Lets talk load development.

Armory » 50 Cal

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Lets talk load development.

Posted: 12/12/2013 6:09:18 AM EDT

Alright, I have most of what I need to start reloading for the Serbu BFG 50A.

Here is what I have.

CCI #35 primers

M33 ball 650 grain bullets

API 647 grain bullets

WC 867 powder from weidners

Lake city brass

From what I can find on the intenet, looks like I should start around 210 grains of powder and maybe work up towards 230. Of course looking for signs of over pressure and etc.

Anyone have experience, opinions, etc on this?

Posted: 12/13/2013 5:54:03 AM EDT

[#1]

You'll probably want to trim your cases down to 3.90 before getting started if you haven't already. The WC 867 from Wideners is faster burning than previous lots it would seem. I too looked online to find a starting point and it was suggested by many that 215 would be fine.....it was not. I had a sticky bolt at the start and @ 220 I got a heavy bolt lift. I ended up pulling a bunch and starting over @ 200. 200 was a bit low but I did get up to 212 @2,710 fps with no signs of over pressure in my AR-50. I'm using the identical components you are. It may be harder to detect the beginnings of over pressure on a semi with no bolt to throw after every round. I would contact Serbu and ask for a recommendation or maybe they could point you in the right direction to get advice on loading for their rifle. You don't want to damage that action with hot loads like the milsurp can.

Posted: 12/13/2013 6:41:15 AM EDT

[#2]

I'm running the same components as well.I settled on 220 grns of powder.No issues in my AR50 or Barrett 82.Accurate,and shoots clean.No signs of pressure issues for me.

210 should be a good starting point.

Make sure you keep us updated.

Posted: 12/13/2013 7:36:41 AM EDT

[#3]

Hey Carguym, do you know what velocity you are getting with those 220 loads in your AR-50? We have the same rifle and components yet we have an eight grain difference in max load????????????

Posted: 12/13/2013 8:19:33 AM EDT

[#4]

Get a lot number on the powder and see if they're the same, another would be are you guys both seating to the crimp groove or longer/shorter? Little differences could account for the different speeds in velocity you're seeing.

Posted: 12/13/2013 8:44:33 AM EDT

[#5]

I will update, but most likely will be well after christmas.

I just got into this adventure and my press is not even set up yet.

I emailed Mark Serbu about ammo.

His response was, Just use good ammo, factory, military or similiar.

Thanks again for the help.

Merry Christmas.

Posted: 12/13/2013 8:49:50 AM EDT

[#6]

Quote History

Quoted:
Hey Carguym, do you know what velocity you are getting with those 220 loads in your AR-50? We have the same rifle and components yet we have an eight grain difference in max load????????????

View Quote

2670-2680 was the spread.Shooting prone,about 10 feet from the chrono.Temps were in the high 70's/low 80's IIRC.

I'm running API that I resized myself,and resized them each multiple times until they went thru the die easy.Other than that,I think we are using all the exact same stuff-Lake City brass,CCI primers,same powder.I trim my brass with the LEE trim set up (by hand).

Did you resize your projectiles?I bought some off Gunbroker that were supposedly resized,but some of them were stiff going thru the sizer,so I ended up resizing them all.They didn't seem much different than the non resized.

I crimp all mine regardless of which rifle I am using them in-they get loaded and stacked in ammo cans.

Posted: 12/13/2013 8:53:15 AM EDT

[#7]

Quote History

Quoted:
I will update, but most likely will be well after christmas.

I just got into this adventure and my press is not even set up yet.

I emailed Mark Serbu about ammo.

His response was, Just use good ammo, factory, military or similiar.

Thanks again for the help.

Merry Christmas.

View Quote

Pick up some loaded ammo (SurvivalOps,Freedom Munitions,American Eagle,etc) so you can get a feel for how it shoots,recoil,etc.

Like Kalishnikov said,it will be kind of tough with a semi knowing if your handloads are too hot.

Be safe.

