BCB
06-26-2005, 05:47 PM
WARNING: This contains discussion/questions that deal with condom bullets—not cast bullets…
Well, with the disclaimer out of the way, I was shooting my T/C Contender, 16” barrel, 223 Remington today. I was using 28.0 grains of WC-844 and the 40 V-Max bullet. I consider 28 grains of this powder to be MAXIMUM—but I may be wrong with that thought. Maybe it should be MAXIMUM PRUDENT load!
I was originally using LC-85 cases and decided to load a box of PMP (not PMC) with the same load. To my range I went to fine tune the point-of-impact out to 200 yards so I can use this Contender for ‘chucks as the summer progresses. I got the handgun shooting exceptionally well with the LC-85 cases. As a matter of fact, I shot my first “bug hole” at 100 yards with it today. Might just frame that group! I was doing some casual shooting at plastic soda bottles filled with water using the LC-85 and PMP cases. I noticed quickly that I was not doing as well with the PMP cases—bullet impact always seemed high. So I placed a target at 200 yards and sure enough, it was over 2” high and an inch to the right—the LC-85’s were zeroed at 200 yards. Contenders can be discouraging at times—just the nature of this beast I think—and I was a bit bummed out. So I came home and decided to weigh the cases. Knowledge that exists in my brain but is sometimes forgotten!
Here seems to be the problem. The PMP cases were 10.75% heavier than the LC-85’s! I suspect the 28 grain charge in these cases would be OVER MAXIMUM. Luckily I only fired a few of them, although they didn’t show any blatant signs of pressure. Since these cases are 10.75% heavier, does that mean that the capacity is approximately 10.75% less? I am planning on trying 25 grains of WC-844 in these cases as that would be approximately 10.75% less powder than used in the LC-85’s. Does this sound like something that might produce the same velocity as the LC-85 cases or is this not a likely scenario? I do have a chronograph, but I was just curious before taking the chrony to my range. Thanks…BCB
Well, with the disclaimer out of the way, I was shooting my T/C Contender, 16” barrel, 223 Remington today. I was using 28.0 grains of WC-844 and the 40 V-Max bullet. I consider 28 grains of this powder to be MAXIMUM—but I may be wrong with that thought. Maybe it should be MAXIMUM PRUDENT load!
I was originally using LC-85 cases and decided to load a box of PMP (not PMC) with the same load. To my range I went to fine tune the point-of-impact out to 200 yards so I can use this Contender for ‘chucks as the summer progresses. I got the handgun shooting exceptionally well with the LC-85 cases. As a matter of fact, I shot my first “bug hole” at 100 yards with it today. Might just frame that group! I was doing some casual shooting at plastic soda bottles filled with water using the LC-85 and PMP cases. I noticed quickly that I was not doing as well with the PMP cases—bullet impact always seemed high. So I placed a target at 200 yards and sure enough, it was over 2” high and an inch to the right—the LC-85’s were zeroed at 200 yards. Contenders can be discouraging at times—just the nature of this beast I think—and I was a bit bummed out. So I came home and decided to weigh the cases. Knowledge that exists in my brain but is sometimes forgotten!
Here seems to be the problem. The PMP cases were 10.75% heavier than the LC-85’s! I suspect the 28 grain charge in these cases would be OVER MAXIMUM. Luckily I only fired a few of them, although they didn’t show any blatant signs of pressure. Since these cases are 10.75% heavier, does that mean that the capacity is approximately 10.75% less? I am planning on trying 25 grains of WC-844 in these cases as that would be approximately 10.75% less powder than used in the LC-85’s. Does this sound like something that might produce the same velocity as the LC-85 cases or is this not a likely scenario? I do have a chronograph, but I was just curious before taking the chrony to my range. Thanks…BCB