Understanding Powders

[emaley14]

Hello to all!!
I would like to know were to be directed to find information on how and why to use powder A over powderB. Almost like gun powder for dummies. I have read the basics online but I would like some more depth. I am going to start loading handgun loads for comps and would like to start dialing in my 270,30-06,45-70 and so on!
Thanks in advance for all of your help!!

[BCB]

The CANISTER & SURPLUS POWDER forum might be a good place to start...

Good-luck...BCB

[str8wal]

Powders have different burn rates, which affects velocity and pressure among other things. I generally look for a velocity range that fits my application and go from there. Then work up a ladder to find the best accuracy with my desired velocity. It doesn't hurt to ask folks what works for them to get started, but not all guns are equal so it involves a bit of trial and error.

[dragon813gt]

"Powder for Dummies" would be an accident waiting to happen. All the info you need is in the reloading manuals. There is no shortcut when it come to load development. Your gun will show you what charge it prefers.

[JimKirk]

To get several reloading manuals ... Read the front sections several times ... Then Start comparing the data between cartridges .... You will begin to see a pattern as to what powders work for what cartridges .... Other than using data ... it is a learned process ...

Start paying close attention to how powders "stack" up as far as velocity .... Notice that what is a "fast" powder in one cartridge is "slow" in another .... the powder burn charts only tell you how fast/slow a powder is relatively burning compared to another one .... it tell you nothing about how it burn in cartridges ....

[Motor]

Excellent advice above. If you want in depth information about specific powder(s) get it from the manufacturer. This may include temperature sensitivity or primer recommendation etc.

For reloading purposes reliable published data is where to start. They typically don't list loads that perform poorly. Then as suggested above you find which of the recommended ones work best for your particular goals.

If you don't have one already get yourself a burn rate chart as well. There are several sources for this I'm sure you can download one from the internet.

Motor

[BCB]

PROPELLANT PROFILES is a good book. I have the 5th Edition. I don't know if there is a more recent one or not...

Also, the same name double edition by Ken Waters is also good...

The first one mentioned has a more up-to-date list of powders, but it is still pretty much dated as many new powders have arrived since it was published--Still interesting and good reading...

Good-luck...BCB

[dragon813gt]

Sixth edition was published in a October of 2016. There have been a lot of new powders since then.

[earlmck]

We have a wonderful selection of powders of overlapping burn rates made by different manufacturers and in different configurations. So if you are one of those reloaders who feels the need to weigh every charge you have absolutely unlimited possibilities.

I try to employ my Hornady progressive press at every opportunity so I have a strong bias toward powders which throw very nicely from Hornady's not-so-great powder measure. Which means I give strong preference to the ball powders, followed by the little sticks such as Alliant's "Reloader" series.

Any loading book will give a nice selection of useful powders for a huge variety of cartridges. Information on how well the powders throw through a measure is a little harder to come by. Welcome to the game!

[country gent]

I have several different manuals from equipment manufacturer ( Lymans RCBS), powder companies, bullet makers, and others. I really like the one calibers for the condensed source of many manufacturers data. When working with a new caliber, or a new loading or bullet I check all the data for what I want to do making note of the most common powders for the application. IE if you looking for 308 win with 168 grn bullets and have 6 manuals and all 6 list IMR 4895 while other powders may appear in 3-5 of the sources. The ones that appear in all 6 and have similar data is where to start. Once I determine a powder I then make note of all the starting and max loads. These I average to get a general idea of what to expect when working with the new loading. Wildcatts and weird and wonderfull may take more work. You may end up measuring water capacity of a case to compare to similar cases in the same size range.
for hand gun rounds the above search and average process has worked for me well. Another thing if your competing is to listen when guys are discussing loads and make note of them. for many years in bullseye the 38 spl load was 2.7 grns of Bullseye and a 148 grn HBWC, probably 85% shot this load. In High Power rifle 308 168 grn HPBT 41.5 grns IMR4895 was the load shot by many ( again probably 80-85%). With these 2 loads many felt if they didn't perform it was time to fix the gun.

[emaley14]

I would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone for their imput!!! Counting down the hours until I can get back to the reloading bench!!

[David2011]

Hello to all!! . . . I am going to start loading handgun loads for comps and would like to start dialing in my 270,30-06,45-70 and so on!

Welcome to CastBoolits! Do you mean you're going to start reloading by learning how to load for compensated pistols like USPSA open guns? If that is what you mean it is hard to recommend that as a starting place as those cartridges run at the stratosphere of their pressure range. At least get your feet wet, so to speak, with something like .38 Special, .45 ACP or .45 Colt that doesn't run on the ragged edge of disaster.

Pick one cartridge, learn about it, read about it and get comfortable with it before trying to load a few of everything you own. Work your loads up from starting load data like the manuals recommend.

The .45-70 is functionally a big straight walled handgun cartridge and is more forgiving like the above mentioned handgun cartridges although there are essentially 3 levels of power for the .45-70. In Cliffsnotes terms there's the Springfield Trapdoor level, the rest of the old stuff that's a little stronger and the modern strong .45-70s. It's still low pressure compared to the .270 or .30-'06. None of the rifle cartridges you named are "tricky" but without a mentor (other than a ton of us here) walk first, then run.

If you're shooting a compensated pistol in matches the best source of information is others that shoot and load for the same cartridge you use.

Your best investment in reloading is name brand printed paper manuals. Reading about it online is OK but not a substitute for printed books. Lyman's 50th is a great first purchase. Not only does it have loading data but it will educate you about cartridges, powders, burn rates and why you should use certain powders with certain cartridges. Above all, do not deviate from what is in written manuals regardless of what you read on the Internet. A few hours of looking at specific cartridges with a variety of bullet weights and comparing them to the burn rate chart will be enlightening. You will see that faster powders listed with lighter bullets are absent in the data for heavier bullets and the slower powders for heavier bullets may be absent in the lighter bullet data. Look for trends rather than absolute data initially because you're just trying to learn where to use slower or faster powders. The .30-'06 is an excellent place to start because the range of bullet weights is very broad.

The first thing to learn is to be as consistent as possible with every reloading operation you do every time you go to the reloading bench. Turn off the TV and tunes. Avoid distractions. Work alone or with an experienced teacher. It's not a place to hang with friends and visit while loading cartridges that will develop over 55,000 PSI two inches from your face and eyes. I don't want to sound harsh; you just have to give yourself an environment that will provide the fewest possible distractions.

LOOK into each cartridge before you seat a bullet and compare the level of the powder to the cartridges you already loaded. Be safe.

OK, sorry, I deviated a long way from your original question. We now return to the regularly scheduled conversation.

[lefty o]

lots of reading will get you where you need to be, although there just isnt one source . my question is with your handgun you want to load for, "comps", is that competition , or a compensator? compensators generally require a slower burning powder loaded max or even beyond to get the most effect from the compensator.

[flashhole]

Cross-referencing powders from different data sources is always a good thing but sometimes it can be confusing. I've seen sources call out a max load that is a starting load in another source. That doesn't happen too often but it does happen. I like Hodgdon Powders best for two reasons 1) Their Extreme powders are very stable over temperature so loads developed in warm or cold temps are likely be behave in the opposite range. 2) They publish pressure data where others don't. I load for several rifles and only one pistol. I look for powder that provides good case fill and high velocity at the lowest pressure.