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Tony 
Moderator Group
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Joined: April 18 2006
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 Topic: 303 Loading Data
Posted: September 20 2009 at 7:46pm |
Topic: Factory Military Loadings Posted: 04 June 2008 at 7:55pm
Here is a brief history of the British loadings for the 303 cartridge.
| MK I |
20 Feb. 1889 |
71.5 grains black powder |
215 grain RNFMJ |
| MK II |
3 Nov. 1891 |
31 grains Cordite Mk I |
215 grain FPFMJ |
| MK II |
1 June 1893 |
31 grains Cordite Mk I |
215 grain RNFMJ |
| MK III |
Exp. 1893 |
31 grains Cordite Mk I |
215 grain tubed HP |
| MK IV |
Exp. 1893 |
31 grains Cordite Mk I |
215 grain HP |
| MK V |
17 Oct. 1899 |
31 grains Cordite Mk I |
215 grain HP (new core) |
| MK VI |
29 Jan. 1909 |
32 grains Cordite Mk I |
215 grain RNFMJ |
| MK VII |
3 Nov. 1910 |
37 grains Cordite MDT |
174 grain Spire FMJ |
| MK VII Z |
? |
Nitrocellulose |
174 grain FMJ M.G. use |
| MK VIII |
? |
Cordite MDT |
174 grain Spire Copper |
| MK VIII Z |
? |
Nitrocellulose |
174 grain Spire Copper |
|
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Rottie (PitBulls dad.)
“If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons
Born free taxed to death!!!
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Tony
Moderator Group
Moderator
Joined: April 18 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 3256
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Posted: September 20 2009 at 7:58pm |
|
Here some published max loads and some of my notes of results with some
of the powders I've used. I try to duplicate military loads and before
the Sierra 174 match bullet came out I got best accuracy with the
Sierra 180 grain hunting bullet. I have noticed that the 174 grain
match bullet gives me higher pressure and velocity with the same powder
charges compared to other 174 grain bullets and 180 grain bullets. The
Accuracy Arms reflects the same and reduces charges for the 174 grain
match bullets. ADI and others either reduce for the 180 grain bullet or
have the same data for both bullet weights.
IMR-3031 - 174 grain
38.5gr (equals military)(my max load, this is 120 fps faster than 38.0 grains)
38.8gr (Sierra)
IMR-3031 - 180 grain
38.3gr (IMR)
39.0gr (highest published load)
IMR-4895 - 174 grain
42,0gr (Sierra)(highest published load)
41.5gr (my max load)
40.5gr (equals military)
IMR-4895 - 180 grain
43.0gr (highest published)
42.0gr (Sierra)
40.0gr
41.0gr (IMR)
IMR-4064 - 174 grain
40.6gr (my accuracy load)
40.7gr (Sierra max and accuracy load)
41.5gr (highest published load)
IMR-4064 - 180 grain
40.0gr
41.1gr (IMR)
39.3gr (Hornady)
41.0gr (my hunting load, very accurate)
40.7gr (Sierra)
42.0gr (highest published load)
IMR-4320 - 174 grain
43.0gr (Sierra) (highest published load)
42.5gr (my max and equals military)
39.0gr (Hornady)
IMR-4320 - 180 grain
43.0gr (Sierra)
44.0gr (highest published load)
41.0gr
H-4895 - 174gr
38.0gr (Hodgdon) (equals military, okay with CCI primer, high pressure with Remington primer)
37.4gr (Hornady) (higher velocity than IMR-3031)
#41.0gr (old pre-ADI H-4895, DO NOT USE, only shown for reference)
H-4895 - 180 grain
38.0gr (Hodgdon, consider this max!)
