Quote:
Originally Posted by
megasupermagnum
That's a whole other different myth. I was referring to the myth of bluedot not being ok for 41 magnum (but ok in other handguns), which is not true at all. It is one of the best 41 magnum powders there are.
The myth of bluedot spiking in cold weather, well I'm not sure what I can do to ease your mind. I regularly pressure test with the Pressure Trace II, and I've never seen anything except pressure going down in cold weather like every other powder. I don't take my pressure testing stuff out in the extreme cold, but I shoot all year. -20F has never been an issue in shotguns, handguns (many of which are full throttle magnum pistols), or rifles. Every single lot of powder Alliant produces is tested in their lab at -20F, including Bluedot. You don't have to take my word for it, Alliant is quite open and proud about the testing they do with their powders. They would never continue to make a powder that was in any way unsafe.
I don't believe it's a myth.
Quote:
07-27-2008, 08:30 AM
Just maybe I could be of help here, considering my experiences with BD. I have used several different older lots of it in quantity, ALL before the formulas started to change. My standard loads were/are 10-150K-357M, 12.5-220K-41M, 14.5-250K-44M, 9-60(225646)-222, all with CCI/Rem standard pistol. I shoot these loads only between 40 and 90 degrees which is in my comfort zone. These older lots are consistent enough day-to-day to where I could not tell any realistic difference in performance, velocity or accuracy.
Yes, the powder pressure spikes tremendously when pushed over the edge. Accuracy is quite smooth when using a quasi 15 percent reduction below that pressure edge which is fairly easy to determine with recoil alone. Unfortunately, accuracy keeps getting better as the edge is approached, and that is a major problem with BD in the hands of inexperienced users.
Along comes WW630 to hopefully take care of that problem. This powder has the speed regulated exactly half way between BD and 2400. There are no powders currently made which fit this bill.
Here is my speculation. It is difficult to formulate a powder in this speed range. BD lot changes of late deal with the dirty bore syndrome, and yet some chemist tried to introduce a formulation to eliminate that top end problem, as well as the crystal changes well below freezing temps. All powders are made with a controlled water content, and perhaps the BD performance range depends on that value being very closely regulated. When the powder dries out in storage of any kind, it's pressure capability is adversely affected because of the lack of tolerance.
In other words, it has been especially difficult to make a powder faster than 2400 and slower than Herco with stability required across all applications, gun and weather combined.
... felix