reduced loads

[Doug B.]

All the talk in the NEF/H&R rifles section has spawned new thoughts and ideas..... I have a friend who has asked me to try some reduced TB loads for him. He is into pest control and relies heavily on quieter guns during the off-hunting season to take raccoons.
Thanks, Dinny

It's been said a live trap works good. Then you can use any load/caliber/gun you'd like if you take the coons for a ride!

[41 mag]

I have used those .22 CB's to clear out a LOT of coons. Hit up side the earhole or through the top of their heads they rarely go any further than a few flops. Might give them a try.

I get very good accuracy from both a lever rifle and my pump. My FIL says they were the thing for hogs and the occasional freezer bound calf on the farm as well.

[Dinny]

I have used those .22 CB's to clear out a LOT of coons. Hit up side the earhole or through the top of their heads they rarely go any further than a few flops. Might give them a try.

I get very good accuracy from both a lever rifle and my pump. My FIL says they were the thing for hogs and the occasional freezer bound calf on the farm as well.

Too hard to get a head shot after dark with NV.  He has shot them with 5.7x28s just to see them run away.  I think these coons are possessed. 

Thanks, Dinny

[srussell]

 i know that 8.5 grains of trail boss in my 38-55 traget model under a 250 grain cast bullet doesnt make much noise and is more fun than should be legal

[buck460XVR]

Not a very good idea to run TB and jacketed bullets. I have worked extensively with TB powder for several yrs now, been on the phone alot with the techs, and they flat out discourage using TB powder with anything but cast loads.

Not any more, as Dinny pointed out, Hodgdon now offers TB loading advice that includes jacketed bullets.

Tim

http://hodgdon.com/PDF/Trail-Boss-data.pdf

I e-mailed Hodgdon about concerns using TB and jacketed bullets in my long-pipe .460 and they assured me that as long as I stayed with at least 70% of case capacity I would be fine. I'm runnin' about 90% and have had zero problems. The loads with 250 grainers shoots like .45 Colt cowboy loads outta the X-Frame. As Lloyd pointed out, accuracy fell off dramatically with loads lighter than this.

[Dinny]

All the talk in the NEF/H&R rifles section has spawned new thoughts and ideas..... I have a friend who has asked me to try some reduced TB loads for him. He is into pest control and relies heavily on quieter guns during the off-hunting season to take raccoons.
Thanks, Dinny

It's been said a live trap works good. Then you can use any load/caliber/gun you'd like if you take the coons for a ride!

What happens when you catch a skunk? 

Thanks, Dinny

[BBF]

[/quote]

What happens when you catch a skunk? 

Thanks, Dinny
[/quote]

You find a friend that has a front end loader with a big bucket, get that bucket full of dirt and bury trap and skunk


Btw  You should be able to see those 220 gr bullets coming out of the barrel

[Dinny]

What happens when you catch a skunk? 

Thanks, Dinny

You find a friend that has a front end loader with a big bucket, get that bucket full of dirt and bury trap and skunk


Btw  You should be able to see those 220 gr bullets coming out of the barrel

One would think, but I have yet to see one in flight. Today I'm trying some 62gr Barnes VG bullets with some TB powder in my .243Win. I'll post a report in a few hours once I'm done shooting.

Thanks, Dinny

[Dinny]

The 62gr Barnes VG bullets in .243 Win didn't stabilize with velocities from 1150-1600fps. I have several holes coming out the side of my target box when I shot at the end.  

I shot more of the 220gr bullets in my 30-06 too. I got velocities around 760fps and 1 1/2" accuracy at 55yds. I think I will stop there and call it good enough.  

Off subject, but 3 of my 30-06 110gr Hornady V-Max 3200fps loads went into 1/2" at 100yds. I'm happy!

Thanks, Dinny

[Dinny]

I hope to try some new loads tomorrow. I have loaded some 100gr Core-lokts with a little bit of TB powder in my 243 Win. Hopefully they stabilize better and fly a little slower than the Barnes bullets did. I'll post a report when I'm done shooting.


Thanks, Dinny

[Dinny]

Today I tried a few different loads. First I shot 3 of the 100gr Rem Core-lokt bullets with a half grain difference between the next 3. They both shot well at about 1010fps and 860 fps. Both groups were slightly under 1" at 50yds. I'm happy!  Next I shot a 100gr Sierra Gameking with 4 different powder weights, all of them tumbled.   The only thing I can think is that the Rem bullets are flat-based and the Sierras are boat tailed. Finally I tried 4 shots from my newly acquired 30-30 Handi with a moderate load of TB and a 150gr bullet. I only had 4 shots and spent 3 of them zeroing a new scope. I will reload and shoot them again, when I can sneak some reloads into my schedule.

Thanks, Dinny

[Dinny]

Today I shot a few new reduced loads with good to very good results. Load #1 148gr Hornady lead WC with just afew grains of TB seated flush into a .357 Mag brass. The load was accurate at 25yds and has a quiet report. No hearing protection and no ringing ears.