#40.0gr (may be for old pre-ADI H-4895, still listed as current data, not recommended)
Varget - 174 grain
42.0gr (Hodgdon) (borderline high pressure with CCI primer, extreme overpressure with Remington primer) (highest published load)
39.1gr (Hornady)
38.4gr (Sierra)
Varget - 180 grain
41.0gr (Hodgdon)
38.4gr (Sierra)
41.7gr (highest published load)
AA-2520 - 174 grain (40.0gr is accurate)
38.0gr (Sierra)
39.0gr (Hornady)
42.0gr (highest published load) (equals military)
39.0gr (Accurate Arms)
AA-2520 - 180 grain
44.0gr (Accurate Arms, highest published load, may be old made in Israel powder, current Czech-made powder is faster)
38.0gr (Sierra)
AA-2460 - 174 grain
40.0gr (my max load, equals military but leaves lot of space in case)
AA-2460 - 180 grain
40.5gr (Accurate Arms)
H-335 - 174 grain
39.5gr (Hodgdon)
H-335 - 180 grain
39.0gr (Hodgdon)
41.0gr (highest published load)
40.0gr (best I got with this powder, leaves lots of space in case)
RL-15 - 174 grain
40.0gr (Hornady)
43.5gr (highest published load)
41.0gr (equals military)
RL-15 - 180 grain
42.0gr (Alliant Powder)
43.7gr (highest published load)
Usually
with IMR powders Remington primers seem slightly milder than CCI
primers. With the Hodgdon ADI powder I got higher pressures and
velocities using Remington primers compared to CCI primers. This has
kept me from using much Hodgdon powder but it does measure easier.
The
only ball powder that gave my anywhere close to proper case fill was
AA-2520. I get best results with IMR powders using Remington primers. I
get best results with Hodgdon/ADI powders using CCI primers. With
Alliant RL-15 and the ball powders I get best results with Federal
primers.
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Rottie (PitBulls dad.)
“If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons
Born free taxed to death!!!
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Tony
Moderator Group
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Joined: April 18 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 3256
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Posted: September 20 2009 at 8:00pm |
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Here are some results from some of the better powders I've used. Before
there was a Sierra Match King bullet the most accurate bullet for me
was the Sierra 180 grain hunting bullet. I did try all of the Hornady
bullets and I prefer Hornady bullets in 308 and 30-06 but in 303 I've
had better results with Sierra's.
I noticed Vihtavuori and ADI
calls for about one more grain of powder with the 174 grain Sierra than
the 180 grain Sierra. My results and at least one of my load guides
have the reverse results. I had worked up loads for the 180 grain
bullet to match military ammo but when I switched to the 174 grain
match bullet I had to back off the loads by one to two grains for both
pressure and velocity.
My 174 grain loads
IMR-3031 - 38.5 grains
(max Sierra - 38.8gr, max IMR - 38.3gr)
IMR-4895 - 40.5 grains
(max Sierra 42.0gr, max IMR - 41.0gr)
IMR-4064 - 40.6 grains
(max Sierra 40.7gr, max IMR - 41.1gr, max Hornady - 39.3gr)
IMR-4320 - 42.5 grains
(max Sierra 43.0gr, max Hornady 39.0gr)
Note magnum primer increases velocity of IMR powder loads by 40 - 45fps. No overpressure.
RL-15 - 41.0 grains
(max Hornady 40.0gr, max Alliant 42.0gr)
Note magnum primer increases RL-15 velocity 80fps. No overpressure.
H-4895 - 38.0 grains
(max Hodgdon 38.0gr, max Hornady 37.4gr)
Note H-4895 pressure and velocity good with CCI-BR2, some overpressure and sticky bolt with Remington 9 1/2 primer.
Varget - 40.0 grains
(max Hodgdon 42.0gr<41.0gr w/180gr bullet>, max Sierra 38.4gr, max Hornady 39.1gr)
Note Varget pressure good with CCI-BR2 primer, great overpressure and high velocity with Remington 9 1/2 primer.
Vihtavuori is expensive in the US and I'm still working on it.
My current VV N-140 load is 40.7 grains with the 174gr Sierra.
(max Sierra 41.2gr, max Hornady 40.3gr, max VV 41.7gr<39.7gr w/180gr bulle
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Rottie (PitBulls dad.)
