Max Charge Discrepancies Between Hodgdon and Hornady

Reloading
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Hey guys, hope you all are well.

Question for you: I typically load for other calibers, but am just starting with 308. I notice that for a 180 gr. SST bullet, the hornady manual says the max load is 42.4 for Varget. But the Hodgdon website says that the max load is 45.0.

Likewise, for a 165 gr. bullet (in this case the Berger Classic Hunter), Hornady says max load for Varget is 44.0, but the Hodgdon website says the max load is 45.0.

Wondering which one I should trust on this?

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I noticed the same thing a couple of years ago between Barnes data, and Hodgdon. In that particular case the Barnes data was about three grains higher for Max load.

Some of that can be explained by COAL. If one company is loading to a shorter COAL, then the amount room available for powder is less therefore the max is less.

Also, different companies use different equipment and techniques to come up with load data.

Always best to play it safe and start off low and then work up. I typically never load at Max load anyway so in your particular case if it were me, I would start off a grain or so below the lowest Max, and if I really felt like I needed to try to get extra velocity I could test slowly up to a grain or so below the larger Max.

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Thanks Carter, you’re always helpful! That makes good sense.

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That does happen sometimes and I just go with the lower of the two. But perhaps there were other differences like the primer being used?

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Different brass would also do the same thing potentially

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When reloading a prudent person starts low and works up to the powder charge that works best. I for one, don’t trust much of anything that Hornady says but then again I shoot for accuracy not velocity. I load up to the maximum shown, but watch for pressure issues and if they rear their ugly head I back off or try a different powder. Safety is up to you and in most reloading manuals there is a disclaimer hidden somewhere that says that the loads are guidelines and max loads are to be approached with caution and disclaimers as well as warnings about exceeding the published maximum powder charge.