I have loaded lots of different shotshells, pistol and rifle calibers since the 1970's. Made my shotgun wads, cast bullets, made gas check rifle bullets, even swagged .223 bullets out of .22 rimfire empties. I never blew up anything. Something that has served me well is to never start with max power load. I usually start in the dead middle or slightly less than the middle of published data.
Even if I have the exact bullet, exact case, exact powder and exact primer, I know that I do not have the exact test barrel. I still start in the middle. A tight barrel is seldom seen a pistol but you do see it on precision rifles. A load that shot great in a 20 inch barrel showed pressure problems in a 26 inch barrel. I shot the same load for years through Douglass Ultra match and Hart rifle barrels with no troubles, but my friends Krieger barrels would blow the primers with my ammo.
Some things will fool you. For example, the 105 grain BTHP MatchKing in 6.5mm was longer than the flatbase 120 grain from Sierra. That affects things.
I have made a lot of substitutions over the years and never had any trouble when starting with a conservative load.
Don't get in a hurry, change only one thing at a time, and have fun.
Even if I have the exact bullet, exact case, exact powder and exact primer, I know that I do not have the exact test barrel. I still start in the middle. A tight barrel is seldom seen a pistol but you do see it on precision rifles. A load that shot great in a 20 inch barrel showed pressure problems in a 26 inch barrel. I shot the same load for years through Douglass Ultra match and Hart rifle barrels with no troubles, but my friends Krieger barrels would blow the primers with my ammo.
Some things will fool you. For example, the 105 grain BTHP MatchKing in 6.5mm was longer than the flatbase 120 grain from Sierra. That affects things.
I have made a lot of substitutions over the years and never had any trouble when starting with a conservative load.
Don't get in a hurry, change only one thing at a time, and have fun.
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