I'm working up a load for my Winchester XPR .243 using Sierra 60 grain HP (#1500) bullets and Varget powder. So far my groups have been less than stellar, and someone has advised me to keep increasing my charge weight a bit more since I have not exceeded book max. His advice was to go up until I hit some heavy bolt lift and then back off. I've always stayed away from max loads, so I've never experienced the dreaded SBS (Sticky Bolt Syndrome).
My question is this; how quickly does case extraction go from normal to "needed a hammer to lift the bolt?" If I'm going up in 0.3 grain increments, am I going to notice some slight stickiness before I hit real problems, or could it go from nothing to problem status in one charge increment?
My question is this; how quickly does case extraction go from normal to "needed a hammer to lift the bolt?" If I'm going up in 0.3 grain increments, am I going to notice some slight stickiness before I hit real problems, or could it go from nothing to problem status in one charge increment?