Old hot loads?
We all know old loading manuals can have higher listed max loads then newer books. But a few years ago I inherited my father in-laws guns and reloading supplies and one of his loads has me questioning if I should try it.
Clearly he used it but Eddie was definitely a "more power" type of guy. In his old 45th Lyman loading manual (1970) he made a note saying 23.0 gr of Herco 2400 with a Sierra 240 gr JHP was the most accurate for hunting and silhouette shooting in his Ruger Blackhawk. FYI I have the same powder(still good, stored correctly), bullets and guns.
Now I loaded the Sierra #8610s with 20.5 gr of the same 2400 and find them a solid magnum load that is very accurate.
Do you think 23.0 gr of Herco 2400 is safe to shoot??
The Lee 2nd addition manual shows a max charge of 18.7 gr.
I once ran a 300 grain bullet in a .45 Colt to 1800 and 1805 FPS from old load data. The second shot was because I though "mY cHrONOgraPh Can'T bE rIght".
I got lucky. Don't do it.