RE: 2400 & the use of magnum primers
Found this if anyone wants to read it. It is an email exchange between a customer & Alliant powder company representative about 2400 powder & the use of std. or mag. primers.:
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Reply from Alliant on 2400 w/mag primers
OK, here's the exchange of email I had with Ben Amonette at ATK/Alliant. He pretty much confirmed what I thought, though he kinda said it between the lines in the last section. What it boils down to is, like he says, follow the data in the manual.
> -----Original Message-----
>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2012 11:30 AM
> To: Alliant Reloading
> Subject: Alliant Powder - Ask the Expert Form
>
> Years ago when using 2400 I used mag primers for heavy loads. Now I'm
> told I should use standard primers. Many of the manuals still show the
> use of magnum type. Which is it, and if no longer recommending mags,
> why not? This is for heavy loads in .357, .44 spl/mag, .45 Colt.
>
> John
--
-----Original Message-----
> From: Amonette, Ben
> Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2012 3:04 PM
> Subject: RE: Alliant Powder - Ask the Expert Form
>
> I shoot 2400 in my 357 and 44 mags and choose to use standards. This
> is what we recommend. If you want to, you can go by what your data
> source recommends. As always, we recommend starting with the minimum
> charge wt and go from there. Thanks for your note.
>
>
On 5/9/2012 2:16 PM, Amonette, Ben wrote:
> I had an interesting conversation with the writer Brian Pearce just
> moments ago. We touched on mag primers with 2400 and he said that in
> his testing, he got much more consistent results with standard primers.
> He said the mag primers not only increased the pressure, but caused
> the loads to be inconsistent. I have a lot of respect for him and his
> testing, so based on his opinion, I recommend standards. I have
> always used the standard primers myself with very good results.
>
> Thanks again.
>
> Ben Amonette
> Technical Service Manager
> Alliant Powder Company
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2012 5:49 PM
To: Amonette, Ben
Subject: Re: FW: Alliant Powder - Ask the Expert Form
Importance: High
Thanks for your reply. I should have been more specific in my question.
I've read Brian's recent articles in Handloader, and can't say I agree
with all of his conclusions. I've been reloading for 45 years give or
take and everybody I knew 35-40 years ago who used 2400 used mag
primers. None of us ran loads that were excessive pressure-wise (not
the guys I hung around with anyway), and I've not seen any of the things
he alludes to in his article. (Were his conclusions about pressure
based on actual pressure tests, or the type of signs most of us look
for?)
What I really want to know is has the 2400 of today, under the Alliant
label, been reformulated in comparison to the 2400 sold under the
Hercules label 40 years ago? I'm not talking about variations due to
normal differences from lot to lot, but actual differences chemically.
I know that some of the other old standby Hercules powders are enough
different today that loads I used for better than 20 years have had to
be adjusted for the newer Alliant versions. For example, a safe load of
Blue Dot from my days of combat match competition 30+ years ago, had to
be reduced a full 10% using the Alliant version for the same velocity
with the same bullet and primer combo. (It's still my favorite load, by
the way!)
I'm not making a judgement here either way, but since many people use
the older manuals or come across recommended loads from those days, if
there is a problem with pressure using mag primers it would be more than
a little helpful to know the reason why. The subjective conclusions of
gunwriters, no matter how good they might be, are not a substitute for
specific reasons coming from the manufacturer. I just want to be able
to report factual information to the other users in the forum where this
issue came up. We have a LOT of newbies to reloading coming into the
forum asking for advice from all of us old timers, and we want to be
able to give them solid, safe advice when this sort of thing comes up.
Thanks for your consideration.
John
--------------------------
Recvd May 11, 2012
We are still making 2400 to the same specifications but I have received
comments during my time here wondering if 2400 is a bit faster than many
years ago. I am aware that mag primers were recommended at one time,
and have watched data become more conservative over the years since I
started reloading in the late 60's. Some of this is no doubt to the
greater concern for liability, and pressure measuring equipment is
better. My recommendation on a regular basis is to use current
reloading data because it is the result of the latest testing with the
latest components...so it just makes sense.
As for Brian, I do know that some of his statements are based on actual
pressure testing, but since he does not have his own pressure measuring
equipment, some opinions are also based on observations. Whatever the
case, I have always been somewhat conservative in my approach to
reloading and that is what I encourage.
Thanks for your return note.
Ben Amonette
Technical Service Manager
Alliant Powder Company
Source:https://www.shootersforum.com/handlo...tml#post619495
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