Universal Loads

[StrawHat]

A thread on a different forum caused me to pause and think. When I get a new revolver, I usually try it out with a proven load and adjust the sights accordingly. Over there, apparently you need to wring out every combination of powder, boolit, primer and lube before considering declaring it "THE" load for the handgun. ANd it seems each handgun has to have it's own preferred load. My personal belief is after all the years I have been handloading, there really is a universal load for each cartridge I happen to own. Perhaps I am just lucky but I have found a few loads that seem to work in all my revolvers chambered for the same cartridge. 38 Special, 45 ACP, 45 AR, and 45 long Colt all have one or two universal loads. Not saying there couldn't be other out there but with a new handgun chambered for one of those, I have a couple of favorite recipes to try and usually use one of them. Maybe I am just being lazy?

I am still looking for a universal load for the 32 WCF from a couple of S&W M&P models.

[hardy]

Hi, Bin there ,done that.My latest toy had over 70,yes SEVENTY,different loads tried in it to provide suitable accuracy with no leading and guess what ?The same old load I,ve used for 25 years was the winner!!!.Some may ask why it took so much effort to achieve this result.Well it,s called the eternal search for perfection.And there it was all the time,right under my schnozz but you know how it is,so many loads,so little time.....Oh,and it,s so much fun,if you have the time!!!! To each their own, Good luck,Mike

[telebasher]

Sometimes its better to take a load that shoots say 2-21/2 groups @ 25 yds and load and shoot a couple thousand of them and discover now that load will stay in an 1-11/2 inches @ 25 yds. Funny how that works sometimes.

[paul h]

I'm partial to universal loads, as they seem to hold true more than not. The other advantage of such loads is they give you a good baseline for testing new guns. Typcially if a gun won't shoot your universal load, it'll either be a real PITA to find a load for, or might never give top accuracy.

[Catshooter]

They're absolutley right, that is if a .9875 group is way better than a .9876.

Doesn't concern me much.


Cat

[fatelk]

I used to fall for that game, the search for the perfect load. Now I just want a good load that will work well in most everything. Some folks enjoy the hunt; experimenting with every different combination to get a slight improvement. I found that I do not enjoy it.

If you have the time and do enjoy it, or are into serious competition, by all means have at it. And if you are generous enough to post your results, the rest of us can learn from your experience. Thank you.:)

[MikeS]

If you have the time and do enjoy it, or are into serious competition, by all means have at it. And if you are generous enough to post your results, the rest of us can learn from your experience. Thank you.:)

The problem with the idea that somebody can do all sorts of testing, then somebody else can take the end results, and just 'run with it' is flawed. I mean sure, there are some loads that are generally fairly accurate, like the 38 Spec load of 2.7gr BE with a wadcutter boolit, but if you're waiting for somebody to do load testing with their 30-06 rifle trying to find the load that gives them .5" 100 yard groups, don't think it will do the same in your 30-06, as every gun is different, and without going thru the same load development as the first person did you're not going to find 'the' load for your rifle.

Personally I'm not all that much into testing dozens of loads, I have a few loads I use for the guns I have, and for the most part I'm happy. Could they be improved if I did lots of testing? Sure, I'm sure they can, but I'm lazy, and 'good enough' works for me.

[runfiverun]

how's this for lazy.
for just about every temperature and rifle load combo [from the 300 savage through the x57 family to the 30-06 case size] i use a nominal boolit weight and 17 or 18 grs of 2400.
simple and easy and i don't have to change either of the powder measures.

[btroj]

Like Run i use lots of 2400 in rifle cases. 300 savage to 30-06 all are between 17 and 20 gr.

I have a load tha works well in both my 45 Colt Blackhawk and my Marlin 1894.

I don't think,it is as much a case of wanting to know what then"universal" load is for someone else, I want to know what it is for me!

I don't intend to rush put and buy a bunch of Reddot to load in rifle cases, it isn't the powder I want to use.

A large part of why I do all this castingg and reloading is to find what works for ME. Sadly, I am not real interested in trying to do what everyone else does. I may take bots and pieces of it but to duplicate what anyone else does whole scale? Never.

[StrawHat]

The problem with the idea that somebody can do all sorts of testing, then somebody else can take the end results, and just 'run with it' is flawed. I mean sure, there are some loads that are generally fairly accurate, like the 38 Spec load of 2.7gr BE with a wadcutter boolit, but if you're waiting for somebody to do load testing with their 30-06 rifle trying to find the load that gives them .5" 100 yard groups, don't think it will do the same in your 30-06, as every gun is different, and without going thru the same load development as the first person did you're not going to find 'the' load for your rifle.

Personally I'm not all that much into testing dozens of loads, I have a few loads I use for the guns I have, and for the most part I'm happy. Could they be improved if I did lots of testing? Sure, I'm sure they can, but I'm lazy, and 'good enough' works for me.

I remember when rifles were a test unto themselves, bores were off sized or uneven, chambers different from one rifle to another (among the same brand, not switching brands) etc. And components were not all that great either. Then, finding "THE" load was necessary. But manufacturers have tightened specifications and made all sorts of improvements in bedding and sight attachments. Getting spectacular improvements over a universal load is not all that easy. Several ammunition companies offer target loads, not only for 38 Special but 308, 30-06, 6.5x55, and other rifle cartridges. That is primarily what got me thinking about universal loads. That, and the fact that all of my revolvers seem to work with what recipes worked in other revolvers chambered for the same cartridge.

