Factory Loads

[NORMAN]

Ok, one more question for you guys. is there a place to find what type powder and min / max loads are for factory ammo like Remmington 115gr fmj etc. ??
Or what their loads actually are ??

[WildBill]

Most manufacturers keep their formulas for "factory loads" proprietary. Otherwise why would you need to buy their factory loads when you could make your own? Sometimes they use powder and bullets that aren't available to the reloader. A search of several reloading manuals should yield an equivalent to what you are seeking.

[ghostrider]

I think a few factory loads use canister powders, but that's not generally the case. The best you can do is chronograph the factory load and then chronograph handloads using the same bullet.

One of the reasons I pick Speer Gold Dot factory ammo over (any) Federal load is that I can buy Gold Dots as components and duplicate (to some degree) the factory ammo.

[CDH]

Your smaller ammo makers probably use a commercially available powder, but the really big guys (Remington, Federal, etc.) are more likely to use a custom blend. Think of how big of a batch the powder guys make at a time, and how many companies can use that much at a time.

In reality, it doesn't matter. There are only a few very new cartridges that can't be duplicated or bettered ballistically, and if you can do that, who cares if it's the same powder. The only thing hard to replicate when handloading is the lead free super clean ammo. Luckily, down here just about no one cares about lead free ammo except the waterfowl hunters...

[HankB]

Some of my old Winchester loading manuals indicate that "Powder XXX is the factory powder for Cartridge YYY" but otherwise, ammo companies tend to keep a lid on their formulas.

Cor-Bon for years claimed to used a proprietary powder that produced low flash and high velocity, and Hornady Light Magnum and Heavy Magnum loads are said to use a powder that's not available to handloaders plus a proprietary loading technique (think compressed loads) to get higher-than-standard velocity. Federal's High Energy loads are thought to use a VihtaVouri 500-series powder, and some of their Gold Medal Match rifle ammo was rumored to use a non-cannister grade of IMR4064 for a while.

. . . The only thing hard to replicate when handloading is the lead free super clean ammo. Luckily, down here just about no one cares about lead free ammo except the waterfowl hunters...

Actually, it's not so much the waterfowlers, as it is the game wardens. . .