This thread is dedicated to Don Quixote as I begin my latest personal effort in tilting at proverbial Wind Mills. Those who have perused the many pages of our Cast Boolit Forum will immediately recognize that I am off on a Fool’s Errand as I attempt to use an exceptionally slow Powder (WC860) in a case that obviously requires a much faster burn rate. Many will ask “Why, Why would you do this? The answer is: Because it was in front of the WC872 and WC867 jugs in my Powder Locker; and I was too lazy to move it and get something slower. The real answer is because I did not know what the results would be and I was curious.
(For those who are new and less experienced in Reloading, go to the below posting, and do some Internet searches on Powder Burn Rates to understand my Tongue in Cheek references). http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=133889 .
Well it was slightly cooler this morning here in the Nevada Desert, just North of Las Vegas, so I sucked it up after feeding the horses and moving the irrigation watering and decided to head to the range. By the time I had loaded the jeep with the targets, rifles, and shooting support equipment it was 07:30 and the temperature had already reached 90 degrees. Oh well; it was an enjoyable, albeit short morning, where I was able to collect some initial data on using WC860 in a .223. Let me assure you, the results would surprise and confound me.
I had prepared two different loads of four (4) rounds each. Yes; I know that you can’t expect to validate any load and derive any decent statistical data unless you shoot 10 round strings, and repeat each string multiple times, and hand weigh each bullet, and hand weigh each charge, and do a water volume comparison of each case, and ….. Keep in mind; I did not set out on this quest to develop the most accurate, most efficient, most perfect .223/5.56 load; no, I set out on a Fool’s Errand in order to TILT and see what happens. Back to the Loads:
I had previously selected eight (8) cases with the same LC-78 head stamp from the storage pail of mixed head stamp brass I keep in the garage. All were measured to ensure they were not too long, then sized, de-primed, re-primed, and made ready for loading. I had determined that given the Burn Rate of WC860; it was far below any listing for loads listed in any of my reloading manuals, so a full case would not get me in trouble. I do not have any .224 cast boolits on hand, so I opted to use surplus pulled M855 62 Grain projectiles (For those purists wondering why I didn’t Cast some .224 Boolits for this exercise; did I fail to mention the Nevada Desert North of Las Vegas and that it was already 90 degrees at 0730?)
For this Tilting event, I thought it would be interesting to see how a Full Charge of WC860 in a .223/5.56 case would fare in a match against one with a “Kicker/Booster” charge, a shameless effort to get better ignition of the powder. Remember, I said there were some surprises, this sets the stage for one of these surprises.
.223/5.56 Load #1:
Powder: WC860 - 26.0 Grains
Primer: CCI 400 Small Rifle Primer
Projectile: Pulled M855 military 62 Grain FMJ Ball (Actual Weight – 63.5 Grains)
.223/5.56 Load #2:
Powder: WC860 - 23.6 Grains
Booster/Kicker: Unique - 2.4 Grains
Primer: CCI 400 Small Rifle Primer
Projectile: Pulled M855 military 62 Grain FMJ Ball (Actual Weight – 63.5 Grains)
CAUTION: THE USE OF A BOOSTER/KICKER IN A LOAD SHOULD ONLY BE UTILIZED BY THOSE WHO ARE HIGHLY EXPERIENCED IN RELOADING, AND WHO HAVE EDUCATED THEMSELVES EXTENSIVELY IN THIS AREA BEFORE ATTEMPTING. THERE ARE MANY CONSIDERATIONS AND IF DONE INCORRECTLY THE RESULTS COULD BE A DESTROYED FIREARM, INJURY, AND EVEN DEATH.
So it was off to the range this morning to see what the results would be. My expectations were pretty low, I even thought I heard the .410, 28, 16, 20, & 12 gauges in the safe snickering as I left the house, claiming their groups would be much better if they were allowed to go. After setting up at the range I began to shoot and here are some of the surprises:
1. Velocities were much lower than I thought for both loads. I was anticipating somewhere in the 1200 to 1400 FPS range. Instead what I got was repeated “Error” messages from my F1 Chronograph. I know it was working because I had just previously shot 30-06 Cast Boolit and Jacketed loads over it.
2. I was amazed when the Booster/Kicker load was showing velocities in the 377 FPS range; while the pure WC860 load was producing velocities more than twice that rate at about 890 FPS.
3. I had anticipated that the Booster/Kicker Load would get a more full burn of powder; resulting in a tighter shot grouping; but that did not occur. Instead the WC860 26 Grain Load produced a Shot group of ~ 0.6 x 0.6 inches; while the load with the kicker produced a group that was much larger at ~ 1” x 1.25”.
4. I was surprised that even with the Booster Charge, there was unburned WC860 all along the barrel bottom from the Chamber to the Bore. Looked like sludge in a sewer pipe.
My Load and Record Data for both Loads is attached below as Pictures. Hopefully it's readable. Click on the thumb nails below to see a larger image on the screen. Also a pic of the barrel and unburned powder is attached, it is as I could get with my camera. If you enlarge you can see traces of debris in the barrel at 7 O'Clock.
So what did the Wind Mill tell me? It may be theoretically feasible to only use a single powder for loads ranging from the .223/5.56 all the way up to the 50 BMG; but it is not very practicable. We can explore the what if’s of reloading, and continue to learn from those in this forum, but we need to always remain safe in doing so.
Best Wishes – Mustang (Don Quixote for the Morning)