Alliants Reloder Powder lineup

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I recently picked some RL17 up and worked up a load for a 30-06/165 NAB. It gave me a great (.8") group at 0.5 grains under max. As well as a RL22 .25-06/100 NBT.

But now that I'm tooling up to reload for another cartridge (.260 Rem.) I've been "crunching numbers" in all the different manuals and the RL series consistently comes up short in velocity to conventional powders (H4350, H4831, etc) as well as needing to take up 1-4 grains extra just to get that velocity.

So what are the benifits of this line of powder supposed to be? Is it more resistant to temp/humidity changes or something? Lower case pressures? Alliant doesnt have any chamber pressures on the site..
 
Faster doesn't always mean better. Quite often, you'll find a mid-range load will prove the most accurate; rather than the max load for that particular powder/bullet combo. Highest velocity and best accuracy rarely go hand in hand no matter the make of powder used.
 
R-22 has always been my go to powder for the 7mmremmag, and it produces very good velocity as well.I use R-22 for my 280AI rifles ,and it produces better velocity than any other powder that I have tried.R-25 produced very good velocity with 180gr bullets out of my 300RUM rifles.
 
I find the RE powders to be consistently more accurate than others, particularly at the minimum load end of the scale, where I dwell. I think its difficult to compare loads in manuals for different powders - between the "margins", different case volumes, chamber pressures, etc, its pretty ambiguous.
 
Faster doesn't always mean better. Quite often, you'll find a mid-range load will prove the most accurate; rather than the max load for that particular powder/bullet combo. Highest velocity and best accuracy rarely go hand in hand no matter the make of powder used.

I sure don't know where all you guys that think this way, get it from. You certainly don't get it from the bench rest shooters, or the long range target shooters.
I was recently re-reading an old book on bench rest shooting. The writer was talking about the 308 Winchester. There is only one way to load the 308, he stated, and that is full. I can find lots of references like this in target shooting books.
Ganderite on these threads, who once worked in research and developement at the CIL ammunition plant, recently wrote about loading CIL factory loads. He stated they loaded standard factory ljoads on the weaker side, but when they loaded match ammunition it was always loaded full up, maximum.
If your rifle won't accurately shoot full loaded ammunition, it most likely needs to be properly bedded.
 
H4831, couldn't agree more. All of my rifles with the exception of my 22 Hornet shoot the best with fairly hot loads, my 204 just keeps getting tighter groups the hotter I go.
I use RL10x (204,223), RL19 (25-06AI Light bullets) RL22 (300WM, 25-06AI heavy bullets. The RL powders are usually one of the best performers, ymmv.
 
I've always had very good results with the Reloder line of powders.

Re 7 in the 45/70.

Re 15 in my Dad's 308.

Re 22 is the very best powder I've ever used in the 30-06 with a 165 gn bullet. Very accurate and just as much velocity as you can get with a 150. You don't hear about this load much and I really don't understand why. 3000 fps out of the 30-06 with a 165 is stellar. It's a compressed load but really no big deal. At least it's impossible to over charge...It's in the Nosler Manual, check it out.

Re 25 is the best powder so far in my 300 RUM with 200 gn Accubonds as well. (and Re 22 with 165 Accubonds)

H4831, I agree with you. I've always been able to find an accurate max load.

Even Blue Dot has always worked best for me in my 44 mag.

I've had such good luck with Alliant powders that I now favor them and try them first when developing a load. Usually, I don't need to go any further.
 
I sure don't know where all you guys that think this way, get it from. You certainly don't get it from the bench rest shooters, or the long range target shooters.
I was recently re-reading an old book on bench rest shooting. The writer was talking about the 308 Winchester. There is only one way to load the 308, he stated, and that is full. I can find lots of references like this in target shooting books.
Ganderite on these threads, who once worked in research and developement at the CIL ammunition plant, recently wrote about loading CIL factory loads. He stated they loaded standard factory ljoads on the weaker side, but when they loaded match ammunition it was always loaded full up, maximum.
If your rifle won't accurately shoot full loaded ammunition, it most likely needs to be properly bedded.

I reload for .308 Win, .30-06 SPRG, .223 REM, .22-250 REM, .270 Win, .300 RUM, .45-70 Govt, .45ACP, .38 SPL, .357 Mag, .38 Super.