“If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons
Born free taxed to death!!!
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Tony
Moderator Group
Moderator
Joined: April 18 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 3256
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Posted: September 20 2009 at 8:13pm |
| Cartridge: |
303 British |
| Load Type: |
Rifle |
|
Starting Loads
|
Maximum Loads
|
|
| Bullet Weight (Gr.) |
Manufacturer |
Powder |
Bullet Diam. |
C.O.L. |
Grs. |
Vel. (ft/s) |
Pressure |
Grs. |
Vel. (ft/s) |
Pressure |
|
|
|
| 125 GR. SPR SP |
Hodgdon |
Varget |
.311" |
2.915" |
45.0 |
2766 |
39,200 CUP |
48.0 |
2883 |
42,100 CUP |
|
|
| 125 GR. SPR SP |
Hodgdon |
H335 |
.311" |
2.915" |
42.0 |
2741 |
35,900 CUP |
46.0 |
2966 |
43,000 CUP |
|
|
| 125 GR. SPR SP |
Hodgdon |
H4895 |
.311" |
2.915" |
41.0 |
2791 |
42,400 CUP |
45.0 |
2931 |
43,700 CUP |
|
|
| 150 GR. HDY SP |
Hodgdon |
Varget |
.312" |
2.995" |
39.0 |
2458 |
39,600 CUP |
43.0 |
2656 |
42,700 CUP |
|
|
| 150 GR. HDY SP |
IMR |
IMR 4064 |
.311" |
2.995" |
|
|
|
44.7 |
2699 |
46,400 PSI |
|
|
| 150 GR. HDY SP |
Hodgdon |
BL-C(2) |
.312" |
2.995" |
43.0 |
2502 |
34,000 CUP |
48.0 |
2756 |
39,200 CUP |
|
|
| 150 GR. HDY SP |
IMR |
IMR 4895 |
.311" |
2.995" |
|
|
|
44.2 |
2689 |
46,600 PSI |
|
|
| 150 GR. HDY SP |
Hodgdon |
H335 |
.312" |
2.995" |
37.0 |
2430 |
34,700 CUP |
42.0 |
2706 |
43,100 CUP |
|
|
| 150 GR. HDY SP |
Hodgdon |
H4895 |
.312" |
2.995" |
36.0 |
2447 |
40,300 CUP |
40.0 |
2627 |
43,600 CUP |
|
|
| 150 GR. HDY SP |
IMR |
IMR 3031 |
.311" |
2.995" |
|
|
|
41.0 |
2632 |
46,100 PSI |
|
|
| 174 GR. SIE HPBT |
Hodgdon |
Hybrid 100V |
.311" |
3.075" |
42.0 |
2223 |
36,000 CUP |
46.0C |
2399 |
40,300 CUP |
|
|
| 174 GR. SIE HPBT |
Hodgdon |
H4350 |
.311" |
3.075" |
43.0 |
2266 |
35,400 CUP |
48.0C |
2517 |
41,900 CUP |
|
|
| 174 GR. SIE HPBT |
Hodgdon |
H414 |
.311" |
3.075" |
43.0 |
2302 |
35,200 CUP |
46.0 |
2447 |
41,000 CUP |
|
|
| 174 GR. SIE HPBT |
Winchester |
760 |
.311" |
3.075" |
43.0 |
2302 |
35,200 CUP |
46.0 |
2447 |
41,000 CUP |
|
|
| 174 GR. SIE HPBT |
Hodgdon |
Varget |
.311" |
3.075" |
38.0 |
2345 |
38,800 CUP |
42.0 |
2509 |
43,800 CUP |
|
|
| 174 GR. SIE HPBT |
Hodgdon |
BL-C(2) |
.311" |
3.075" |
43.0 |
2442 |
36,400 CUP |
46.5 |
2616 |
42,900 CUP |
|
|
| 174 GR. SIE HPBT |
Hodgdon |
H335 |
.311" |
3.075" |
36.0 |
2340 |
38,600 CUP |
39.5 |
2503 |
43,400 CUP |
|
|
| 174 GR. SIE HPBT |
Hodgdon |
H4895 |
.311" |
3.075" |
34.0 |
2262 |
38,800 CUP |
38.0 |
2446 |
43,600 CUP |
|
|
| 180 GR. SIE SP |
Hodgdon |
Hybrid 100V |
.311" |
3.075" |
42.0 |
2232 |
36,200 CUP |
