New to reloading playing with 8208xbr

[Zeneffect]

Been using the published information as sort of a speed limiter to let the chrono tell me when danger is approaching before pressure signs appear on the brass.

Is it normal that I'll be hitting speeds of published max charge way before? For example, at 27.3g of 8208xbr I see primers start to get a little flatter but factory loaded ammo is producing a markedly flatter primer so i dont think this is anything to worry about yet.. speed is approaching 2550fps, well over 150fps than what I was expecting.

Barrel is a criterion 22" bolt is a jp, all powder is weighed 3x before going into the case with accuracy to .01gr. Hornady brass, 123gr eldm, cci 41 primer

Group was 1/2 moa I'm not the best shooter so might be better, sd 1.73, es 4. Coal 2.260

Am I wise to just stop here or continue to work up towards published max? I keep reading with xbr you are fine and then you aren't so im taking an extra cautious approach and would like some experienced feedback.

Thanks all for being awesome.

[37L1]

That's pretty good results. 1/2 MOA, ES of 4 and 2550 FPS.

What do you think the odds are of happening first?

1. Find a better group/ES-SD in .7 - 1.0 Grains

or

2. Excessive pressure?

[Happy2Shoot]

What publisher what is the max?

[Happy2Shoot]

Group was 1/2 moa I'm not the best shooter so might be better, sd 1.73, es 4. Coal 2.260

What?

[Zeneffect]

Also not sure what to expect. I'm willing to give up a little sd and es for more speed but safety is first and not willing to compromise that.

[Zeneffect]

Publisher is grendel reloading handbook vol2

Also have the hornady vol 10

Cfe223 shows a similar thing. 30.6 puts me at 2600 but es and sd not good until approaching 31gr. Primers and brass look fine but the speed is scary to me.

[37L1]

CFE 223 and 8208 XBR do not behave the same. My experience has been that you are maxing with 8208 when you go a little over 28.0 pushing 123 grains. It does have a tendency to give an impressive pressure spike. That will work your brass and loosen your primer pockets over a shorter period of time. It's a great powder for 123 and lighter when you respect its tendencies. How much better/faster do you think you are going to get than what you already have? What type of shooting are you planning to do?

If it were me, I would be happy with that 27.3 load. The only thing I "might" play with is seating depth and at 2.260 you would only have the option to go shorter to mag feed, so maybe not.

It would depend on what your .5 MOA group looks like. . .

[StoneHendge]

Your barrel sounds a lot like my 22" JP. Low 27s are it's max with XBR and 30.8 is it's max with CFE with 123s and velocities comparable to what others get with significantly more powder. It's pretty much the case with all powders. It's not a bad thing - in fact it saves a few bucks on powder in this environment!

[A5BLASTER]

Been using the published information as sort of a speed limiter to let the chrono tell me when danger is approaching before pressure signs appear on the brass.

Is it normal that I'll be hitting speeds of published max charge way before? For example, at 27.3g of 8208xbr I see primers start to get a little flatter but factory loaded ammo is producing a markedly flatter primer so i dont think this is anything to worry about yet.. speed is approaching 2550fps, well over 150fps than what I was expecting.

Barrel is a criterion 22" bolt is a jp, all powder is weighed 3x before going into the case with accuracy to .01gr. Hornady brass, 123gr eldm, cci 41 primer

Group was 1/2 moa I'm not the best shooter so might be better, sd 1.73, es 4. Coal 2.260

Am I wise to just stop here or continue to work up towards published max? I keep reading with xbr you are fine and then you aren't so im taking an extra cautious approach and would like some experienced feedback.

Thanks all for being awesome.

Stop where your at and enjoy that load.

Never sacrifice tight sd/es numbers and tight groups for a few more fps on the average velocity chart.

[biodsl]

Cfe223 shows a similar thing. 30.6 puts me at 2600 but es and sd not good until approaching 31gr. Primers and brass look fine but the speed is scary to me.

CFE is an overachiever!

[DCC83501]

home run first time at the plate! hard to argue those results. don't know that moving off those numbers would be a good thing.

[Zeneffect]

Oh nice it worked. Here is another but 27.5, not sure if flier is me or what but es and sd opened up.



Honestly I need to rework the 26gr range I think looking at the chrono data. Save some powder, not shit my pants. Sounds like a good plan in my head.

[Zeneffect]

And my first post disappeared.

Interesting...



Slight vertical stringing with 27.3