New to reloading, any software or app recommendations?

[zrockstar]

Basically looking to punch in some bullet, powder, and barrel specs to come up with some ideal loads. For example, is there anything where you can put in 26" barrel, 1:9 RH twist, Nosler 69gr competition, and it will spit out some recommended powder and loads? I just started last week and loaded up my first batch which fired nicely. I am not comfortable playing around varying my powder loads yet with out specific calculations from a trusted resource.

[maxx03]

http://www.neconos.com/details3.htm

[waveslayer]

http://www.neconos.com/details3.htm

Amen. It's called Quick Load, but you must tune it like a ballistics app. Or else you will get yourself into trouble.

My wife thinks I only have 3 guns

[zrockstar]

Awesome, thanks. To be honest, the site isn't very encouraging looking for a software company, is it worth the $150?

[zrockstar]

...you must tune it like a ballistics app. Or else you will get yourself into trouble.

What do you mean by that wave? I am pretty new to all of this. Trying to do it as safe as possible.

[waveslayer]

Basically looking to punch in some bullet, powder, and barrel specs to come up with some ideal loads. For example, is there anything where you can put in 26" barrel, 1:9 RH twist, Nosler 69gr competition, and it will spit out some recommended powder and loads? I just started last week and loaded up my first batch which fired nicely. I am not comfortable playing around varying my powder loads yet with out specific calculations from a trusted resource.

Trusted sources are reloading manuals.

And what I mean is this. You must tune your reloads from Quick Load, which we call QL , you must adjust the burn rates for the powder, velocity, OAL, etc.. Stick to reloading manuals and study up on doing OCW tests and finding your max charges

My wife thinks I only have 3 guns

[someoneeasy]

If you don't feel comfortable yet, stick to loads in the book until you have a better understanding of everything.

[GILMORE619]

For 150$ you could buy a whole bunch of reloading books. Internet searches can lead you in the right direction for what powders will work with your bullet. I have never used quick load but I have a friend who does and I've had him run numbers for me. Nosler has loading info on their web page. I've used there info to work up a hunting load for 300WSM. I'd rather spend 100$ on a chrono and work up my own load.

[freonr22]

Ammoguide.com. calguns anchor

[zrockstar]

Alright guys, I think I will stick to the book until I get more comfortable and meet some fellow reloaders for guidance. Thanks for the tips.

[dwalker]

I use reloaders assistant to store my load data, results, notes, etc and to help figure my per round cost

[someoneeasy]

Also, whats your end goal here with reloading? You might not ever need the software. Once you get familiar with reloading, you potentially could fine tune your loads or you might find that you're happy with the first load you try out and see no need to change it.

There are definitely things I rather spend $150 on instead of some software. Powder, primers, lead, chrono, etc will do a lot more for me than a program that I might use for a few days.

[Dooder]

Editing my post, I overlooked that you're new. I'd go off books for a while until you're ready to start experimenting or get into wildcats.

Nosler has their manual online for free.

[stilly]

What do you mean by that wave? I am pretty new to all of this. Trying to do it as safe as possible.

I think he means it AINT exactly user-friendly. The learning curve might be a bit steep for some folks.

You can not just say to it- Give me a readout for .44 mag with 200gr pills and 23gr of H-110 powder.

It really wants to know more about projectiles and if you punch in the wrong things you could be a bit off in the real world.

It wants to know the vector of the pecker and the angle of the dangle before it gives you the gasses of the asses...

Stick with books for now. When you become a bullet surgeon and start venturing off into unknown territory THEN maybe it is time to get some software.

There was also a HUGE compilation of reloading manuals/load data that I grabbed once. Seemed like it was combined from a lot of books and published data, but it was in Excel and some other formats, but it was very nice and made things pretty convenient.

And I STILL use the BoLee and BoLy...

[ar15barrels]

The great thing about quickload is that it will let you see how different factors effect pressure/velocity without even having to load/fire/chrono anything.
Once you REALLY learn how it works, you will be able to do great work with it.
It is daunting in the beginning and it is probably NOT a good thing for a beginning reloader to play with.

So, as an example, let's say we happen to know that a particular gun shoots most accuratey around 55,000 PSI and around 3000fps and we want to pick powders that will get us into the right zone for a gun.