46.0C |
2384 |
41,700 CUP |
|
|
| 180 GR. SIE SP |
Hodgdon |
H4350 |
.311" |
3.075" |
44.0 |
2295 |
35,700 CUP |
48.0C |
2500 |
43,800 CUP |
|
|
| 180 GR. SIE SP |
Hodgdon |
H414 |
.311" |
3.075" |
42.0 |
2231 |
35,400 CUP |
46.0 |
2435 |
42,500 CUP |
|
|
| 180 GR. SIE SP |
Winchester |
760 |
.311" |
3.075" |
42.0 |
2231 |
35,400 CUP |
46.0 |
2435 |
42,500 CUP |
|
|
| 180 GR. SIE SP |
Hodgdon |
Varget |
.311" |
3.075" |
37.0 |
2282 |
38,200 CUP |
41.0 |
2440 |
43,400 CUP |
|
|
| 180 GR. SIE SP |
IMR |
IMR 4064 |
.311" |
3.075" |
|
|
|
41.1 |
2400 |
45,700 PSI |
|
|
| 180 GR. SIE SP |
Hodgdon |
BL-C(2) |
.311" |
3.075" |
41.0 |
2395 |
37,100 CUP |
45.0 |
2563 |
43,000 CUP |
|
|
| 180 GR. SIE SP |
IMR |
IMR 4895 |
.311" |
3.075" |
|
|
|
41.0 |
2399 |
46,100 PSI |
|
|
| 180 GR. SIE SP |
Hodgdon |
H335 |
.311" |
3.075" |
36.0 |
2286 |
36,400 CUP |
39.0 |
2449 |
42,700 CUP |
|
|
| 180 GR. SIE SP |
Hodgdon |
H4895 |
.311" |
3.075" |
34.0 |
2178 |
35,200 CUP |
38.0 |
2400 |
43,500 CUP |
|
|
| 180 GR. SIE SP |
IMR |
IMR 3031 |
.311' |
3.075" |
|
|
|
38.3 |
2341 |
46,500 P |
|
|
Rottie (PitBulls dad.)
“If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons
Born free taxed to death!!!
|
|
Tony
Moderator Group
Moderator
Joined: April 18 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 3256
|
Posted: September 20 2009 at 8:25pm |
This is a list I made of the bullet weights I normally use. I have
only found a few lighter bullets of 125 and 150 grains that will engage
enough rifling to b accurate so I usually limit my bullet weights to
174 and 180 bullets. I also like to load close to military ammo
velocity. A couple of notes, The 40.0 grain load of H-4895 may
be of older, slower, non-Aussie H-4895 aa I get military velocity with
about 38.0 grains but switching primers even with this load can cause a
sticky bolt from overpressure. The load guide that calls for 37.4
grains might be about right. The oddest thing about using this powder
is normally for with IMR-4895 and IMR-4064 I find Remington 9 1/2
primers slightly milder than CCI-200 primers, but with H-4895 The
pressure is higher with the Rem 9 1/2 than the CCI-200. There is a Rem
9 1/2M mgnum primer and maybe the packaging was mixed up but the sticky
bolt has made me shy a.way from H-4895 in 303. I was told by
somebody at Accurate Arms that AA-4064 is 7% slower than IMR-4064, or
rather it was stated to me that "AA-4064 has a 7% pressure advantage
compared to IMR-4064". Their published 40.0 grain load is very light
but the 45.0 grain load seems about right for max. AA-2495 seems
to produce a lot of heat and even leaves more copper fouling from
