
 
UncleLoodis said:
I know that it's not the same powder, and that's why I was asking if anyone had any specific favorite loads.
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UncleLoodis, with all due respect, your entire first post basically implies that you did NOT know they are not the same powder. For example, you wrote, "I've heard that IMR-4350 and H4350 are almost identical." A reader would probably assume (as I certainly did) that you were asking for confirmation.

Beyond that, the title you put on this thread is "Conflicting Load Data." Two different load recipes for the same bullet are not conflicting unless they are for the same powder. If you knew the two powders were different, you would have known that the data were not in conflict. For .300 Win Mag with a 180 grain bullet, Lyman's 50th shows 65.0 grains with IMR 4350 and 73.0 grains with RX25. You wouldn't say those two are in conflict. They're just different loads, for different powders.

Don't let the fact that two different companies happen to use the same number in their names for two different powders confuse you.
 
Hodgdon's web site load data for H4350 for a 180 grain bullet is 62.1/63 grains minimum (depends on bullet type), 66.8/67 grains max.
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That's nice. I've got some Hornady data that shows a max of 69.5gr H4350 under a 180gr bullet in .300 Win mag.

Do you know what this means???

Nothing.

Or more precisely, nothing other that that the test guns (and components) were DIFFERENT. They don't "compete" or "conflict", they are simply different results, obtained using different equipment and components.

Go collect some data from a number of different sources, and you will find a range of weights as listed maximums. They'll probably be similar, relatively close to each other, but some might not be. Each one was valid, in the rifle that shot it. It's not a guaranteed thing in any other rifle.

Want to know what is the max load in your rifle? No book or internet data can tell you. Not one. Period.

They can tell you what they got with their rifles, but yours is different. Might be a tiny bit different, not enough to be able to tell, or might be radically different, enough to turn a "safe" load into an unsafe one. Its rare, but it does happen.

Other people's data are GUIDELINES, accurate for what THEY got in their test guns, but only a general idea of what you will get in your gun with your components.
 
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