Came into some #6 and 5066 powder several months ago. Son-in-law got it from a friend whose father had recently passed. The metal cans were sealed, and the powder smelled and looked normal. I poured out a small bit and it readily lit and burned bright.
So I tried a bit of each with some 158 gr plated and lead bullets in 38SP cases. I started with 3.5 gr of #6 and increased in .1 increments to a max of 4.0. The 5066 started at 4.3 and increased to 4.8. I went to the range yesterday and fired them over the chrony using a GP100 in 357. I was expecting to approach 900 FPS.
They were fairly accurate and very soft shooting, but velocities were very erratic. I expected each increase in powder charge to have a corresponding increase in velocity. That didn’t happen. Results below.
#6
3.5 - 692
3.6 - 750
3.7 - 699
3.8 - 628
3.9 - 739
4.0 - no register
5066
4.3 - 592
4.4 - 508
4.5 - 597
4.6 - 588
4.7 - 507
4.8 - 581
Could this occur if both powders are position sensitive?
So I tried a bit of each with some 158 gr plated and lead bullets in 38SP cases. I started with 3.5 gr of #6 and increased in .1 increments to a max of 4.0. The 5066 started at 4.3 and increased to 4.8. I went to the range yesterday and fired them over the chrony using a GP100 in 357. I was expecting to approach 900 FPS.
They were fairly accurate and very soft shooting, but velocities were very erratic. I expected each increase in powder charge to have a corresponding increase in velocity. That didn’t happen. Results below.
#6
3.5 - 692
3.6 - 750
3.7 - 699
3.8 - 628
3.9 - 739
4.0 - no register
5066
4.3 - 592
4.4 - 508
4.5 - 597
4.6 - 588
4.7 - 507
4.8 - 581
Could this occur if both powders are position sensitive?