Which has the faster burn rate, Bullseye or Red Dot?

[clearwater]

Hodgdon says Red Dot. Alliant say Bullseye but lists Red Dot first on their chart.
Western lists Bullseye first.

Is this a situation where it depends on the cartridge, use etc and it can be different each use?

[Winger Ed.]

I remember old charts calling bullseye to be faster, but now days all the new charts list Red Dot as faster.
I wonder what changed their minds.

[RickinTN]

I think dependent on your application. Both excellent powders. Bullseye meters better.
Rick

[Larry Gibson]

Is this a situation where it depends on the cartridge, use etc and it can be different each use?

Yes.

[Conditor22]

there are 10 burn rate charts on this site
https://www.sampletemplates.com/busi...ate-chart.html

[relics6165]

I have always considered Bullseye faster than Red Dot, and was not aware of some considering Red Dot faster. It may very well depend on the cartridge and the application.

I also prefer a chart that shows burn rates to a list that shows burn rates. Burn rate similarities are easier to see with a chart, rather than a list:

http://gsgroup.co.za/burnrates.html

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

As I understand it, Red Dot is one of the few smokeless powders that doesn't have a deterrent coating, which is why it is not position sensitive and why it's good in low charges in Rifle calibers. Also, Bullseye and Red dot have different levels of Nitro. So being so different, but relatively close in burn rate, it's likely why one may seem faster than the other in some, but not all, applications.

[jimkim]

As I understand it, Red Dot is one of the few smokeless powders that doesn't have a deterrent coating, which is why it is not position sensitive and why it's good in low charges in Rifle calibers. Also, Bullseye and Red dot have different levels of Nitro. So being so different, but relatively close in burn rate, it's likely why one may seem faster than the other in some, but not all, applications.

It's only a 5% difference isn't it? When I started handloading my boss at the gunshop told me BE had the highest percentage of nitroglycerin of all the powders. Since then, I've read RD has a higher percentage but there are others that contain even more.

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[JonB_in_Glencoe]

It's only a 5% difference isn't it? When I started handloading my boss at the gunshop told me BE had the highest percentage of nitroglycerin of all the powders. Since then, I've read RD has a higher percentage but there are others that contain even more.

Sent from my SM-A515U using Tapatalk

This is third party info, so should be taken with a grain of salt (saltpeter? LOL)
But I've heard similar from other sources.

According to Ben Amonette at Alliant, Bullseye and Power Pistol are 40% Nitro content, and Red Dot is 20% and Blue Dot is 15%.

[wolfwing]

My charts might be dated, but it is 11: 1 that shows Bullseye is faster than Red Dot.

[303Guy]

I have always considered Bullseye faster than Red Dot, and was not aware of some considering Red Dot faster. It may very well depend on the cartridge and the application.

I also prefer a chart that shows burn rates to a list that shows burn rates. Burn rate similarities are easier to see with a chart, rather than a list:

http://gsgroup.co.za/burnrates.html

This is a bit odd. Something wrong with the relative positions of ADI powders and not so sure about some of the others.

Try this one or ADI powders. Consider that ADI actually make some Hodgdon powders and market them under their own name, they should therefore lie in the same relative positions.

http://www.adi-powders.com.au/powder-equivalents/

This chart puts Red Dot as faster than Bullseye and Trail Boss as the same as Bullseye, yet I thought Trail Boss was a bit slower. It behaves slower.

[Larry Gibson]

Most such charts are referred to as "Relative Burn Rate Charts". Most seem to forget what "relative" means or delete it completely. The fine print of such charts usually states something to the effect that the position of any powder on the chart is usually variable to 2 -3 places +/- on the chart. That's where the "relative" comes in because the position of any powder on the chart is "relative" of, if you will, variable based on the conditions (cartridge, load, etc.) it is used.

Asking if Bullseye is "faster" than Red Dot or visa versa is like asking/pondering when about to shoot a deer....is that deer 175 yards away or 178 yards away....... whether either is "faster" than the other is "relative" and of no consequence when developing a load.

[Outpost75]

Larry is right. But there is more to it than meets the eye.

Bullseye is designed to ignite uniformly and build pressure in small volume charges which are loosely contained in a larger case having free air space which is measured in multiples of the charge volume.

Red Dot is designed to build pressure in large shotgun bores, and being loading in the shotshell environment the powder charge is loaded at close to its bulk density and charges often are lightly compressed in typical 12-ga. trap, skeet and field loads.

Red Dot bulks up nicely in rifle and revolver cases, and is easily ignited. For those reasons it provides excellent ballistic uniformity, tolerating free airspace in the case, when used in the metallic cartridge environment. It is a good pistol and reduced load rifle powder for pressures not appreciably exceeding about 20,000 psi., even when charges approach its bulk density.

Bullseye performs uniformly well under its normal conditions of loading, giving its best results when free airspace in the case exceeds the charge volume. It is seldom loaded appreciably over about 20,000 psi. and tends to increase pressure quickly over its ideal working limits when loaded close to its bulk density, and can be dangerously so when compressed.

[Kosh75287]

Someone who was always good about giving me sound advice at Alliant, Ben Ammonette, said that, quite often, burning rates for certain propellants will change as chamber pressures rise above a particular level. Perhaps Bullseye burns faster than Red Dot in shotshell loads, which tend to stay below 11,000 psi (yes, there ARE exceptions to this), but the situation reverses in pistol and revolver loads, which tend to hover somewhere above this pressure. That's all that I can imagine.

[Lloyd Smale]

well ill say this. I use them both for pop gun loads. i dont ever use them if im looking for full pressure loads. So in the real world there about interchangeable. Me? Ill take bullseye all day long over redot. Redot is just to hard to meter when you talking 3 grain loads that .2 of a grain can make a decent differnce in velocity. Ive got an 8lb jug of redot that ive had for probably 20 years. In that time ive probably gone through a dozen 8 lb jugs of bullseye and more then that of pr200 (surplus aa2) which is my real favorite light load powder.

[Screwbolts]

I agree with Larry! Relative to the application. Relative to Lot of factors.

[faraim]

If I'm using a light load in a large case, I've begun using Red Dot because it's bulkier. For pure target work, possibly Bullseye is a bit more accurate. They seem to be close enough in burn rate that I tend to use them for the same purposes.

[303Guy]

When I wanted a pistol powder for light loads in my Brit, I chose Clays over Unique because of its bulkiness in even though Unique's burn rate was more appropriate. It does limit the velocity to subsonic but then if I want supersonic there is 4227 that half fills the case. And there's Trail Boss that can deliver supersonic too, or at least drive a heavier boolit at subsonic.

Lil'Gun is a powder that changes burn rate depending on conditions. In the hornet, it is considerably slower than 4227 but as a reduced load powder in the Brit, it is considerably faster. Or at least it appears to be faster.