jacketed bullets than other powders. I have seen velocity increases
leave more copper fouling but this is the only powder I've seen that
increases copper fouling from heat. Hodgdon no longer list W-748
for use in 303 but the 40.0 and 38.8 grain loads seem a bit light but
W-748 does have a very steep pressure curve compared to other powders. In
some other cartridges I have had erratic results with IMR-4320 but in
303 it seems a good all round powder. RL-15 i forgiving also. Good
velocity with IMR-4895 and N-140 but best accuracy with IMR-4064. My
last note concerns bullet weight and design. Some load guides have the
same data for both 174 grain and 180 grain bullets. Some have slightly
lighter loads for the "heavier" 180 grain bullets. Some have slightly
light loads for the 174 grain Sierra Match King and this I do agree. I
found with the SMK bullet both pressure and velocity increase over
other bullets of the same weight and over all 180 grain bullets I've
used. The load guides that download the max load for the SMK one to two
grains is about right with my results. Som lod guides use the lighter
SMK load for all 174 and 180 grin bullets which is saf but the ones
that have higher loads for 174 grain bullets that include the SMK, I
think have something off a bit. These are all maximum loads
published in different load guides and some are a bit old. The ADI
August 2004 guide refers to AR-2206H as a "new" powder. This is the
same powder as current H4895 which is faster than older H-4895 and the
newer stuff seems nearer to IMR-3031 than IMR-4895. Besides the age of
the load guides some data even in newer guides isn't always updated to
the latest powders in all cartridges. 303 seems to be one of the ones
that gets updated last, if at all. 174
IMR-3031 - 38.8 - 38.5
IMR-4895 - 42.0 - 41.5
IMR-4064 - 41.5 - 40.7 - 40.6
IMR-4320 - 43.0
H-4895 - 38.0 - 37.4
Varget - 42.0 - 38.4
AA-2495 - 42.0 - 37.3
AA-4064 - 40.0 (powder is 7% slower than IMR-4064, light load)
N-135 - 38.4
N-140 - 41.8 - 41.7 - 41.2
W-748 - 40.0
BL-C(2) - 46.5
RL-15 - 42.0
H-335 - 39.5
AA-2520 - 39.0 - 38.0
AA-2460 - 40.0
AA-2230 - 39.0
180
IMR-3031 - 39.0 - 38.3
IMR-4895 - 43.0 - 41.0
IMR-4064 - 42.0 - 41.1
IMR-4320 - 44.0 - 43.0
H-4895 - 40.0 (HOT! may be old H-4895) - 38.0 - 37.4
Varget - 41.7 - 41.0
AA-2495 - 44.0 - 37.3
AA-4064 - 46.0 - 45.0
N-135 - 36.4
N-140 - 41.7 - 41.2 - 39.7
W-748 - 40.0 - 38.8
BL-C(2) - 45.0
RL-15 - 43.7
H-335 - 41.0 - 39.0
AA-2520 - 44.0 - 38.0
AA-2460 - 40.5
AA-2230 - 40.0
|
|
Rottie (PitBulls dad.)
“If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons
Born free taxed to death!!!
