Thinking outside the box

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MUP

MUP

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Just North of Chatt-town
Hey guys, just read in my latest edition of The Rifleman where the editors were talking on how to use Hogdon's Clay powder(I think) and 8.0 gr to push a 165 gr Hornady from a .308 and get a low-recoil 908+/- fps with it. Stating that it would be very economical to shoot this set up, and would still be a sound load for animals up to deer size. Just thought I'd throw that out there, any comments?
 
A 165 gr. bullet at 900 fps is a little weaker than a 40 S&W (power wise). Granted it would have better ballistics than the 40 S&W (higher bc etc.) but I still wouldn't consider it a 100 yrd performer on deer.

And with using a fast burning powder such as Clays in a rifle cartridge, you'll get just as much performance out of a short TC Contender barrel or an AR type platform as you would a 22" barrel.

Probably another subsonic load that's been developed for more "plinking" type use.
 
I used to use Unique as a "big boomer tamer" on plinker rounds for my 45/70. The old rule of thumb for most deer rifles is 10gr of Unique below most standard weight bullets, preferably cast boolits. You get a drastic POI shift, and a jacketed bullet designed for expansion at 1600-2500 fps will not open up at that low of speed.
 
EastTNHunter said:
I used to use Unique as a "big boomer tamer" on plinker rounds for my 45/70. The old rule of thumb for most deer rifles is 10gr of Unique below most standard weight bullets, preferably cast boolits. You get a drastic POI shift, and a jacketed bullet designed for expansion at 1600-2500 fps will not open up at that low of speed.
Click to expand...

So, if I was using some imr 4831 for my daughter's .243, and using 100gr Hornady's, could I just sub the Unique @ 10 gr below what the 4831 grainage load is?
 
I use very little Bluedot and the 69 SMK for subsonic 223 ammo,,very quiet and very accurate from my CZ 527,,at 1035 fps
 
MUP said:
EastTNHunter said:
I used to use Unique as a "big boomer tamer" on plinker rounds for my 45/70. The old rule of thumb for most deer rifles is 10gr of Unique below most standard weight bullets, preferably cast boolits. You get a drastic POI shift, and a jacketed bullet designed for expansion at 1600-2500 fps will not open up at that low of speed.
Click to expand...

So, if I was using some imr 4831 for my daughter's .243, and using 100gr Hornady's, could I just sub the Unique @ 10 gr below what the 4831 grainage load is?
Click to expand...

If it were my rifle, I would have no problem trying it. But I can only attest to my experience with 45/70 and 30-30, as well as "conventional wisdom" using 10gr as the "standard rule of thumb" for full-size rifles. I used from 10-15gr of Unique with a 420gr cast bullet in my 45/70 with good results. I also used 2400 as a "tweener" load. Many old reloading manuals list reduced loads using these powders. My experience has mainly been with cast bullets, as well, which generally cause less pressure at the beginning of ignition in a load. I read an article talking about this in one of the major gun rags a couple of years back, so it is pretty well accepted in the shooting circle, even though I do not take anything in one of these magazines as gospel. Maybe someone can verify this by running it through quickload. As has been mentioned by others, Blue Dot is another good reduced power powder, as they are both position insensitive. But, as usual, use extreme caution when using loads obtained on the internet.
 
10-4 I might have to obtain(if possible) some Clays or BD powder then to do a little experimenting for some low recoil loads for her to shoot then. :cool: Thanks guys. ;)
 
After checking on some reloading forums, I'm seeing several recommendations of TrailBoss powder, 12g, with 75-85 grain bullets for low recoil too.
 
Trailboss is designed for light loads. Don't forget about the hodgdon website's listings for youth/reduced loads using H4895. They recommend going no lower than 40% of effective case capacity.
 

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