memilanuk
Gold $$ Contributor
Been kind of kicking this idea around... thought I'd run it by y'all and see if anyone else had tried it already.
I know a few varminters have been using Blue Dot in .223,and probably .222 before that) for years. 12.5-13.0gr of Blue Dot punts the bullet out at reduced, but still highly effective velocities,probably 200-250yd max range on varmints). Noise signature is slightly reduced - not so much that you don't need hearing protection at least up close, but the sound doesn't 'carry' near as much.
I've got a varminting trip coming up, probably going to be mostly rimfire,.22LR and .17HMR), but I like to take something with a little more 'thump' for the times when the furry little buggers,Belding ground squirrels) are *just* out of range of that teeny 17gr bullet
Just a cursory comparison of the published data for the .17 HMR ~9-10' drop @ 200yds, ~70-75ft-lbs of smack left - in other words, not much. A 36gr Varmint Grenade that starts out even at a paltry 3k fps MV drops half as much and has three times the smack-down power - at 250yds. Plenty for disassembling small furry targets
So... nothing new yet, right? People have been doing this for years, as I said. What got me to thinking was the current reloading component shortage, combined with the huge influx of new reloaders as ammo prices soar. Lots of boards have been seeing the same questions over and over and over and over... one of which always is 'Why can't I use pistol primers in rifle ammo?' The normal answer is 'not made to contain that sort of pressure', and with some of the hotter loads courting 65-70+k psi, it sure seems like a dang good answer.
But.
That's normal loads, using normal rifle powders at normal rifle velocities,normally as fast as you can wring out of 'em).
What about a reduced load, using pistol powder at more moderate velocities?
I did some playing around in QuickLoad... the SAAMI pressures for 9mm Luger +P loads was in the upper 30k psi range. CIP pressures for .357 Magnum loads were in the low 40k psi range. But 13.0gr of Blue Dot behind a 50gr bullet out of a 24' barrel .223 Rem. is projected at around 36k psi; a 35-36gr bullet with the same charge would make ~27k psi.
Maybe I'm looking at this all wrong, but if a pistol primer can take 40k+ psi from a .357 Magnum round, it should dang well be able to hold up to 36k psi from a reduced .223 Rem load. The main difference that pops to mind is the dwell time - the pressue may be sustained at that level longer in a rifle barrel than in a pistol.
Thoughts, comments, suggestions?
Monte
I know a few varminters have been using Blue Dot in .223,and probably .222 before that) for years. 12.5-13.0gr of Blue Dot punts the bullet out at reduced, but still highly effective velocities,probably 200-250yd max range on varmints). Noise signature is slightly reduced - not so much that you don't need hearing protection at least up close, but the sound doesn't 'carry' near as much.
I've got a varminting trip coming up, probably going to be mostly rimfire,.22LR and .17HMR), but I like to take something with a little more 'thump' for the times when the furry little buggers,Belding ground squirrels) are *just* out of range of that teeny 17gr bullet
Just a cursory comparison of the published data for the .17 HMR ~9-10' drop @ 200yds, ~70-75ft-lbs of smack left - in other words, not much. A 36gr Varmint Grenade that starts out even at a paltry 3k fps MV drops half as much and has three times the smack-down power - at 250yds. Plenty for disassembling small furry targets So... nothing new yet, right? People have been doing this for years, as I said. What got me to thinking was the current reloading component shortage, combined with the huge influx of new reloaders as ammo prices soar. Lots of boards have been seeing the same questions over and over and over and over... one of which always is 'Why can't I use pistol primers in rifle ammo?' The normal answer is 'not made to contain that sort of pressure', and with some of the hotter loads courting 65-70+k psi, it sure seems like a dang good answer.
But.
That's normal loads, using normal rifle powders at normal rifle velocities,normally as fast as you can wring out of 'em).
What about a reduced load, using pistol powder at more moderate velocities?
I did some playing around in QuickLoad... the SAAMI pressures for 9mm Luger +P loads was in the upper 30k psi range. CIP pressures for .357 Magnum loads were in the low 40k psi range. But 13.0gr of Blue Dot behind a 50gr bullet out of a 24' barrel .223 Rem. is projected at around 36k psi; a 35-36gr bullet with the same charge would make ~27k psi.
Maybe I'm looking at this all wrong, but if a pistol primer can take 40k+ psi from a .357 Magnum round, it should dang well be able to hold up to 36k psi from a reduced .223 Rem load. The main difference that pops to mind is the dwell time - the pressue may be sustained at that level longer in a rifle barrel than in a pistol.
Thoughts, comments, suggestions?
Monte
