IMR 7383 on the way !

[Jim]

I should have some first week in Oct. Dan



-----Original Message-----
From: jim
Sent: Sep 20, 2008 8:07 AM
To: danjohnson1@mindspring.com
Subject: IMR 7383

Dan,A few years ago, I bought a coupla' cases of 7383 from you. I've still got some, but I'm getting low. Your website has listed it as "temporarily out of stock" for several months. Do you really expect to get some more in or have we seen the last of it?

:drinks:

[only1asterisk]

That's great news!

David

[smokemjoe]

Whats it work in. Joe

[Ben]

The burn rate on my particular lot of IMR 7383 runs somewhere between IMR 4064 and IMR 4350.

I'd like to suggest that you do some reading here before attempting to use 7383 :

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=19911&highlight=7383

Ben

[TCLouis]

Dan as in Hi Tech Ammo??

Great, they have Rooski "Unique" also.

Now if they would just restock WC820 I could get one HazMat charge for it all.

[Ricochet]

7.5x55 Swiss in the K-31 is the first thing I tried it in that will let me easily reach full service load power with 7383, and it can be overloaded in it.

I've used it very cautiously for 2000-2200 FPS cast boolit loads in .300 Weatherby. I KNOW it can be overloaded in that cartridge.

[Jim]

Still not listed yet.

[wiljen]

Got email today, Hi-tech is hoping to have it posted by the end of the week or first of next week

[Maven]

[Smoke 'em] Joe, Search our archives for info. re IMR 7383 as it has been discussed rather thoroughly. In brief, it's burning rate varies with the lot no., but IMR 4064/H 380 data are a place to start. I've used it with jacketed bullets in the .243Win. and .30-06 to excellent effect, but found it was closer to IMR 4350 than 4064 or 380. A chronograph is a must with 7383 and, as others have repeatedly said, a large increase in pressure occurs with the addition of as little as 1 gr. of it.

[Ricochet]

That's when it ends up burning more like 4064 or 4320. It seems (at least in cartridges like .30-06, .22-250, 8mm Mauser and 7.62x54R) to start off giving velocities like similar weights of 4350, but reaches a point where the velocities and pressures go up very rapidly. Happens sooner with heavy bullets and things like tight crimps or bullets seated into the rifling that increase "shot start pressure." Compressing it is a bad idea, as the grains break and that runs up the burning rate. But uncompressed, it loads to only about 7/8 of the density of most IMR powders. It burns with a lot of smoke (it actually looks black as it first comes out of the muzzle), and it makes more soot and hard carbon deposits in the bore than most powders. If you get lazy about cleaning, it'll make a hard carbon ring in the bore throat that'll choke your boolits down as they pass through it, and it's like chipping out epoxy to clean the stuff out after it's built up. The powder has carbon black added to it, the grains are black all the way through. But for all of its quirks, I like it and use it a lot. It's great stuff for fairly high velocity cast rifle loads.

[Jim]

04 OCT
Still not posted yet.

[TCLouis]

One jug or four?

[wiljen]

you can get 4 in one hazmat fee - that was my plan.

[Ricochet]

Bought mine with 5 jugs on one hazmat. He turns one upside down in between the other 4.

[Jim]

I'll probably buy 3 jugs of 7383 and one of 820.

[LIMPINGJ]

Has anyone tried any in the 7.62X39?

[Ricochet]

I think it's pretty slow burning and low density for the 7.62x39. Haven't tried it, though.

I know it doesn't work for crap in .45-70.

[Jim]

It'll work in that cartridge. Ya' gotta understand this powder is real strange and does some weird stuff. It ain't like anything else you've ever used, so ya' gotta go slow and be careful.

And Ric, with all due respect, I've been loading it in .45-70 for years with excellent results. There are two primary things to remember with this powder. It's real twitchy above 100 percent case density and it functions under pressure. The window of function is real small.

[wiljen]

I called and placed an order today and per Dan he doesn't have much, so it may never make it to the website - if you want it, I'd be calling him now boys. $36 a 7lbs jug.