Posted: 12/13/2013 9:06:11 AM EDT

[#8]

Hummm I too run my bullets through the sizer die until I feel safe....sometimes seven or eight times...can't be to careful with that. I'm trimming with the Lyman AccuTrimmer. I'm averaging 2710 with the chrono 12 feet away and temp was around 80. IIRC my spread was large as well....2660-2740 ish. Accuracy was superb when the barrel hit the sweet spot temp. I guess I should be satisfied with the V I'm getting,,,considering I'm doing it with less powder. The only thing we seem to do differently is that I don't crimp.

Posted: 12/13/2013 9:36:52 AM EDT

[#9]

Quote History

Quoted:
Hummm I too run my bullets through the sizer die until I feel safe....sometimes seven or eight times...can't be to careful with that. I'm trimming with the Lyman AccuTrimmer. I'm averaging 2710 with the chrono 12 feet away and temp was around 80. IIRC my spread was large as well....2660-2740 ish. Accuracy was superb when the barrel hit the sweet spot temp. I guess I should be satisfied with the V I'm getting,,,considering I'm doing it with less powder. The only thing we seem to do differently is that I don't crimp.

View Quote

Where are you located?

Elevation difference maybe?We're pretty much sea level here-wouldn't think it would make that much of a difference.

I just lightly crimp mine.

Posted: 12/13/2013 10:11:18 AM EDT

[#10]

I'm at 1,700 feet elevation...that must be it. Good call.

Posted: 12/13/2013 10:25:00 AM EDT

[#11]

I have several cases on order with survival ops.com. so I will have something to compare to.

Might pick up a few locally to start out with.

Posted: 12/14/2013 6:23:06 AM EDT

[#12]

Look for ejector swipes on the semi to gauge where you are with your load. Some American Eagle will cause light swipes. Better to work up to the light swipe and back down. Also it is winter and I think the 867 is temp sensitive so don't stack them deep at a max load now. My load was 225 of an old lot of 867 and I got some heavier swipes then I wanted in july.

Posted: 12/14/2013 8:52:52 AM EDT

[#13]

Quote History

Quoted:
Look for ejector swipes on the semi to gauge where you are with your load. Some American Eagle will cause light swipes. Better to work up to the light swipe and back down. Also it is winter and I think the 867 is temp sensitive so don't stack them deep at a max load now. My load was 225 of an old lot of 867 and I got some heavier swipes then I wanted in july.

View Quote

Interesting.

Where are you sea level wise??

What projectiles were you running in front of that 225 grns.?

Crimped or not?

Posted: 12/14/2013 10:59:44 AM EDT

[#14]

Lehigh 650 gr ball. No crimp. Not much above sea level. Same load in a Barret 99 no tight bolt or anything. 5.45" OAL

Posted: 12/15/2013 3:56:30 AM EDT

[#15]

So you are saying the 867 will have higher pressures when it is cold??

I am in mountains if pa and it is 15 degrees right now.

Posted: 12/15/2013 4:15:49 AM EDT

[#16]

No I am saying if you find the max load for your rifle now, when it's cold, it may be over max when you shoot and it's 100 deg. Don't load hundreds of rounds in the winter with a max load. Recheck it when it is hot before you stack them deep.

I don't really stack 50 deep anyway since I don't shoot it more than 2
0 or 30 shots an outing and only shoot it 4 times a year max.

Posted: 12/15/2013 12:48:41 PM EDT

[#17]

Quote History

Quoted:
So you are saying the 867 will have higher pressures when it is cold??

I am in mountains if pa and it is 15 degrees right now.

View Quote

Seems elevation is a factor too-Sandlewood and I are about the same elevation and are running essentially the same,while Kalishnikov is at a higher altitude and is
running less powder with about the same results.

There was a story about snipers in AFG or Iraq laying their rounds out in the sun to increase the pressure and gain a little range.

Posted: 12/15/2013 1:40:34 PM EDT

[#18]

OK. Got it. Makes sense the warmer it us the higher pressure. Also the elevation would make a difference.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Lets talk load development.

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