Load #2 was a a 220gr Hornady RN loaded with TB in the 30-30. The load was accurate at 25yds and had a kinda quiet report. Ear rang after first shot so ear plugs were installed.

Perhaps in a few weeks when I have returned from my next business trip, I will get velocities.  The .357 Mag loads were fired in a 22" Handi rifle and cleared the barrel with no problems at all.

Thanks, Dinny

[Dinny]

I just shot some more of the 148gr HBWCs from the .357 Handi rifle. This time I had less than 2grains of TB powder loaded. Not only did they clear the barrel, but they shot fairly accurate. I had all 5 of them in 1.5" at 25yds and I was shooting freehand. I do not recommend using this low of a charge. It has the potential to stick the bullet in your barrel and cause some serious problems if another cartridge is fired behind it.  With that being said, it did not penetrate more than 1/2" of a 6x6 non-treated post. In fact, all the bullets were sticking out of the post and could easily be removed by hand. I will consider this the absolute low end and not continue without adding more powder.

Thanks, Dinny

[Dinny]

I just chronographed some newer loads.

.357 Mag with 148gr WC and a very low amount of TB powder. Bullet was seated flush with brass. Accuracy was acceptable at 45yds and the bullets penetrated 1" of a 6x6 post. 615fps

.357 Mag with 148gr WC with just a wee bit more TB powder. Bullet was seated flush with brass. Accuracy was acceptable at 45yds and the bullets penetrated 1.5" of a 6x6 post. 840fps.

.357 Mag with 148gr WC and one more grain of TB powder. Bullet was seated with .073" of lead past the brass. TB doesn't like to be compressed. Accuracy was great at 45yds and bullet penetrated deeply into 6x6 post. 926fps.  I think this will be my pest control load.

30-30 Win with 170gr cast Lyman bullet and a low amount of TB powder. Accuracy was great. Bullet almost completely penetrated through 6x6 post. 915fps.

These velocities were enough to keep me from sticking a bullet in my barrel. May not always be the case with others. All loads were fired from a H&R handi rifle.

Thanks, Dinny

[Dinny]

I completed another round of reduced loads this last weekend. Thes loads were fired from my Handi .357 Mag 22" rifle.

38 Spec: 200gr lead FP with 4gr TB  760fps and decent accuracy at 25yds.

357 Mag: 200gr lead FP with 5gr TB  905fps and great accuracy at 25yds.

More to follow.....


Thanks, Dinny

[Dinny]

Last weekend I fired 7 rounds of .357 Mag with 2.5 gr of Bullseye and a 200gr cast bullet. At 35 yds, I got a 1 1/4" group from the last 6 rounds. I guess the first one was a fouling shot. I didn't get velocities but would suspect they were in the 700fps area.  They were all fired from a .357 Maxi Encore barrel too. I like this load and didn't find the powder to be position sensitive.  The noise was low and I didn't require any hearing protection. I was just amazed at how little recoil it had too.

Thanks, Dinny

[Lloyd Smale]

what kind of pest are he shooting that he feels he needs such a heavy bullet. A better way to go may be to load simualar to what ive used for a gallery load in 4570s. I use a round ball with 2 grains of bullseye. A round ball has alot less bearing surface and is easier to push out of a barrrel so stuck bullets arent a consern. For the most part with them you dont even have to size brass. Just prime it put in the powder. I even use lee dippers for doing it and push a bullet in with your fingers. Ive shot animals as big as porkys and raccons with them and they knock the crap out of them. I tumble lube them first and let them dry overnight. vertually no recoil and quieter then a 22lr. Shoot them at steal targets and you can go up and pick up the big flat discs and remelt them.

[Dinny]

Lloyd,
  That's a great idea that has been suggested to me before, even for other calibers. I don't have any of the round balls or the spray lube and just have been using what I have lying around the man cave. One of these days, I will give it all a try.

Thanks, Dinny

[tacklebury]

I've played a fair bit with the roundballs.    I've used only Unique so far, but they work pretty well out to about 100 yards in my formulation.  I developed these with 13 gr. Unique for my .45-70 BC, because with the long barrel, some of the reduced level loads I tried, just dropped out the end of the barrel barely.  I started at 6 gr. and the ball was less than 4" from the muzzle.  I bumped up to 8 and it went about 25 yards dropping madly.  At 10 gr. I was on target at 25 yards, so I have some of those for really mild close-ups.    I honestly haven't used any lube, but was considering dipping the tips in Lee Liquid Alox.  I used my expansion die to seat the balls consistently just past 1/2 way and then FCD'd it very lightly.  These pictured loads have been bumping around in my hunting bag and range bags for probably 10 range trips and none of the balls has shifted or been pushed in.    Good luck finding your low-load.



***edit***

Just remember to decap without sizing.    The first set I did I sized without thinking and they were really inconsistent and kept shearing lead off the balls even after expansion.  These are .457 RB.