BR-5 usage/test loads

[CASTER OF LEAD]

Anyone currently using BR-5 ? It is supposed to mimic Unique data. I have been doing some testing & it seems to be off quite a bit. Kinda weaker so to speak ,IMHO. I have been playing around with various loads in .38 spl. . Anyone else testing ,or have loads worked up & if so for what gun? Just curious.- CASTER

[CASTER OF LEAD]

Some test results for anyone lurking. I am pushing 150 LSWC with 5.5gr. Of Br-5. Still working on bumping it up. Fair accuracy the way they are.

[shooting on a shoestring]

Glad to see someone working with this powder. I suspect it'll be a good one.

As far as being "weaker" than Unique, you've discovered its a little slower than Unique. I think the surplus powder sellers err on the side safety and usually tell you to use data from a slightly faster powder and work up. A powder's speed will change a little depending on the cartridge, boolit, over-all length etc... So to keep people out of over-pressure results on their first try, they want you to have a plenty safe starting point, which is to data from a faster powder.

I find powders a little slower than Unique to be great in top speed loads for 38 Special, 32 SWL and get 45 Colts going as fast as I need. They also get about 80-90% of the top velocities in 357 magnum, but are very economical compared to case full loadings of H110, and are more fun to shoot. And that powder speed will really shine in the 380, 9, 40 and 45 ACP.

Ill bet you'll find your favorite 38 loads are toward the upper end.

Please post some results as you get them. Interested to hear how BR-5 works out for you.

[Freightman]

I used 5 gr in my 1911 45ACP with a 230 gr TC boolit @ 845 fps, found it to be a tad more accurate than the same 5 gr Unique load. Will try it soon in my CZ52 and Tokarov 7.62x25

[472x1B/A]

I have come up this after the first jug. S P 101 .38 spl. 4.7 grs with 141 - 148gr wad cutter, 5grs with the Lee 158gr TL SWC. Colt .45 acp 6.0grs with Lee 230gr. TL.. .40 S&W ( 4 different guns ) 5.7grs with the Lee 175gr TL. Still working on .44 mag..

[tomme boy]

How is the actual burn of it? I HATE UNIQUE! It never seems to burn completely and get powder all over me while shooting it. Seems to clean up a little if you run a max charge but I do not like that at all.

[Freightman]

It is a ball powder so it burns very good. Just got back from the range shot 50 230 rn with 5.0 gr shot good then shot 50 with 6.1 gr with 230 tc shotbgreat all INA big hole at 25 yds. It is cleamn also.

[Freightman]

Went to the range with three loads of BR5 in my SCCY 9mm all with 125 gr Lee cast PC'ed and sized to .358 OACL 1.020
First load was a little hot but safe 5.5 gr BR5 accuracy fair
second load was better 5.0 gr BR5 accuracy all in a 3" sq. @ 18 yds
third load lots better 4.5 gr BR5 accuracy was in a 2" sq. at the same 18 yds
Ran 200 rds through it with flawless feed and eject.
Remember this isn't a range pistol it is a CCW 15 oz 10 rd double stack.

[TCLouis]

Freightman
Was the 845 fps actual chronographed velocity?

I have been eying that powder at Bartletts and need something in that speed range.

It should do well in my 550 also

[Freightman]

Yes it isn't the same volume so don't use the same measure you would with unique.

[TMenezes]

Been researching this powder and figure I can pull the trigger on it if someone wants to split an order in CA or Reno Nevada area.

[jcunruh]

357 Mag, us d Unique data roughly reduced 10%. 6.7gr with Magna 158 bevel base LSWC, CCI 550 (mag primer). Clocked 1050 +/-15 FPS from a 5 inch Smith & Wesson N frame. Not pressure signs. Accuracy not noted. Just throwing them over the chrono. To establish a base line

[lead_her_fly]

Just picked up two more jugs from gibrass.com on my way through Owensboro. Data on jug for 9mm and I’ve been using it with plated bullets to this point. 5.6gr under a Berry’s 124gr rn. I know...they’re not boolits but, it is what it is at this time....They shoot well and cycle all of my 80% firearms perfectly. From the B26 to the B34 and even the “Longslide”. They all are 100% flawless with this load.
I have been shooting 5.5gr under my 45ACP 200gr LRNHP Mihec boolit and it functions my B21 well. No hiccups at all either.
No chrono data at this point, but, maybe this summer....
Next on the agenda is 40S&W in the same firearm platform.

[GSP7]

Anyone else playin' with BR-5?


.

[SOFMatchstaff]

Yup, it works well in the 38 Super, 7 grs +- depending on the bullet weight, 115,124, and I bump it up some for the Steyr 115gr. loads in super comp brass for the MP34. I have plans to try it in the 380, but havent yet.

