powders safe for downloading

[dddddmorgan]

On some of my reduced loads, specifically for the 45/70 I've had great luck putting a tiny bit of dacron on top of the powder charge to keep it on top of the primer.

[clearwater]

I don’t know about a list. But everything I have read says to stay away from rifle ball powders when downloading, as a general rule. They require a certain load density to burn correctly.

Case volume has a lot to do with load density. I can use a full case of H-414 (a ball powder) in the 30-30 with a 165gr cast bullet, velocity is acceptable for a cast load. I can’t do this in the 30-06. The case is just to large in volume. By the time you have enough powder to burn safely, the velocity is gonna be in the jacketed realm.

Most of the powders that we rely on for downloading are stick and flake powders.

JM

Not that I don't agree, but the Lee Manual lists ball powders and how to download them for 30=30 30-06 and 308.

[John Boy]

Pick a bullet weight and start compiling from this website .... http://stevespages.com/308_9.html

[dtknowles]

was just reading through the thread about using 5 grains of pistol powder, red dot, 700x, etc. in 30-30

and got me wondering if there might be a list compiled of powders that are safe for use in downloading.
or a list of powders that should not be downloaded.

I don't think you are asking the right question. What does downloaded mean?

The real question is actually two questions. What powders work fine at lower pressures and what powders work fine with lower load densities.

Some powders are position sensitive so at lower load densities you can get squibs unless you position the powder near the primer.

Some powders can demonstrate pressure excursions if you use too small a charge.

Some powders will not burn well at lower pressures.

Almost all shotgun powders work fine at lower pressures as shotguns don't operate at high pressures. They can be position sensitive as all shotgun loads are 100% fill volume.

Red Dot is often recommended as it works fine at low pressures and is not very position sensitive. I have seen the same with Green Dot and others have used Unique but I think it is more position sensitive.

Blue Dot is a question mark, some people have had problems with Blue Dot in normal loads. Bullseye might be good too. The problem with Bullseye and Red Dot is the smallness of the charges. Double charges and large charge variations can be a concern with very small charges. Trail Boss works it is a bulkier powder so double charges are less likely but it has big kernels so it does not work great with some powder measures. It is a fast powder with a steep pressure spike so it should be limited to modern guns.

I have not tested 2400 or 4785 and have only limited experience with 5744 but they seem to work fine at lower pressures.

Instead of downloaded I like to use the term "reduced loads" or "gallery loads" when talking about low power loads for rifle cartridges. There is also a category of "mid-range" loads. They are between full power loads and gallery loads. Both mid-range loads and gallery loads are down loaded but to a different degree. Some people call gallery loads mouse fart loads but I think mouse fart loads are even lower than gallery loads. What almost all reduced loads have in common is that they use cast or lead bullets or maybe even air rifle pellets or round balls.

I won't say you should stay away from ball powders but I would look carefully for data before I would download or make reduced loads with ball powders.

Tim

[AlaskaMike]

DTknowles brings up a great question--what does "downloaded" mean?

Are you asking about loading charges lighter than the minimum charges listed in published load data? If so, that's not a good road to go down unless you are a very experienced handloader.

I would strongly recommend that you look at published load data from authoritative sources and see what they show for minimum loads, and stick to them.

[SSGOldfart]

Thank you.

Thanks for posting that article.

[10x]

This manual has a section on reduced loads if that is what "Downloading" means
Be very very careful
Page 124 is the start of the section you should read - after reading the section on pressure

http://marvinstuart.com/firearm/Manu...%20-%20ocr.pdf

[JM7.7x58]

Not that I don't agree, but the Lee Manual lists ball powders and how to download them for 30=30 30-06 and 308.

I looked that up. Yes that info is there. I personally won’t be using the Lee info on reduced ball powders. They need a certain pressure to work right.

I’ve got enough Herco, 2400, RX-7, and SW-Precision, that I don’t need to fool around with downloading ball powder in the larger cases. Felix recommended against it, that’s good enough for me.

JM

[popper]

Years ago has some data from Fins on reduced loads due to hiding from Germans but don't have that data anymore. Was really interesting stories.