Unless you're using a powder I haven't tried before, I have yet to see best accuracy obtained in any of my firearms by plopping open a reloading manual a picking the Max load for a particular caliber/bullet combo. They'll shoot, and often well; however, back off a grain or two and you may just find you're now shooting 1/2 MOA, rather than 1 or 1.5 MOA.

As for re-reading old benchrest books...technology has advanced, as has powder technology. There are many far more advanced powders on the market right now that can deliver performance once thought improbable, if not impossible, with any 'classic' cartridge. What once was 'fact' 20-30 years ago, in many cases, is no longer true, or never was to begin with.

That said, every firearm barrel and chamber is different, and every handloader will assemble his/her ammunition in their own unique way. There are simply too many variables at play to conclusively say that Load X, Y or Z will be the absolute fastes, most accurate load. All I can relate is my personal experience over the past 20 years of handloading.
 
Unless you're using a powder I haven't tried before, I have yet to see best accuracy obtained in any of my firearms by plopping open a reloading manual a picking the Max load for a particular caliber/bullet combo. They'll shoot, and often well; however, back off a grain or two and you may just find you're now shooting 1/2 MOA, rather than 1 or 1.5 MOA.

Actually,my 223,and 280AI shoot more accurately,as the velocity is increased.My 7mmstw and 300RUM rifles shoot just as good with a max load as they do backed off a grain or two.
 
My .338 Federal loves being pushed hard...this is probably in part to the fact I can seat the bullets 10-15 thou farther out than the COAL shows in the books.

The .30-06 I've been loading for as I said before, liked 0.5 grains under max. Maybe I just shot a bad group :confused: . Perhaps I'll load up some more and try more powder charges.

But what I am seeing from you guys, is that the Reloder series of powders is trumping others speeds, even though their manual isn't showing very intriguing velocities.
 
But what I am seeing from you guys, is that the Reloder series of powders is trumping others speeds, even though their manual isn't showing very intriguing velocities.

Perhaps they are simply posting more conservative loads than other manuals?
 
But what I am seeing from you guys, is that the Reloder series of powders is trumping others speeds, even though their manual isn't showing very intriguing velocities.

That's what I see in most chambers.
A few exceptions might be Retumbo, H-870, IMR -7828, and perhaps a few others I can't think of. :redface:

In 25+ yrs of reloading, most if not all of the cartridges that I have loaded for perform the best at or near max.

For the most part me too.

The only caveat to that is some accurate max loads get twitchy with temperature changes.

I never got best quality and consistent accuracy at WOT from the 300Rum.
Same thing with the 338WIn.
 
X2 H4832, bench rest shooters commonly load in the 60-65000 psi range. Mind you their actions and chambers are usually trued and on minimum specs. This allows them some lee way.

One nice thing about the Alliant Reloader series powders, is that they are consistent from lot to lot. I will admit though if I can't buy powder in tubs, I will buy several lots and mix them all together to ensure consistency.
 
R-22 has always been my go to powder for the 7mmremmag, and it produces very good velocity as well.I use R-22 for my 280AI rifles ,and it produces better velocity than any other powder that I have tried.R-25 produced very good velocity with 180gr bullets out of my 300RUM rifles.

How do you find it's sensitivity to temperature?
 
There is no doubt that R-22 is somewhat temperature sensitive.The velocity drops from 50fps up to 80fps(depending on the cartridge) from +30 to 0 degrees C according to my chronograph.I couldn't take readings in colder temperatures,because my chronograph stops working if it gets much colder.By comparison,IMR 4350 and IMR 4831 displayed similar velocity variation,and H-1000 Extreme varied by about half of that.

I generally work up loads at around +20,because I rarely shoot at warmer temperatures,and as the temperature cools,the chamber pressure will drop,ensuring that my loads will be safe at all temperatures that I might shoot them in.

To compensate as best as I can,I only use hunting loads that don't show dramatic changes in accuracy in changing temperatures.I find that loads whose accuracy is very sensitive to small changes in powder charge,also tend to be loads whose accuracy is very sensitive to changes in temperature.

I also sight in my guns in temperatures that are close to the average temperatures that I might encounter on a hunt, to minimize the effects of changes in velocity due to changes in temperature.
 
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