So we do a powder search for our cartridge and barrel length and bullet and get these results:

Cartridge          : .243 Win.
Bullet             : .243, 107, Sierra HPBT MatchK 1570
Useable Case Capaci: 48.644 grain H2O = 3.158 cm³
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 2.800 inch = 71.12 mm
Barrel Length      : 28.0 inch = 711.2 mm

Predicted Data for Indicated Charges of the Following Powders.
Matching Maximum Pressure: 55000 psi, or 379 MPa
or a maximum loading ratio or filling of 100 %
These calculations refer to your specified settings in QuickLOAD 'Cartridge Dimensions' window.
C A U T I O N : any load listed can result in a powder charge that falls below minimum suggested
loads or exceeds maximum suggested loads as presented in current handloading manuals. Understand
that all of the listed powders can be unsuitable for the given combination of cartridge, bullet
and gun. Actual load order can vary, depending upon lot-to-lot powder and component variations.
USE ONLY FOR COMPARISON !

92 loads produced a Loading Ratio below user-defined minimum of 90%. These powders have been skipped.
Powder type          Filling/Loading Ratio  Charge    Charge   Vel. Prop.Burnt P max  P muzz  B_Time
                                      %     Grains    Gramm   fps     %       psi     psi    ms
---------------------------------  -----------------------------------------------------------------
Alliant Reloder-26                  96.4     46.5     3.01    3109   100.0    55000    9665   1.352  ! Near Maximum !
Vihtavuori N560                     98.7     45.2     2.93    3079    98.5    55000   10066   1.345  ! Near Maximum !
Accurate MAGPRO                     99.1     47.3     3.06    3067    97.4    55000   10120   1.354  ! Near Maximum !
IMR 7828 SSC                        97.6     44.9     2.91    3066    98.8    55000    9747   1.335  ! Near Maximum !
Alliant Reloder-22                  98.9     44.9     2.91    3055    99.5    55000    9673   1.352  ! Near Maximum !
Ramshot Magnum                      99.3     48.5     3.14    3034    99.9    55000    9237   1.347  ! Near Maximum !
Alliant Reloder-19                  95.7     42.9     2.78    3010    99.4    55000    9217   1.350  ! Near Maximum !
Winchester WXR                     100.0     44.4     2.87    3007    99.2    52213    9591   1.384  ! Near Maximum !
Ramshot Hunter                      91.3     42.3     2.74    3003   100.0    55000    8886   1.357  ! Near Maximum !
Alliant Reloder-23                 100.0     43.9     2.84    2986   100.0    52505    8658   1.387  ! Near Maximum !
Hodgdon H4831 SC                    97.1     44.0     2.85    2984    98.1    55000    9113   1.348  ! Near Maximum !
Accurate 4350                       90.2     40.5     2.62    2978   100.0    55000    8486   1.383  ! Near Maximum !
IMR 7828                           100.0     43.6     2.82    2971    97.9    49583    9538   1.397
IMR 4831                            95.3     40.9     2.65    2963   100.0    55000    8318   1.374  ! Near Maximum !
Winchester Supreme 780              94.7     44.8     2.90    2961    99.3    55000    8773   1.359  ! Near Maximum !
Accurate 3100                       99.1     44.5     2.88    2958   100.0    55000    8526   1.391  ! Near Maximum !
Hodgdon H4831                      100.0     43.6     2.82    2956    97.8    53265    9046   1.367  ! Near Maximum !

The let's say we have H4831SC on the shelf and it's close to our goal so we run a detailed analysis as follows to better help us pick a load to start with:

Cartridge          : .243 Win.
Bullet             : .243, 107, Sierra HPBT MatchK 1570
Useable Case Capaci: 48.644 grain H2O = 3.158 cm³
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 2.800 inch = 71.12 mm
Barrel Length      : 28.0 inch = 711.2 mm
Powder             : Hodgdon H4831 SC

Predicted data by increasing and decreasing the given charge,
incremented in steps of 0.225% of nominal charge.
CAUTION: Figures exceed maximum and minimum recommended loads !

Step    Fill. Charge   Vel.  Energy   Pmax   Pmuz  Prop.Burnt B_Time
 %       %    Grains   fps   ft.lbs    psi    psi      %        ms