Glad to see others are having the same experience.

[fatelk]

If you have the time and do enjoy it, or are into serious competition, by all means have at it. And if you are generous enough to post your results, the rest of us can learn from your experience. Thank you.
The problem with the idea that somebody can do all sorts of testing, then somebody else can take the end results, and just 'run with it' is flawed.
You are correct of course, as it applies to specific precise loads for individual guns. My comment was meant in a more general sense. I learn stuff all the time here from reading about other folk's experimentation, techniques, tests and such.

I just don't have the time or interest in fiddling around with a hundred different techniques, loads, powders, molds and such if I don't have to. Some people do and they enjoy it. I always appreciate when they find something that works better and share what they've learned.

[unclebill]

I used to fall for that game, the search for the perfect load. Now I just want a good load that will work well in most everything. Some folks enjoy the hunt; experimenting with every different combination to get a slight improvement. I found that I do not enjoy it.

If you have the time and do enjoy it, or are into serious competition, by all means have at it. And if you are generous enough to post your results, the rest of us can learn from your experience. Thank you.:)

me too
after spending tons of time ,money and effort i did find very very accurate loads for a few of my rifles.
but for my wheelguns i didnt go quite as crazy with testing.
so now i have a few proven recipes written down and i pretty much stick with them.
i dont wanna make it such a pain that i actually hate reloading.

[mdi]

Yep, sometimes the "each gun is unique" thought can be taken too far...

[Texantothecore]

Specifications as so tight these days that I woud suspect that the FBI database on bullet prints are much less valuable than it was when it was started. Most pistols never see 1,000 rounds according to Glock.

[BruceB]

Yep, sometimes the "each gun is unique" thought can be taken too far...


Amen....... five .223s, six .30-06 rifles, three .308s, two .338s, seven .38 Specials, three .357s (AFTER thinning the herd), , multiple 9mm, .44 and .45 guns......the ramifications get VERY complex, and I ain't a-gonna do it!

My personal term for the all-gun general-use loads is "generic".

[garym1a2]

If it's a handgun in 9mm, 40SW or 45acp just give it 4gr for bullseye and you will have a decent accurate plinking load in most applications.

[fatelk]

I did find one place where I couldn't use the same load in two guns of the same caliber. I found a very accurate load for my Remington 700 in .223 using Hornady 50gr SX bullets.

I bought my one and only AR15 and decided to see how it would do as far as accuracy. I fiddled around for a couple hours at the range one afternoon without a single bullet hitting a single target, even at 25 yards. It was like they were disintegrating in mid air. I finally realized that the light, high velocity, thin-jacketed varmint bullets shot out of a fast-twist barrel might just have been disintegrating in mid air. I finally tried some regular old SP bullets and the darn thing shot nearly as good as my Remington.

[williamwaco]

A thread on a different forum caused me to pause and think. When I get a new revolver, I usually try it out with a proven load and adjust the sights accordingly. Over there, apparently you need to wring out every combination of powder, boolit, primer and lube before considering declaring it "THE" load for the handgun. ANd it seems each handgun has to have it's own preferred load. My personal belief is after all the years I have been handloading, there really is a universal load for each cartridge I happen to own.


Hat,

My experience agrees with yours.

I have been loading revolvers since 1956 and autos since 1970.

I nearly always experiment around because I enjoy it. That said, I nearly always come back to the same old loads - tried and true.

Some people are more interested in the process of loading than in shooting the results.

I can sympathize with that predilection because I have a little of it myself. I checked my database, and I have loaded and tested 64 different loads in the .38 special in the past two years. About half that many in the .357.

In the end, I am still more interested in the shooting than the loading. and I have only one go-to .38 special load and two in the .357 ( Same loads for all guns. )


.

[1Shirt]

2400 is my first go to for cast rifle and heavy revolver loads. For lighter loads I go with unique and blue dot for both.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[Lance Boyle]

I did find one place where I couldn't use the same load in two guns of the same caliber. I found a very accurate load for my Remington 700 in .223 using Hornady 50gr SX bullets.

I bought my one and only AR15 and decided to see how it would do as far as accuracy. I fiddled around for a couple hours at the range one afternoon without a single bullet hitting a single target, even at 25 yards. It was like they were disintegrating in mid air. I finally realized that the light, high velocity, thin-jacketed varmint bullets shot out of a fast-twist barrel might just have been disintegrating in mid air. I finally tried some regular old SP bullets and the darn thing shot nearly as good as my Remington.

[smilie=1:

LOL, I recall in my box of Hornady super explosives that there was a little tag of paper with an upper speed limt that kept me from using them in my .22-250, I ended up using them years later in a .223 and .222

sometimes I find my reloading habits can be like solving a puzzle, once it's solved I don't go back and redo the puzzle too often.

[Char-Gar]

There are different kinds of handloaders and shooters and what suits one won't suit another.

1. Some folks get pleasure out of experimenting with every variable and trying to wring every last little big of accuracy out of their firearms. It is what they enjoy doing and there certainly is nothing wrong with doing so.

2. Other folks find the "generic" loads plenty good enough for them and will deliver all the accuracy they want and need. They have no interest in spending countless hours, days and months trying every combination of components and variables. There is certainly nothing wrong with doing so.

I belong to No. 2 above.

What is wrong is when either 1 or 2 start being critical of the other and thinking their way is THE WAY to do things. We see this all to often on this board.