[Thumbcocker]

Got 8 pounds just before the virus shutdown. Havent started working with it yet.

[ScotMc]

Im using it in a 9.5" Super Redhawk .44mag with a scope. Getting good groups at 100 yards with both 240 plated and a 250 grain NOE SWC with 9.5 grains.
I believe its a tad slower than unique. I like how it works in my 1911 .45 6.0 grains with a Lyman 225 gr. Round Nose. Been clean burning and meters excellent through the Dillon 550 B. Same results with both plated and lead Boolits in the .357 and .38

[mdi]

Anyone else playin' with BR-5?


.

Yep. I got a jug a while back and used it with Unique data. Out of curiosity I emailed Jeff Bartlett requesting exact load data and he sent me a sheet with a few loads (next day!). For a 9mm 124 gr FMJ 4.7 gr. to 5.4 gr. for 960-1080 fps. And 45 ACP 6.5 gr. to7.5 gr. for 805-870 fps. Others listed but only using these two now...

[Castaway]

Just got my shipment of BR 5. 7.9 grains of Unique and a Lee 255 RNFP is a tackdriver from my 92. With Unique, that’s a 1.02cc disk from a Lee Disk dispenser. Loaded disk kit with BR 5 and dropped 10 charges with 1.02 disk. Total mass of 121 grains or 12.1 grains per charge. Tomorrow I’ll load some with a 0.66 disc which should get me close to 7.9 grains and will test drive it this weekend. Although it may be similar to Unique, I’m concerned the smaller charge might get lost in the large case.

[exhunter223]

I loaded up some for my glock 20 10mm i used 124 gr, 170 gr and 180 gr fmj with 8 grains of BR-5 . They all shot great

[Castaway]

After the post above, I did two separate work-ups with BR 5, one in my Black Hawk, the other in my Win 92, both in 45 Colt. I baselined with 7.9 grains of Unique compared to 7.9 of BR 5 and did 5 loads from each firearm. Below is what I did for the Black Hawk.

Previously I posted BR 5 data with my Win 92 in 45 Colt. This time I used a 7 1/2” barreled Black Hawk in 45 Colt. Jeff Bartlett gives initial guidance saying use Unique data. To get a comparison, I base-lined with 7.9 grains of Unique and a 7.9 grain load of BR 5, both using Lee’s 255 gr RNFP bullet. As a side note, 7.9 grains of Unique drops from a 1.02 cc Lee disk, 7.9 grains of BR 5 has a volume of 0.67 cc, the closest Lee disk is 0.66cc. If you were to use the Lee 1.02 disk, you’ll end up dropping 12.1 grains of BR 5. I didn’t go that far, but I feel it would be entirely safe in either the 92 or Black Hawk. Having no way of checking pressure, I considered ease of extraction, knowing that isn’t reliable with straight wall cases, and primer condition. No load resulted in a flattened primer, although I have a feeling I was approaching, or at +P pressures, but nowhere near Ruger/Thompson level high-end loads with 11.2 grains of BR 5. Five rounds were fired with each load. Most accurate load was with 11.2 grains of BR 5 which was no surprise given the low standard deviation.

Load Lee disk Velocity (f/s) SD
7.9 gr Unique 1.02 cc 887 14.93
7.9 gr BR 5 None (6.7 cc) 674 126.3
9.7 gr BR 5 0.82 cc 907 33.95
10.5 gr BR 5 0.88 cc 997 18.94
11.2 gr BR 5 0.95 cc 1095 12.4

[skook]

Some anecdotal feedback on BR-5 in the 500 Linebaugh:
Finding Unique getting scarce, I picked up a tub of BR-5 and found it slower than Unique.
I’ve settled on 12-14gr for accurate and easy shooting loads using 320 win and 470 kt boolits. These are burning cleaner than my Unique and providing the same “feels like” and point of aim/point of impact as when using 10-12 gr of Unique.
These aren’t boomer loads by any means, but are fun to shoot, will knock there way through 6” of juniper, and leave plenty of bullet splash for spotting long range impacts.
Russ

[Mike_54729]

[QUOTE=GSP7;4877369]Anyone else playin' with BR-5?


I am. No pistol loads yet though. Just 12ga trap loads. Thought I'd give it a try. 25gr, 1 1/8oz. Seems to shoot good. My 25's this season were my best yet. Next will be .38. Ordered From GI Brass. 60# should last me a while.

[Mike_54729]

[QUOTE=GSP7;4877369]Anyone else playin' with BR-5?


