Posted: 21 October 2009 at 14:11 | IP Logged

Taz;

Got most of the elements, but not all. 

Hornady 162 grain pointed bullet, IMR4831, 2700 fps at 49.6 grains.  Load developed in a Remington 700 with a 22" 1:10 twist barrel.  All loads use Remington brass and Winchester WLR primers.  Hornady lists three 162 grain pointy types.  The SST, product #28452, the A-Max #28402, and the boat tail spire point, ie interlock, #2845.

Speer has four 160 grain bullets, all pointy.  They are:  1. #1634 a boat tailed spire point; #1635, a spitzer; #1637, the Mag-Tip, and #1638, the Grand Slam.  The gun used was a Ruger M77 MkII with a 24" barrel.  All cases are again Remington, but the primers are, of course, CCI 200.  Speer says that 52 grains of IMR4831 give 2686 in the Ruger, and 54 grains give 2808 fps.  Those are min/max also.  The lab notes specifically advise going below min load with this powder.  If you need less velocity, use a different powder, as wide variations in pressure can and do occur with reduced charges.

Nosler has two 160 grain bullets, both pointy.  They use a 26" test barrel, not an actual rifle.  However, their powder charges for IMR4831 are 51 at the bottom & 55 grains at the top.  The velocities are right up there, but that's not surprising with a 26" barrel and a minimum chamber.  The velocities aren't real world, I feel that Speer's are probably close to real world with a 24" barrel.  But, I also wouldn't be surprised if you used Speer charges & got Hornady velocity.

If you do have round-nose bullets, reduce to min charge & work up carefully.  The RN will almost certainly have a longer bearing surface & therefore give higher pressures with the same charges.

900F