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O/T - Re W 748 powder ageing? Any experience?

I

Ian Beale

Member
I did a fair bit of shooting with a .308W, which lapsed after about 1990. Reloads were for accuracy, so not full power, with local 150gr softpoints.

A son has just started using the rest of these loads in the same rifle and we're getting over-presures like loose primers.

Cases are centre flash and Australian military double flash. Loads have had their share of hot summers.

Any clues? TIA
 
Ian, different brass, slightly deeper seating, different bullets or primers can all lead to unexpectedly higher pressure signs. So can different powder measures or a scale that got bumped over the years. I've never heard of powder deteriorating where there wasn't an odor or appearance change.

Re-reading you post I get the impression it's loaded rounds. If so, it's not unheard of for bullets and brass to "weld" themselves together in the neck area. And if the stored rounds have been subject to vibration the powder can be crushed to finer, hotter burning particles.

I disassemble a few rounds and see if anything appears to have happened.
 
Suggest you wamder over to reloadbench.com

They have a bb there with lots of knowledgable folks. Post your question there.

I would suggest you start with some fresh factory loads, see what happens there.
Need to be careful when pressures rise, and things start happening.
 
"military double flash"?

Are you saying you're loading Berdan-primed cases using Boxer primers? I don't think that's a good idea.

When in doubt, pull the bullets and start over. I doubt the powder has gone bad, but you can dump it on your grass as fertilizer.
 
I reload a lot 30.06 243 308 300 win/mag 22
hornet 222 270's ..Sounds like something has
changed? Were primers orginally crimped in
like some military brass? Are the primers the
same as You used befor. How many rounds have
been run threw the casing? Are you reloading
them or is your Son Doing it?? If they were
Pre Loaded for a long time & were compressed
loads it's possible, but from your Post they
were Not compressed loads...
 
RCBS makes an inertia bullet puller that looks like a plastic hammer. i finally got one and that things works great to pull the bullets and save them without damage.
 
I agree with Bret4207 about "cold welding" as it's called. It can create a quite strong bond between the bullet and case neck. The easiest way to see if you have it is to pull some bullets and see how hard they come out. If they come out very hard, or won't move at all you've got cold welding. If that's the case, the way to pull them is to reseat the bullets slightly deeper to break the bond. Doesn't take much, even a sixteenth of an inch will do.
 
powder can get old,also lots of rough handling over the years could have caused this. the time of year and the the temp at what you originally tested your load could also be a factor. dont forget,underloading can also cause all these signs also so if powder has deteriorated that could be the problem.its called detonation. MY OWN advice, pull the bullets and reload using fresh powder, dont try to shoot them up. just too many variables to really say what the problem is.
 
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