I am. No pistol loads yet though. Just 12ga trap loads. Thought I'd give it a try. 25gr, 1 1/8oz. Seems to shoot good. My 25's this season were my best yet. Next will be .38. Ordered From GI Brass. 60# should last me a while.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++

Using 25gr in 12 ga 1 1/8ox loads. Switched at the start of the season. What can I say. My best season in 40 years. I'm not a great shooter, but had 4 25's. Only shot 5 in my life. I will be trying BR-5 in .44, .45, 9mm, 45AR, and 38 in the near future. Might take a while, but I'll try some of the suggestions noted, and post my results. I still have 66# to burn up.

[Eddie Southgate]

Any of you tried it with cast in rifle cartridges ?

[farmbif]

well the boss said to use data for unique, but unique is not a ball powder, not sure if it makes a difference, some have said that AA5is uniques equivalent in a ball powder and has blown up some Glock 40's, but the loads in them Glock 40's just might been put together by some hot rodders that dont think they have to play by the rules.
wish I went to ballistics engineering school

[Multra]

Pretty sure it's shooter's world auto pistol/lovex d036

[johnnybar]

Pretty sure it's shooter's world auto pistol/lovex d036

I'll look again but I thought it was closer to Lovex S020.

[Castaway]

It’s somewhere near Blue Dot and 3N38

[Silvercreek Farmer]

How fine is it? Leaky fine like 296, or coarser?

[Castaway]

It’s fine.

[jaysouth]

Any of you tried it with cast in rifle cartridges ?

I shoot 150 plain based cast Accurate 150T powder coated over 8 grs of BR-5 with a Win Large PISTOL primer with very good accuracy. This the first 30-30 load I tried and stuck with it.

[mvintx]

I found a superb load for the Lyman 356402 using 5.2 grains BR-5 and EPH20 primers. Average velocity was 1,075 fps with an SD of 17. At 12 yds, ten rounds printed a 1.125" size group.

[mvintx]

Still working with BR-5 and did some comparison with EPH20 and CCI factory primers. All three examples exhibited excellent accuracy (for me...under 2" at 12 yards, all shot from a rest) was almost the same among the three examples listed but the chronograph numbers are mystifying. From what I can tell, the EPH20 primers appear to ignite instantly but I have to wonder if there isn't a microsecond of hangfire causing the wide variation in velocities. I do have to admit that the .003¢ per primer cost vs. 10¢ for a factory primer is very appealing. I'll save my factory primers for another day.
313129

[Tommygun2000]

The following load information is directly from Jeff at GIBRASS.
I've loaded .44spl, .45acp and 9mm with the BR5 powder and like it very much.



BR-5
Pistol Powder




Caliber Bullet Charge Velocity

380 ACP 90gr FMJ 3.8 – 4.1 gr. 875 – 950 fps
380 ACP 100gr FMJ 3.7 – 3.9 gr. 825 – 900 fps

38 Super 100gr FMJ 5.9 – 6.6 gr. 1250 – 1375 fps
38 Super 115gr FMJ 5.8 – 6.3 gr. 1100 – 1190 fps
38 Super 124gr FMJ 5.6 – 6.1 gr. 1080 – 1180 fps
38 Super 147gr XTP 5.4 – 5.6 gr. 850 – 1120 fps

9x19 115gr FMJ 4.6 – 5.6 gr. 1010 – 1150 fps
9x19 124gr FMJ 4.7 – 5.4 gr. 960 – 1080 fps
9x19 147gr XTP 4.4 – 4.8 gr. 840 – 890 fps

38 Spl 125gr JHP 5.6 – 6.2 gr. 1009 – 1109 fps
38 Spl 158gr LSWC 5.0 – 5.6 gr. 941 - 1046 fps
38 Spl 158gr XTP 5.0 – 5.6 gr. 877 – 973 fps
38 Spl+P 124gr XTP 5.7 – 6.7 gr. 1029 – 1180 fps

40 S&W 155gr XTP 6.8 – 7.3 gr. 1088 – 1165 fps
40 S&W 170gr FMJ 6.1 – 6.6 gr. 1005 - 1080 fps
40 S&W 200gr XTP 4.7 – 5.5 gr. 805 - 920 fps

10mm Auto 155gr XTP 7.5 – 7.8 gr 1210 – 1250 fps
10mm Auto 200gr XTP 6.8 – 7.8 gr. 1020 - 1110 fps

44 Spl 200gr XTP 7.2 – 8.0 gr. 860 – 950 fps

45ACP 185gr XTP 8.9 – 9.9 gr. 1037 - 1152 fps
45ACP 200gr FMJ 7.6 – 8.4 gr. 935 – 1040 fps
45ACP 230gr FMJ 6.5 – 7.5 gr. 805 – 870 fps
45ACP 250gr FP 5.7 – 6.7 gr. 745 - 820 fps

[Thumbcocker]

Thanks for sharing this.

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