power pistol and the 3030

[shootsblanks]

hello all,
I figured you were so helpful getting my 3030 deer load sorted out I would pick all of your brains more.

my wife (bless her heart) knew I was looking for pistol powder (to her confusion as I don't own any pistols) and thought it would be fantastic to buy me a 4lb tub of power pistol for my birthday, after checking a couple burn rate charts it appears to be VERY close to unique, perhaps a touch slower, I cant seem to find any specific data and was hoping somebody had some experience with power pistol, if not would it be unsafe to use the start load for unique and work towards max? the data I have found for unique is 7gr/1240fps to 11gr/1610.
I would like to have something on the hotter end so I am not adjusting my sights between my hunting and target round, if my hunting load hits 2.5" High at 75 and a target load that is 0 at the same range I am perfectly happy

from what I have read a magnum pistol primer will completely flatten at 40kpsi and 3030 saami max is 42k, would it be wise to use those to keep an eye on pressure?

my projectile is the lee 309-170fn, 177gr with gc and lube sized 310.

thanks in advance for any help!

[nagantguy]

what is the powder in question? close is close but sometimes close is far away, if that makes sense. as far as mag primers, I've never used them in 30 30 with mouse fart plinks or any loading for that matter. for the little pinch of fast pistol powder in the case I don't believe a mag primer would be necessary, but I've been wrong before.

[shootsblanks]

The powder is Alliant power pistol,
My idea with using the magnum primer was that it deforms at higher pressure than a standard LPP and lower than the saami max for 3030

[dverna]

I know you can use SR primers in pistol cases but I recall that it is not recommended to use LP primers in rifle cases.

Send Alliant an email. They typically respond in 24 hours and they are very helpful. I would not trust information off any site unless I knew the answer came from someone who knows his stuff. Post count does not relate to knowledge so be careful about data you may get.

There is a phenomena that can cause an explosion instead of a burn with some powders in light loads. I think most pistol powders are pretty safe for light loads but I know nothing about Power Pistol.

[gtgeorge]

Quickload shows a pressure of 26580 PSI for 11gr with that bullet set at OAL 2.530" and @ 1559 fps in a 20" barrel. A check with Alliant would be advisable as recommended above. I have never loaded Power Pistol in a rifle myself before though.

[nagantguy]

sorry I over looked the powders name in the op, I have no experience with that flavor.

[MarkP]

Be aware that Large Pistol / Large rifle pockets are the same diameter but rifle pockets are deeper.

[shootsblanks]

awesome thanks for the help guys, I loaded up several batches of 5 from 8-12 grains and fired them yesterday, turns out it is very position sensitive, if I angled the rifle up and tapped the powder to the back of the case I shot 1-2.5" groups at 50 off a decent rest. I will try and just shoot I would get significant vertical stringing. will be shooting similar loads this afternoon at the same distance with a 1/4 square of tp as a filler

[Wayne Smith]

SEE is proven as the result of partial ignition of very slow powders in a large case causing partial boolit movement into the bore and then the complete ignition of the remainder of the powder and the boolit acting as a bore obstruction. This is similar but different from ringing the chamber.

No worries with Power Pistol.

[dubber123]

I believe I stayed at under 10 grains with Power Pistol and a 311291, similar weight to yours. I stayed under 10 as I only wanted an accurate load, and speed wasn't a real consideration. I think they were in the 1,400 fps range as I recall. I got a lot of 1/2" 50 yarders from my Savage 219 using Power Pistol. I did the same with several other powders too though, I just used Power Pistol as I have 10+ pounds of the stuff.

[Dimner]

awesome thanks for the help guys, I loaded up several batches of 5 from 8-12 grains and fired them yesterday, turns out it is very position sensitive, if I angled the rifle up and tapped the powder to the back of the case I shot 1-2.5" groups at 50 off a decent rest. I will try and just shoot I would get significant vertical stringing. will be shooting similar loads this afternoon at the same distance with a 1/4 square of tp as a filler


Far be it from me to give advice... I am no expert and have no experience with power pistol.


That said, it's my generally understanding that fillers are not a good idea with fast powders (pistol/shotgun) powder. I really can't say it any other way than... I would never do it.... If you are set on doing it, it probably would be ideal to use something fluffier than TP as the filler. Like dacron.