|
|
Tony
Moderator Group
Moderator
Joined: April 18 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 3256
|
Posted: September 20 2009 at 8:26pm |
|
ADI
|
Hodgdon
|
Alliant
|
IMR
|
Winchester
|
Vectan
|
Norma
|
Accurate Arms
|
Vihtavuori
|
|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
R-1 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Bullseye |
|
|
|
|
|
N310 |
|
|
AS30N |
Clays |
Red Dot |
|
|
AS |
N2010 |
NITRO 100 |
|
|
Trail Boss |
|
|
Trail Boss |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AP50N |
HP 38 |
e3 |
PB |
W231 |
|
|
AA 2 |
N320 |
|
|
AS50N |
International |
Green Dot |
700X |
WST |
|
|
AA 5 |
|
|
|
AP70N |
Universal |
Unique |
SR 7625 |
|
|
|
|
N330 |
|
|
|
|
Herco |
|
WSF |
A1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
800X |
WAP |
|
|
AA 7 |
N340 |
|
|
AP100 |
|
|
SR 4756 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HS- 6 |
|
|
W540 |
|
|
|
3N37 |
|
|
|
HS- 7 |
Blue Dot |
|
W571 |
|
|
AA 9 |
N350 |
|
|
|
|
Steel |
|
|
Ba 6 |
|
|
N105 |
|
|
|
|
2400 |
SR4759 |
|
|
|
AA4100 |
N110 |
|
|
AR2205 |
H4227 / H110 |
|
IMR4227 |
W296 |
|
R- 123 |
AA1680 |
N120 |
|
|
AR2207 |
H4198 |
Reloader 7 |
IMR4198 |
W680 |
Tu 2000 |
N200 |
|
N130 |
|
|
BM1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
N133 |
|
|
AR2219 |
H322 |
10-X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BM2 |
BENCHMARK |
|
IMR3031 |
|
|
|
AA2015 |
|
|
|
AR2206 |
BLC( 2) |
|
|
|
Tu 3000 |
|
AA2230 |
|
|
|
|
H335 |
|
|
W748 |
|
|
|
N135 |
|
|
AR2206H |
H4895 |
|
IMR4895 |
|
Tu 5000 |
|
AA2460 |
|
|
|
AR2208 |
Varget |
|
IMR4064 |
|
|
|
AA2520 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
IMR4320 |
|
|
N201 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
N202 |
AA2700 |
N140 / N540 |
|
|
|
H380 |
Reloader 15 |
|
|
|
N203 |
|
|
|
|
AR2209 |
H414/ H4350 |
|
IMR4350 |
W760 |
Tu 7000 |
N204 |
AA4350 |
N150 / N550 |
|
|
|
H450 |
Reloader 19 |
|
|
|
N205 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
IMR4831 |
WMR |
|
|
AA3100 |
N160 / N560 |
|
|
AR2213SC |
H4831 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Reloader 22 |
IMR7828 |
WXR |
Tu 8000 |
MRP |
|
N165 |
|
|
AR2217 |
H1000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
N170 |
|
|
AR2225 |
Retumbo |
Reloader 25 |
|
|
|
|
Magpro |
24N41 |
|
|
AR2218 |
H870/ H50BMG |
|
|
|
|
|
AA8700 |
20N29 |
 NOTE: These tables are only approximate, showing equivalence within about 5%.
ADI powder burning rate comparison chart
On
the subject of Max loads & the .303 Brit many manuals don't
stipulate whether these are loads for MK111 actions only or#4 actions
as well ! Some will stipulate a reduction of at least 3 gns from Max
Loads for use in MK111 actions or even do not exceed starting loads in
MK111 actions
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Rottie (PitBulls dad.)
“If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons
Born free taxed to death!!!
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Tony
Moderator Group
Moderator
Joined: April 18 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 3256
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Posted: September 20 2009 at 8:57pm |
Posted: 26 January 2006 at 7:05pm - IP: 68.222.116.239
150 grain Soft Point
IMR-3031 36.9
IMR-4895 37.7
IMR-4060 38.5
IMR-4320 39.1
H380 39.9
H414 42.9
These are all min. starting loads
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Rottie (PitBulls dad.)
“If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons
Born free taxed to death!!!
|
|
Tony
Moderator Group
Moderator
Joined: April 18 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 3256
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Posted: September 20 2009 at 8:59pm |
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Topic: More .303 Brit loads
Posted: 26 January 2006 at 6:49am - IP: 144.139.135.240
Ok how about these 125 gn = 41.4 of H4895
150gn = 38.7 of H4895
174/180gn =36.0 of H4895
215gn =35.1 of H4895
These are loads 10% below max & are safe for use in Martini & Mk3 actions
Cast loads can be calculated at the Max load then x by 60% = reduced load
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Rottie (PitBulls dad.)
“If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons
Born free taxed to death!!!
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