Clays and temperature

[Forester]

Does anyone know how Clays powder reacts to temperature changes? I know some powders get hotter as the temp rises and some do the reverse...What does clays do and how sensitive is it?

[colbyjack]

ive never had trouble with clays. i use it in my .45 with a 200 gr bullet. i know when it gets real cold 3.5 wont work the slide but 3.7 will work my slide. seems the hotter you load clays the cleaner it is. all in all real clean powder but 3.5 or 3.6 is smokey and makes my .45 real sooty. but when i run 4.1 or 4.3 its real clean and not sooty. -chris

[Forester]

I usually run 4.3 with a 200gr Lee LSWC. Makes power factor and shoots great. What kind of velocity are you getting at 3.5 or 3.6? I am shooting a steel match next weekend and need a very light, and fast shooting load.

Consensus on the 1911 forum was it gets hotter as temp increases. All I was concerned about is that it is not inversely related to temp like some powders are. I like to do load development in the winter and just load all summer for USPSA/IDPA.

[colbyjack]

I usually run 4.3 with a 200gr Lee LSWC. Makes power factor and shoots great. What kind of velocity are you getting at 3.5 or 3.6? I am shooting a steel match next weekend and need a very light, and fast shooting load.

Consensus on the 1911 forum was it gets hotter as temp increases. All I was concerned about is that it is not inversely related to temp like some powders are. I like to do load development in the winter and just load all summer for USPSA/IDPA.

i didnt hit "major" till 4.1 of clays out of my 5" but the bullets all weighed 210 grains.

i switched to 4.3 to make sure i wa major and i use the 210 or 200 gr LSWC.

id stay away from under 4.0 of clays for any action shooting. it gets sooty and dirty. i started to have feed problems and had to spray down with CLP in the middle of a 5 stage IPSC match. npw 3.6/3.7 is a good bullseye load i here from buddies. but once i hit over 4 grains of clays i got better results in my pistol and it was alot cleaner. so ive been doing my IPSC loading all winter with 4.3 clays. -chris

[August]

I used Clays in CAS for a number of years. Finally got sufficiently worried about the poofs and pops that I was motivated to switch. My experience with Clays suggests it is not suitable for low power loads -- especially when the attitude of the gun is changed a lot during firing (i.e. action shooting events) -- because it is sensitive to orientation in the case.

I have since found titegroup to be amazingly consistent in low power applications!!!