Thread: Rabbit holeing with primers

Originally Posted by johnd

@grandpamac
Yes I agree the results for another powder would change it up a bit. I will repeat the test with stick powder, next time out. I want to use the Ball powder up in large primer cases and save the small primer brass for the hotties. I dont know when Belmont will sell their popwder again and if it will be cheap anymore either.
Loads tested were in .308 with 155 projo Lapua large and small cases.

48 grains SMP763 for vel of 2950 fps With MLRP's and LRP's

47.6 grains 763 vel 2920 as above

44.4 grains BM8208 vel 3033fps with LRP's and SRP's

The above is averaged out speeds.

Greetings again,
Thanks for that. That is clearly not an 18 inch barrel. I am finding that testing is even more habit forming than hand loading. I have been doing some testing with powder lots and with different powders with all other components the same. I found a big step in the speed of AR2209 about 20 years ago and a change in velocity due to a change in ogive shape in Hornady soft points. I wrote some of this and other tinkering in NZ Guns on line mag a while back before they closed down. One word of caution, it might be better to keep the 763 powder only for use in the large rifle primed cases. The 40 fps drop in velocity for the small rifle primers versus the large rifle primers tells me that the ignition of even the easy to ignite BM8208 is marginal. With 763 you would run the risk of a misfire, hang fire or worse still a squib load that leaves a projectile in the barrel. This would be worse in cold conditions as others have discovered. The thing that really got me into handloading was a subscription to Handloader in 1980. While more cautious than some of the early articles it is still the best in class for handloaders and they do an on line subscription.
Regards Grandpamac.