A Slow lot of powder Indeed

S

Stats Shooter

New member
I had previously worked up a load for hunting this fall for my Model 70 Super Grade 300 wm for elk.
I use H1000, CCI magnum primers, Norma Brass, and 200 gr Accubonds.

The best accuracy occurred around 2870 fps, at 78 gr powder. Just under 1" @ 200 yards. I was very happy with this load, but I ran out of that lot of H1000, and not wanting to crack into my H1000 I use for my F-OPEN rifle , I bought 2 lbs of a different lot just to make a batch for hunting.

So, as usual with a new lot I back off a few gr since I run near the max most of the time, and fired a 3 shot group over the chroney to see if I was over or under the velocity of the previous lot....well, I was 125 gr low!!!! So I tried using this lot to get back to the same barrel time (or close to the same velocity) but at 81 gr I could no longer seat bullets consistently.

I was dropping with a drop tube, then I had to take a Phillips head screwdriver and make a deep diviit in the powder, and run the ram up and down 10 times to get bullets seated consistently at 80.5 gr. But this didn't group well and I was still over 50 fps below my accuracy node, and it grouped poorly, about 3 MOA. ( Not surprised )

So, do I ditch this lot of powder (expensive fertilizer)? I really have no use for it and while I am an H1000 acolyte in the .300 wm, this batch just isn't going to work.


I love H1000, but in this gun I am very limited in terms of seating depth. I only have about 4/100" to play with. So with this bullet I may have to switch over to H4831 SC or something. Since this load is already fairly compressed at 78, I just have no wiggle room if I have a slower lot.


So I think the answer here may be a faster powder.

Oh, and btw, at my velocity I'm at around 61k psi so I have some room for a faster powder to get back up to the velocity I want. And H4831 SC will get me there without pushing the primer out while I seat bullets ;)
 
Last edited:
Put it up for a free offer or something. I wouldn't have an issue taking powder from a reloader.

Get a single pound of 4831, it may hit the velocity but not the pressure curve H1000 and it may not group as well. I will be interested.

How much H1000 do you have on hand for the Target shooting?

Consider a few loads of it in the 300 and see what it gets you.

If its as slow as what you got, blend the new stuff.

And if you have a lot you might be able to dilute it and see little or no change

(2 lbs into 8 lbs say)

Sooner or latter you are going to have to come up with new powder for the F class work so its an opportunity!
 
Wow, that sucks.

Can you estimate what the performance loss is in %? I am curious as I have been wondering about the 10% lot variance displayed in Quickload and how common that much difference really is.

At least on the low side you are safe from pressure but that's too bad you can't make it work.

I have blended different lots of powder but only in VERY small amounts. Say a few hundred grains left over into a new pound or so.
 
Wow, that sucks
Click to expand...

Yes it does. The performance loss isn't extreme, about 3.5%. But I don't have the extra case space, or the extra mag length to make the case space. And I won't single shot a mountain hunting rifle.

If this was my savage 110 .300 wm, it wouldn't be as big a deal because I have another 1/10 of an inch mag length.

I guess I could, like RC said, go buy a different lot of H1000 and see what I get.

When I was doing the load workup with the initial lot, I got heavy bolt lift at 79.5 gr and flattened primers when doing the safety pressure test. With this batch, at 80.5 gr, the primers still had a perfect crown and the casehead to Datum growth was 0.002 less.

In other words, remarkably less pressure.

I too have read about the potential "10%" variation, dismissed it as lawyer dictated drivel. The most I have ever had to adjust is +/- 1% or so. But 3&1/2 is new to me with same lot of primers, brass, chamber, weather etc.

Anyone ever use supreme 780 in .300wm? I have an LGS bursting with win powder and it has good numbers. Plus it's a ball powder and case fill wouldn't be an issue.....
In fact if I used Supreme 780 I could use a powder thrower rather than weighing Each powder charge.
 
"...at 81 gr I could no longer seat bullets consistently..." Not surprising considering that's 2 grains over max and a compressed load.
Your "Just under 1" @ 200 yards" is where you should have stopped. 78.0 is compressed too, not that it matters, but it's also under max.
H1000 doesn't necessarily require magnum primers either. Not used by Hodgdon for 200 grain .30-06 loads. Hodgdon's site has a very bad habit of suggesting magnum primers only for magnum named cartridges and not according to the powder.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top