I’ll soon be loading for a Ruger M77 Compact chambered in 308. The barrel on these little guns is 16.5”. Im quite certain that the muzzle blast will be atrocious in this little guy. I’m curious if faster burn rate powders will produce less muzzle blast.
Muzzle blast VS Powder burn rate
- Thread starter Underthegun
- Start date
The muzzle blast is plasma (glowing gas) and not unburned powder. The best powder for a cartridge is he same for all reasonable barrel lengths, as for the flash more powder will produce more flash. Unburned powder I believe is due to a powder being used at an incorrect pressure, in short getting rid of muzzle flash will to some degree diminish performance.
If you've ever been in an indoor range it's clear that a lot of powder is not burned as a matter of course in most guns. Some powders will produce less flash than others. Single based propellants are typically less flashy than double-based. As for blast, it takes volume and pressure to propel a bullet no matter what. Aside from loading lighter there isn't much to do.
