How does 55 grains of H-4831 a 150 grain nosler partition RP brass and a rem 9 1/2 large rifle primer sound?

I’ve been loading this load for my dads 280 for 15 +\- years, never had pressure signs never even stiff bolt lift. Tonight I was working on loading him up some more ammo and noticed the load listed on the Hodgdon bottle was a max of 53.7 grains. He had 9 rounds left from the last run I loaded him so I weighed them and all seemed to be agree with a 55 grain charge, so I pulled one down and sure enough exactly 55 grains. So I checked every source I have, the bottle, Hodgdon data center, one caliber one book, nosler manual etc all list the same max 53.7.

Does anyone show any different data? I don’t remember my original work up for this load, but I sure don’t remember it being over mad at all.

Thanks

Data from older books will often show a higher charge than new data. The term “lawyer proof” comes to mind. You may have had old data available when you originally loaded it. Also people who load using data as a guideline often find themselves above book max. Every chamber is different. There was a discussion here in the last few days about large chambers requiring much more powder to achieve the same pressure. I believe Kmon1 explained this rather well in his post.

^^Agreed.

I know of many, many loads that are well above published maximum. A "safe" load can vary from rifle to rifle. And many sources water down their powder charge. Berger, for instance, is the most conservative I know of. What they call maximum is where Judd and myself begin, and work up from there.

So the answer to your first question. That load sounds just fine, since it is working well.

There’s your data. Nosler #6. 2007 printing.

Ok iPhone X. How do I get the image there? My 6 worked fine.

PM me your number and I’ll send the page if you want it. It list 55g as max 2966fps with 93% case fill. 150g partition. Remington 210s with Remington case. 26” lilja barrel.

Also keep in mind that the 280 was originally loaded in the Remington auto loader and they set max pressure lower due to that so most data max is based off lower pressure than say 270 Winchester.
I would guess if there was data for the powder I run in my 280 I would also be well over max based on the fact speeds I am getting with 175 gr are on par with factory 7 mag loads

Got your message, thanks again. That is the nosler data I have, you will not the 55 grain charge is for IMR-4831.

Like others have said I don't have an issue with the load since it shoots well and has been functioning well for years, I was just taken by surprise a little when I noticed it was almost 2 grains over max.

Glad you got the picture. I just saw the book in my reloading room and scanned it for that bullet with 4831. Didn’t notice the IMR instead of H. This just proves don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Or at least that I post.

I did the same thing last night, finally decided I needed to stop and get to bed, that alarm comes early in the morning.

I’m 4.1 grains over max, according to Nosler. I’m not phased by that, a bit.

I guess being over max doesn't bother me, I just like to know when im there. My 243 load is over max as well. At the time I worked this load up I feel confident it was not over the max load, now im wondering. Did they ease up on the load data since I did this? Did I mess up and put h4831 instead of IMR like the load in the book? Who knows, maybe I should keep better records... I was like 12 years old when I started this though.

There's a lot of loads that I use that will go over "book max". But is it really over true max pressure. No.

For example, if you look at most 6.5 Creedmoor data, the book load data is very light and has 140 grain bullets running about 2650-2700 as book max. Everyone knows you can easily and safely push the 140's up to 2750 fps, or a little faster. But the book data is 50-100 fps slower. It's "safe" load data.

https://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/280-remington/

Nosler on line data says 56 is max.

Good to know, thanks for sharing... I swore I checked their site, but maybe I didn't because I had an older version of the nosler manual and it didn't list H4831 or 4831SC

IMR 4350 is my powder of choice, for my 280.

I'm running 160 partitions over 54 grains of H4831SC in my 280. I have load data that goes up to 59 grains for the 160. I stopped at 54 because I could cover the groups with a nickle and didn't feel chasing extra FPS was needed.

As Dstroud indicated, you can run the 280 up close to 7 mag levels. Mine has enough recoil in my 700 Mountain Rifle set up for me!

You know what... now that you say that I think that is how I came to the conclusion that my original load was safe. I couldn't find any data for 4831 and 150's but found some for the 160's and figured it would be more than safe.

Im also loading for a 700 mountain rifle. Its a joy to carry around and very compact, but does tend to have a little more felt recoil than other guns.

DStroud is a good one to listen to.
Before I made my 280 into an Ackley I had a good load worked up for it with 160 Accubonds. I was using 4831SC and had it pretty close to max. The load was very accurate and worked well on elk. Still use that powder and bullet with the Ackley. Good luck.


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