Bought a variety of rounds from my reloading supplier and I'm trying some 225gr lead bullets.
I don't have load data for exactly a 225gr round. I am comparing 200gr and 230gr lead loadings. It seems like 5.1gr of Win231 is at the high end for Lee and the start charge for Hornady and in the middle for Speer.
Does 5.1gr of Win231 sound OK for this bullet?
One trick I have learned is to use data for the next HEAVIER bullet when in this situation.
Looking at the online Hodgdon/Winchester/IMR guide, I see hat a max load for a 230 grain bullet is 5.3 of HP38.
I have used 4.5 to 5.0 of HP38 with excellent results. I'd recommend backing down to 4.5 to 4.8 to start, and work up from there.
Hiding in plain sight....
Thanks Powderman!
I use a 225 grain with 5.0grn of bullseye and have had good luck
It's always OK to use a lighter bullet than your data lists.
Pick one of your books, Lee or Hornady or Speer.
Doesn't matter which one you choose,
just pick the one with data you like the best.
Follow that book faithfully, including OAL.
The value of more than one book is to have choice.
But once you make your choice, be faithful to it.
I wound up starting with 4.6gr of Win231 (closest disk in my powder dispenser) and it worked well. No signs of overpressure. I've got 40 rounds loaded up for this weekends match with my standard FMJ loading as backup.
ants - I struggle with that. I find Lee to have a wider variety, but it is VERY conservative while Hornady and Speer are more aggressive but tailored to their bullet offerings.
What's the next disk larger? 4.6 grains 231 with a 225 lead bullet is a light load. It will surely shoot nicely as long as it cycles the slide. I bet it's plenty accurate enough but may hit an inch or two high on the target. No big deal, you'll see when you shoot it. If it works but you want more velocity and a bit lower on the target, you can go up higher with that bullet, no sweat.
I hear ya on those book offerings. Really hard to figure it out sometimes. For what its worth, Lee compiled their book 10 years ago by calling powder manufacturers and asking for their lab data. Lee doesn't own a lab, never tested anything. It's conservative, to be sure, but it comes from the powder manufacturers themselves. If anyone wants a wide variety of nice conservative loads, some with obscure powders and even obsolete powders, with lots of different bullet weights, Lee is a good resource. It just doesn't give you any extra footnotes like bullet profile or anything.
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