[Ricochet]

Doesn't work to suit me with 340 grain #457122 in .45-70. With as much as can be compressed under the boolit, each powder grain only halfway burns and remains intact. It spills out into the action of my 1895 Marlin, pretty shortly locks it up so it's nonfunctional, and it's quite difficult to remove from the action. Might not be a problem in a single shot. Gives about 1250-1300 FPS with that boolit, as I recall. Might work OK with a heavy boolit, I don't know. I've never successfully used anything slower than 3031 in .45-70.

[angus6]

So would this be an okay powder for plinking with the 308 in the Fal ? right now I've got a bunch of M62 tracers <145gr > that need used :-P don't care if they light

[Ricochet]

I'd expect it could be made to work OK, but gas operated actions can be finicky. I've loaded up some 136-137 grain empty "tracer jackets" with 7383 in 7.62x54R that are intended for my PSL, but haven't had the opportunity to try them yet.

[Maven]

Tried 7383 in my 8mm Mau. today with ~195gr. LBT cast bullets (gas checked) and couldn't be happier! The load was 37gr. & 38gr. 7383 in reformed Win. '06 brass + CCI #34 primers. The 38gr. load grouped markedly better than 37grs., but I didn't chronograph either as I forgot to take the new sky screens to the range.

[Jim]

I think 195 grains is a bit on the heavy side as 8MM bullets generally go. That being said, that's probably why you had good results, Mav. 7383 likes pressure and 195 grains in a 8MM will certainly generate it.

Angus, I'm not so sure it would do well for plinking. That word usually brings to mind soft and/or light loads. 7383 would not be user friendly to that end. Personally, for plinking w/ a .308, I'd probably go toward one of the pistol powders like Bullseye, Unique or one of the Dots.

[TCLouis]

I think this may have been mentioned in the past, but to be honest, I am just to lazy to look, what are the individual powder grains like with this powder?

You know, long short, fat meters well, meters poorly, the last two is what I am really after. Us "round powder" (after all "ball" is trademarked) users get kinda lazy and expect consistent drops from the measure.

[Jim]

It's a tubular stick, TC. The grains are large as most sticks go, so it tends to bulk up a bit. That explains why there's only 7 lbs. in a jug as opposed to most other milsurps coming in 8 pounders.
As for metering, you might need to ask somebody that can answer that at all. I either meter it by volume with a scoop for recreational loads or weight it out. Never even owned a metering device.

[Maven]

T/C Louis, As Jim said, 7383 is bulky, i.e., more so than IMR 4350. As for how well it meters, that depends in part on which powder measure you have or will use. It works OK in my Lee "Perfect" measure, but I weigh each charge and trickle to reach the exact charge I want. However, I may experiment with the Lee powder scoops later today.

[wiljen]

I have found that the measure for the stick powders is the B&M. Having owned and used Lee, RCBS, Redding, and lyman, the B&M is the only style that doesn't get bound up and doesn't cut grains. I keep a Redding for ball powders and the B&M for sticks at this point. Best combination I've found.

[Ricochet]

I prefer the Lee dippers for this stuff, where a dipper's volume is an appropriate charge. I think of 7383 loads as 2.8, 3.1, 3.4 cc, etc., not by grains.

[wiljen]

I got a lot of it today so I'll soon find out how this lot # compares.

[Jim]

Will, I'm lookin' for mine to come in first part of next week. First thing I'm gonna do is a volume/weight comparison.

[wiljen]

New lot is a little more dense: (weights of a full 45/70 case - avg of 5)

IMR-7383 Lot Rad 78L 61.6gr
IMR-7383 lot LC 85-708 62.3gr
IMR-4350 (Canister) 74.0gr

Still not in line with the other IMR powders density wise, but its a little bit higher than last batch at least.

[johnly]

I just checked and it's all gone.

John

[wmitty]

Fellers, I ordered what Dan said was the last three jugs on 10/15/08 along with a jug of MR 3100. I didn't think to ask him when he expected to have more.

[Jim]

From what Dan told me, we're gettin' down to the dregs.