pistol powder question

T

TruthTellers

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CAUTION: The following thread includes loading data beyond or not covered by currently published maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The Firing Line, nor the staff of TFL assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.


What's a good, fast burning pistol powder that works well when slightly compressed? Would be for .327 Magnum loaded with 3 round balls.
 
No, if I loaded 2 .315" balls into the case and crimped the top ball just past the hemisphere, that would leave about .350" of capacity left for the powder. So, there is roo there and I believe I could compress the powder some and use a magnum primer.

It's not like there's a lot of bearing surface to cause dangerous pressures.
 
if I loaded 2 .315" balls into the case...
Click to expand...
2 does not equal 3, which was your original question.

Three balls fill the case.
and even w/ only two balls, 300-thou of powder isn't going to compress much.
And forget thinking that bearing surface doesn't matter. You've sealed the bore.

but that much in BP might stop charging mouses. :D
 
3 balls total, 2 fully in the case, top ball a bit over half in the case, about half the ball sticking out of the case.

This will leave a small amount of room for a fast burning, compressible smokeless powder, yes?
 
Problem, this is a squirrel of a load combination.
The likes of HP-38 quickly goes hyperbolic, as do most of the fast powders.

I ran a 3-ball column/140gr/.936" in QL, leaving a 1/2 ball above the mouth.
That left room for 2-3 gr of powder, which I asked QL to look for.
It thought carefully through all the options for about a second and then came up w/ an error code I'd never seen before;

** "Hast du deinen Kopf gegessen ? ***

That did it for me.
I don't recommend it.
 
Just because something is theoretically possible doesn't mean it is a good idea. I've never heard of a fast burning powder that likes to be compressed. Usually fast burning powders have tons of extra dead space.

Have you tried 2 ball loads? I would imagine this would be a much better place to start and the novelty will soon wear off.
 
** "Hast du deinen Kopf gegessen ? ***
Click to expand...

"Have you eaten your head?"

Funny how expressions differ. I take it that it means, "have you lost your mind"?

Compressing fast powder puts too much rapid-release energy in too small a space to work out to be theoretically safe. You could get some very high pressure spikes trying this.
 
Unclenick said:
"Have you eaten your head?"

Funny how expressions differ. I take it that it means, "have you lost your mind"?

Compressing fast powder puts too much rapid-release energy in too small a space to work out to be theoretically safe. You could get some very high pressure spikes trying this.
Click to expand...
I know that this would otherwise be dangerous and a big no no if using a solid bullet with a large bearing surface, but we are talking about balls with little bearing surface. In fact, my idea is the top two balls I would use .310 or a bit smaller so they don't touch the bottom of the grooves, but the .315 ball would be at the bottom of the case to seal the bore.

Also, the .327 is a very high pressure magnum cartridge and I'm thinking that it can hold up to the pressure spike a compressed powder would create.
 
TruthTellers wrote:
...if I loaded 2 .315" balls into the case and crimped the top ball just past the hemisphere, that would leave about .350" of capacity left for the powder.
Click to expand...

That space would have a volume of approximately 0.36 cubic centimeters. And the data Lee publishes for 38 Special says that volume will hold about:
  • 2.8 grains of Hi-Skor 700X
  • 3.1 grains of PB
  • 3.4 grains of Bullseye
  • 2.6 grains of Red Dot
  • 3.2 grains of Trap100
And all of those are comparatively fast powders. Still, I don't see any published data for 140 grains of projectiles in .327 Magnum, so that QL error message asking "Have you lost your mind?" should probably be heeded.
 
Buffalo Bore makes a .327 load using a 130 grain hard cast lead flat nose and says it's safe to shoot in all .327's. My idea is adding 10 grains of extra lead, BUT decreasing the bearing surface to less than that of the 130 grain Buffalo Bore load.

Yes, it wouldn't leave much room for powder, but I don't see why a little bit of compression wouldn't work on 3 to 3.5 grains of bullseye.
 
The 130 grain buffalo bore bullet would be solid. There will be voids between your balls and thus take up considerably more space inside the case.

Have you tried 2 ball loads? Much easier to come up with load data and a similar effect. These loads have some novelty, but it is just that a novelty.
 
If you're determined to try this, and I don't think you should, then start with a slower but fine grained powder to keep the pressure down. Something like Accurate #5 or #7, or HS6. Chronograph your loads and check for pressure signs.
 
TruthTellers said:
but we are talking about balls with little bearing surface
Click to expand...

Estimates of bore friction range from 3% to 6% of the total resistance the powder builds pressure against, so that's about all you could save by reducing bearing surface. Most of the resistance the pressure builds against is the inertia of the projectile mass resisting acceleration. So you are giving up your bearing surface savings by adding 10 grains of weight.

As this is clearly not something anyone can be sure is safe without some pressure gun testing, I am adding the required warning to the OP.
 
Basically, everyone is telling you that you shouldn't do it with 3 balls, that it's a dangerous and irresponsible loading. Two, maybe with a not so fast powder. But you seem stuck on the idea of doing it anyways. Why even ask if your stuck on ignorant?

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