Haven't heard one truly negative comment of the subject....maybe this will help !!!

stovepipe wrote:

I avoid compressed loads like the plague. Way too risky and inconsistent.

Wonder where he's at.........probably out trying to find some primers !!!

Aloysius wrote:

slimjim wrote: 1895ss wrote: I have used compressed loads with Varget in my 45-70 and I was getting unburned powder, I used the lightest loads recommended for my 45-70 rolling block and still have unburnt Varget in my barrel. try the Lee factory crimp, it might help.

I always use the Lee Factory Crimp Die in all my 45-70 and 35 Remington loads. I went to a faster burning powder (IMR 3031) and no more problems.

I use compressed load to go supersonic with my Whisper.
No problem.
Unburned powders are sign that your powder is a tad too slow for the load.
Again nothing wrong with that, as long as the result is consistent..

Compressed or near in my .308 with Varget and I get horrible accuracy and little improvement in speed. In my .223 I have tried compressed loads with Varget and they give the least fps spread but again low accuracy. In my simple mind I can't see blowing more powder to get a bit more speed at the expense of accuracy and the throat life of my barrels. Please note that all loads are within the max per the Hodgdon reloading guide.

Imr came out with trailboss a bit ago and I took my niece out for her first time shooting a hi-powered rifle which was the 30/06. She has shot 22LR since 5 years old and now is 16yrs.

So her dad buys her a 30/06 for deer hunting and ask me to help her settle in for the 06. I had 2lbs trailboss laying around and started with min loads of 13.3gr and worked up to 19.7grs and it was stuffed (compressed) and fired with great accuracy for her.

I just bought this up as an extreme opposite to what we normally think about compressed loads. The compressed loads of trailboss in her 06 rifle was very accurate and mild recoil and I must say it was a good way to introduce her to a hi-powdered rifle and work her way up to getting use to the noise and recoil with normal powder.

Gun season opens very soon here for deer and she's ready now shooting Imr 3031 powder with great results.

I'm working on a new load for the .260 and can hear the powder crunch when I seat the bullet. I'll let you know after I shoot them.

Thanks to all for their input !!!

Two things that really caught my attention:
Grumulkin using H414 in a 222 and OV1 using Trail Boss
I've used H414 a lot in the past and still do on occasion, just would have never thought to try in a 222.
My understanding of Trail Boss is it should never be used with jacketed bullets and was designed as a low velocity powder not a reduced load powder...... if that makes any sense.....maybe different wording should be used...... hopefully you understand what I'm saying.
I'm not trying to be argumentative ....only looking for more discussion on the 2 points !!!


The powder I'm going to try is Ramshot's Big Game !!!

I think I'll first swap it for my Varget leaving all other aspects of the load the same just for a comparison test.
My intent is to work up a new load using the 120gr TTSX
The goal is to create a new load approximately 100fps faster.

I know the extra speed isn't going to mean a whole lot but it will get me closer to what I consider the right place to be........ 3,000fps.

Chambered:
I used 150gr Nosler partition bullets and also 150gr rem core-lokt bullets and never had any problem. Heres a link to a pdf for TB loadings. www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Tr...%20R&P.pdf

OV1, this is great! A friend just bought a .243 Rem 700 for his 8 yr old son yesterday. I'll suggest to him to use this recipe. Thanks!

I'm surprised Hodgdon hasn't made this more noticeable !!!

I did go back a find data in the reloading center and found the pdf link on their home page. I know it's a subject that comes up often, I'm baffled as to this being the first I've heard about it as a reduced load option.

When TB first came out I have friends that shoot Cowboy Action that went absolutely crazy over the stuff. They immediately called Hodgdon's for reduced load applications and was told it wasn't suitable nor should it be used in conjunction with jacketed bullets.

Obviously they reconsidered and did more testing....... thanks for posting OV1

After reading comments in Pumpkinslingers thread "Reloading mystery of the week" I think I'm beginning to understand some of the concerns with compressed loads.

Yeah, Pkslingers post made me remember one other aspect. You can only compress the load so far. I don't have a lot of leverage, but I've found situations with my .308 with Federal brass and .223 with Rem brass where I can't compress the load far enough to get the bullet into the depth I need even though I wasn't quite up to max loading yet. I was using Varget and the OAL length was greater than what I had set on the dies. If I take out a .5gr of powder, the bullets would seat fine. Other than this, I haven't had any issue with compressed loads with regard to accuracy or velocity.

My bullets don't grow in length either and I don't crimp. However, I only neck size and don't tumble the brass so there is carbon residue on inside of the case neck. I find it holds the bullet very tightly a crimp would add nothing.

SJ, just for your info: there is a big difference in forces. Take an inert hammer and dismantle 2 rounds, 1 crimped and 1 not crimped and you will feel the difference.

Aloysius wrote:

SJ, just for your info: there is a big difference in forces. Take an inert hammer and dismantle 2 rounds, 1 crimped and 1 not crimped and you will feel the difference.

I use an inert hammer to pull bullets and I think I'm going to break it I have to pound so hard to get the bullets out. I believe the carbon in the neck really grabs the bullet. I've fired .223 cases without powder in them (my mistake) and the bullet did not move in the case. I thought the primer was a dud until I pulled the bullet.

I believe a crimp would hold the bullet tighter on clean brass. I just knocked out a crimped FMJ bullet in a new case and its about the same as my necked size only cases with carbon but no crimp.

This might sound stupid .... but.... most guys I know don't understand the proper way to handle a inertia hammer !!!

If you grab it as tight as you can in an attempt to keep it from flying out of your hand chances are the energy isn't being applied in a proper manner.

It also works better when hitting a piece of hardwood as apposed to a cement floor. The give of the wood plays into the acceleration deceleration reaction.