10b101 be careful

[Aaron]

Tried some more loads yesterday. Mid 40 degree temps. With a 405 gr GC flat point in 45/70, 24 grs gives 1500 out of my 24 inch barrelled 1886. 500 gr plain based round noses give 1400 with the same charge. I sighted in the 500 gr loads in my Shiloh as well.

Here is where it gets interesting. I have some 300 gr Speer Gold Dots left from my 50 Beowulf, so I thought I would use them up in my 500 JRH. I decided to use 10B101. Started with 26 grs figuring it would give me 1200 fps and lower to mid 30,000 psi range. It actually chronod at 1197-- right on the money. This is basically 100% loading density, depending on how much the flakes settle out. I moved on to 27 gr loads. The first round tripped the chrono at 2103 fps!! I think what the he!!... The empty case fell from the chamber and the primer was not excessively flattened...but the doesn't always mean anything with a tight polished chamber and headspace, which Jack's are. In any event, I thought maybe it was an error with the chrono, so I sent another one over, it went 2097 fps!! I then tried my 22 and 45 Colt over it and it read expected velocities, so I think the velocity readings are correct.

I assume this is a compression issue like 7383 so be advised.

Has anyone else used any compressed loads yet?

Thanks

[swheeler]

From 1200 fps to 2100 fps, 300 grain bullet ,with one grain of powder? Doesn't sound right to me. "The empty case fell from the chamber and the primer was not excessively flattened..."

[RayinNH]

That's almost 1000 fps. faster. What was recoil like?...Ray

[Aaron]

My thoughts were exactly the same, which is why I sent another round over it and it read less than 10 fps from the first. No other rounds sent over it that day gave odd readings. For that matter, I do not recall ever having oddly high readings.

As far as the case easily extracting, it is not unusual at all to have high pressure with no case sticking in a tight custom chamber. The recoil was significant. Similiar to a 440 gr at 1300fps.

I know it sounds bizarre, but this is indeed what happened and I was not about to cut loose one with 28 grs. without a better understanding of what is happening. 26 grs was 100% density and as I worked up there was more and more compression as I seated bullets, but nothing that required any undue force.

In any event, I felt it prudent to relay these findings so that as others experiment, they are at least aware of this occurrence and proceed carefully when approaching 100% loading density and compressed loads. If this was a lesser revolver, it may not have come away unscathed as it apparently has.

As for me, this stuff makes a great smokeless powder for duplicating black powder ballistics and uses up a lot of case space doing it. That is what I will use it for.

[wgr]

were do you get the load data for your black powder loads