-02.2   96    43.50   2951    2069   52964   9034     97.7    1.371  ! Near Maximum !
-02.0   96    43.60   2958    2078   53365   9050     97.8    1.366  ! Near Maximum !
-01.8   96    43.70   2964    2087   53767   9066     97.9    1.362  ! Near Maximum !
-01.6   97    43.80   2971    2097   54174   9082     97.9    1.357  ! Near Maximum !
-01.3   97    43.90   2977    2106   54584   9098     98.0    1.353  ! Near Maximum !
-01.1   97    44.00   2984    2115   54997   9113     98.1    1.348  ! Near Maximum !
-00.9   97    44.10   2991    2125   55413   9129     98.1    1.344  ! Near Maximum !
-00.7   98    44.20   2997    2134   55832   9144     98.2    1.340  ! Near Maximum !
-00.4   98    44.30   3004    2144   56254   9159     98.3    1.335  ! Near Maximum !
-00.2   98    44.40   3011    2153   56678   9174     98.3    1.331  ! Near Maximum !
+00.0   98    44.50   3017    2163   57106   9188     98.4    1.327  ! Near Maximum !
+00.2   98    44.60   3024    2172   57537   9203     98.5    1.322  ! Near Maximum !
+00.4   99    44.70   3030    2182   57971   9217     98.5    1.318  ! Near Maximum !
+00.7   99    44.80   3037    2191   58408   9231     98.6    1.314  ! Near Maximum !
+00.9   99    44.90   3044    2201   58849   9245     98.6    1.309  ! Near Maximum !
+01.1   99    45.00   3050    2210   59292   9259     98.7    1.305  ! Near Maximum !

Results caused by ± 10% powder lot-to-lot burning rate variation using nominal charge
Data for burning rate increased by 10% relative to nominal value:
+Ba     98    44.50   3151    2359   68051   8987    100.0    1.233  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
Data for burning rate decreased by 10% relative to nominal value:
-Ba     98    44.50   2835    1910   46651   8926     92.6    1.447

Then we play with seating length and find that the bullet touches the lands at just 2.820" Overall length so we see what happens at that length:

Cartridge          : .243 Win.
Bullet             : .243, 107, Sierra HPBT MatchK 1570
Useable Case Capaci: 48.879 grain H2O = 3.174 cm³
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 2.820 inch = 71.63 mm
Barrel Length      : 28.0 inch = 711.2 mm
Powder             : Hodgdon H4831 SC

Predicted data by increasing and decreasing the given charge,
incremented in steps of 0.225% of nominal charge.
CAUTION: Figures exceed maximum and minimum recommended loads !

Step    Fill. Charge   Vel.  Energy   Pmax   Pmuz  Prop.Burnt B_Time
 %       %    Grains   fps   ft.lbs    psi    psi      %        ms

-02.2   95    43.50   2984    2115   57432   9010     98.3    1.322  ! Near Maximum !
-02.0   96    43.60   2990    2124   57830   9025     98.3    1.318  ! Near Maximum !
-01.8   96    43.70   2997    2133   58230   9040     98.4    1.315  ! Near Maximum !
-01.6   96    43.80   3003    2142   58634   9055     98.5    1.311  ! Near Maximum !
-01.3   96    43.90   3009    2151   59040   9070     98.5    1.308  ! Near Maximum !
-01.1   97    44.00   3016    2161   59448   9085     98.6    1.305  ! Near Maximum !
-00.9   97    44.10   3022    2170   59860   9099     98.6    1.301  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
-00.7   97    44.20   3028    2179   60275   9113     98.7    1.298  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
-00.4   97    44.30   3035    2188   60692   9127     98.7    1.295  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
-00.2   97    44.40   3041    2197   61113   9141     98.8    1.291  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+00.0   98    44.50   3047    2206   61536   9155     98.8    1.288  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+00.2   98    44.60   3054    2215   61963   9168     98.9    1.285  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+00.4   98    44.70   3060    2225   62392   9182     98.9    1.282  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+00.7   98    44.80   3066    2234   62824   9195     99.0    1.278  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+00.9   99    44.90   3073    2243   63260   9208     99.0    1.275  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+01.1   99    45.00   3079    2252   63699   9221     99.1    1.272  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!

Results caused by ± 10% powder lot-to-lot burning rate variation using nominal charge
Data for burning rate increased by 10% relative to nominal value:
+Ba     98    44.50   3173    2392   72169   8915    100.0    1.218  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
Data for burning rate decreased by 10% relative to nominal value:
-Ba     98    44.50   2877    1966   51019   8956     93.7    1.377

Look at how much the pressures changed at 44gr just from seating the bullet out to touch the lands instead of being 0.020" off the lands.

No reloading manual will show you this kind of data.

As for "tuning" quickload, you need to run chronograph tests and record all your variables (temperature, velocity, case capacity etc...) and account for those variables in quickload and then adjust your powder burn rate to match your actual chronograph data.
Once you have done that, then you can reliably estimate pressures based on chrono velocities.