looking at the burn rate chart in my manuals and on line, I find a bunch of powders that aren't listed in all the manuals. If i look at the slowest powder shown in a manual, and then the fastest shown in a manual, is there any reason i can't use any powder listed in the burn rate chart that falls between the two?
choosing powders
- Thread starter bruno
- Start date
There's a sticky at the top of this forum with a link to a powder burn rate chart that might help you.
I don't think that I understand your question though. Each calibre / bullet weight will have a number of powders that will be suitable, but not all will be. Usually larger case capacity / heavier bullets will do better with the slower powders.
I don't think that I understand your question though. Each calibre / bullet weight will have a number of powders that will be suitable, but not all will be. Usually larger case capacity / heavier bullets will do better with the slower powders.
How would you determine a starting load - extrapolate?
what i meant is if i look in the manual for a caliber and choose the bullet weight, it will give me a list of different suitable powders. these powder will all be in a certain range on the burn rate chart. but not all powders in that range will be listed. for example: a 270 win 140 grain bullet- fastest powder listed is H4895( also lowest listed max vel.) while the slowest is H1000( also fastest listed max vel.) reloader 12, 15, 19, 22 are all in between these two, but none are listed in this manual, in theory, can i use these powder with this bullet? would i use the next fastest powder as a starting point?
OK sorry... I totally misunderstood. You could probably use it as a guideline, but you would be much better off seeking data on the specific powder you plan to use. If your manual doesn't list the powders you want to try, I'd either buy another manual or two, or try one of the reloading websites to find the data for the specific powder you want to use. I don't think it would be very safe using the data for one powder for another one, even if they are close to the same burn rate. The data might be close, but probably it's better to be safe rather than sorry.
"...listed in this manual..." A net search for the powder should get you data. You'll find that most bullet maker's books are limited to their own bullets. The Lyman manual is far more versatile. It has more loads using more powders and bullet weights than any bullet maker's book. Not that there's anything wrong with their books. The Lyman is just more versatile.
How would you determine a starting load - extrapolate?
H4831 and RL22 for example are so close in burn rate that their load data is often within a grain, +/- either way, with max loads
you could just find data for one, knock 7% off it, and work up slowly with the other powder, using a chronograph
....and, as always, watching for signs of pressure.
This is something that I've wondered about but never thought about.
Thanks.
