School me on bullet and powder grain relationship please

Damn if I have a scientific answer. Just follow that manual and don't try to second guess the information in there. If you are just starting to reload you are in for a tremendous amount of "why's". Like why is the same load more accurate with a different primer, why does this brass give better accuracy than that brass, why is this grain bullet from this company more accurate than the same grain bullet from that company. Scratch your head, follow the manuals, have fun.
 
Yeah. People like Lee spent more hours than we have in a day experimenting with light loads, over loads, and all kinds of weird stuff. While the propellants have changed, I would still look at someone who has actually done the experiments rather than losing and eye or getting an undue partial lobotomy. Read books and watch videos of people who can afford the risks. Or, put a bottle rocket in yur butt. :D
 
Years ago I worked in a gun shop and saw lots of blown up weapons. There were lots of reasons for the various failures. The one that scared me the most was flash-over. When the powder load is small enough that the primer flashes over the top of the powder load, instead of burning and propelling the bullet down the barrel it expands sideways...

I tend to favor bulky powders. It makes sense to verify that the powder load and bullet seating depth that you are contemplating are not conducive to flash-over. Follow the recommendations on powder loads. Start on the lower end of the powder weight and test your loads. Inspect your brass after it has been fired. Your only indication that things are about to go terribly wrong could be a split or bulged case.

I own enough reloading equipment that I can reload anything I own. I keep it for survivalists reasons. I can afford to buy ammo. I cannot afford to have a weapon blow up in my hand.

Safety first.
 
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Bah. You can load anything you want. Just be prepared to loose your test weapon. Keep a safe distance and remote fire the weapon. If you cant afford to do this, follow recommended load information from simple, inexpensive, qualified book like RCBs or LEE or Winchester, Remington. There is way too much information on loads not to be able to experiment safely. Every batch of powder burns slightly different at any given time no matter what the year or make of the hard firearm. stay within the permitters for a load and bullet weight and crimp type. The trick is to keep it consistent once you have found the correct load for your type of shooting. Consistency it the key to every grade of shooter. Just ask the .22 manufacturers.
 
givejunkfree said:
There are formulas. Build capacity vs. projectile weight, density, and air space. My dad was a NAA rocket scientist and he explained propulsion v.s decimation (explosive capacity) relative to trajectory, but, I never understood a greek symbol he wrote.
Click to expand...
Wait , wait, wait. You saying I'm a rocket scientist now? Suhweet!
 
Case capacity, powder burn rate and muzzle energy. You can load a lighter weight bullet with the same amount of powder as you do for a heaver bullet. It will work fine in revolvers in most cases. However, it does not work so well in semi-autos as the energy that is required to push a 115 gr vs 147 gr bullet out of you barrel is much less. Both will go bang. However, the energy generated by the reduced load on the 115 gr bullet may not operate the slide on your semi-auto. You also have to be very careful with the faster burning powders as they can produce excessive pressures when you don't use the recommend amounts.
Best to just go with the reloading manual as they have done all the testing.
 
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