40-82 loading data

[Kyle B.]

I just got a model 1885 in 40-82. I'm really looking forward to shooting it and have ordered some 265 grain
lead bullets. I've got a lot of H-322 powder which I think would be an excellent powder for this caliber but I can't find any data for it. Does anybody have some data for this powder. It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,Kyle

[Larryo-1]

I don't usually tell folks what to do but in this case I think that I will. I have 3 40-82 rifles and love them all. Back in the mid 80's I was working up loading data for them and the rifle that I used for all my testing was a single shot rolling block custom that I had made. When I got done with my testing there were a few powders that were very good but H-322 was not one of them. In this case, I used a paper-patched 260 grain bullet. All the loads that I tested with this powder were wild, with high variations in velocities. Were I you, even though you say you have alot of this stuff, I would try 5744,3031,or 4895 which gave me some pretty good results. But here again--these were what I came up with and from my standpoint, I would not recommend H-322 in my rifle. Hope this helps you a bit.

[jorgy]

In my Marlin 1895 I shoot a 280 grain cast bullet with a gas check. The load I found that works the best for me is 36 grains of IMR3031 gunpowder. In the 40-82 barrels it helps a lot if
slug your barrels. Accuracy will be improved.

[geobru]

Kyle,
I've been working on finding accurate loads for my 40-82 since 2008, and have tried several types of powder. I agree with what Larryo-1 said about 5744, 3031, and 4895. I'd add Reloader 7 and H-4198 to the list too. I have had good results with all of them, but I favor 5744, 3031, and RL-7.

That being said, Mike Venturino published several loads using H-322 in a Reloader 96 article printed in 1982. He used bullets that weighed 255, 280 and 300 grains. The powder charges ranged from 30 to 33 grains, and velocities were from 1349 to 1550. He used cornmeal as a filler in all of the loads that were accurate. He documented the problems with hangfires and lack of accuracy with unfillered loads that he tried in that test.

Start low and work up a load for your rifle. Be sure to chrony the test loads so you know how they are doing in your gun. Have fun!

[Kyle B.]

Thanks for your replies. I have some 4198 and 4895 and will start with those. Thanks again, Kyle

[Mike D.]

Getting mine to load is still a work in progress, but 42 grains 4198 is a start.

[Larryo-1]

Using 4198 for a starter is good. The most accurate charge that I came up with using that 260 grain paper-patched bullet was 23.0 grains of 4198 and a tuft of kapok on the powder. It chronographed at 1322fps and was still 1160fps at 100 yards. the SD was 34 fps. the next most accurate was 28.0 grains with kapok on the powder. It came in at 1526fps with an SD 0f only 1fps. Now I may get flack for stating that I used kapok as a filler but for ME it works great. I have used it for many years with no adverse effects. I don't use much--just enough to keep the powder on the primer.

[Larryo-1]

One more thought in passing. Be sure to slug that barrel. 40-82 barrels seem to have a very wide variance in bore diameters---anywhere from 0.403 out to 0.409. when you get the right measurements and get the right bullet you will get the best results. Also, if you have access to the Greenhill formula on bullet length/barrel twist, etc, you will find that there is only one length of bullet that will work the best. For example--- The Lyman bullet mold # 403169 is based on that Greenhill equation and it is really the only one that works. I found that anything longer will tumble. You can vary the weight of this bullet by varying alloys however I found that---again---for me--an alloy of 16:1 works the best. I got that recipie off an original box of ammo that is on the back of the box.

[Kyle B.]

Thanks for the information. I did slug the barrel [408] and ordered [410] 265 grain bullets from Beartooth. I don't cast bullets and hope these work. Your 28 grain load of 4198 is very close to what others have recommended. Thanks for your attention. Kyle