Cholo said:
I went to your link, but I must have done something wrong because it didn't give me any data using 296 or H110 :? Still, you're comparing a Gold Dot to an XTP. I know you're an experienced reloader, but there could be good reason for the unusual variance which really is quite a bit from what you posted. Perhaps there's a big enough difference with the bearing surfaces of the 2 bullets as well as the jacket thickness of the bearing surface.
The Hodgdon website doesn't allow a direct link to any one set of data. You have to put in the cartridge, the bullet weight and then the powder that you want to look at. This is what the data looks like for Ruger Only 45 Colt with H-110 powder and a 250gr XTP.
Hodgdon H110 .452" 1.600" 25.7 1,398 27,000 CUP 26.5 1,455 29,800 CUP
Notice the start load is 25.7gr and the max is 26.5gr.
In contrast the Speer data for the 250 GDHP is start 19.0gr and max of 21.0gr
I would not expect to see that wide a loading difference for any 250gr jacketed bullets. You will also notice the Speer data shows no pressure. BTW how old is that data?
The whole idea of using H-110/W296 in the 45 Colt goes against the 3% of full charge rule, because there is no 'full charge' for the 45 Colt cartridge. The 45 Colt is a low pressure cartridge just like the 44 Special and the 38 Special. The Ruger Only data is limited to 30,000 PSI, I believe.
Now with all that said I see many places, and in the Hodgdon data as well, that the 'do not reduce H-110 by more than 3%' rule is not observed. Just look up 300 Blackout as an example.
When I started loading many years ago there was no H-110 warning but in the Lee book and many other loading manuals there was always a mention to not reduce any powder more than 30% from max and slow powders not more than 20%. I have reduced H-110 in the 357 and 44mag by up to 20% without any problems but I stopped that when the warning came out. Now I will not go below 10% from max and I think that is a good precaution overall.
Just for kicks here is the Hodgdon warning.
Quote> Reduce H110 and Winchester 296 loads 3% and work up from there. H110 and Winchester 296 if reduced too much will cause inconsistent ignition. In some cases it will lodge a bullet in the barrel, causing a hazardous situation (Barrel Obstruction). This may cause severe personal injury or death to users or bystanders. DO NOT REDUCE H110 LOADS BY MORE THAN 3%. <end quote
