cold weather load testing

[Cornchuck]

I have more time in the winter months to shoot. But that is when i have my test loads loaded up that i want try to shoot when I do most of my shooting in the warmer weather. I'm I wasting my time trying new loads when it's cold out or it doesn't matter that much. Plus, the winter months is when I do the bulk of my reloading.

Jason

 

[bheadboy]

i have found that loads which are not absolute max in cold weather are good in mild weather, (not always 80+)-- i am saying 20-35degree loads are fine at 40 70degree if they are not max, as i use the powders that are not as temp sensitive.

Bob

 

[dragman]

I to am very curious about this. just finished up load development on two guns and chrono'd them. Just wondering what the difference in speed is gonna be when it warms up. usual temp for me for shooting season is 75-80 and I chrono's when it was 15. did I waist my time??

 

[bheadboy]

they will be faster, but the fps difference will depend on the powder you are using and how cold the ammo was when you cronoed it, if you just took it out and it had not sat at the 15 degree to cool down, there is likely to be little diff.

Bob

 

[Cornchuck]

Suppose you are in a heated building where the shooting bench is? And it is around 50 degrees inside, will the outside temp play with the results as if it were 75+ out?

I belong to a couple of ranges. The one that has a 1000 yd. range has a heated building. It's 50 miles away. The other, which is only 2 miles from my house only goes out to 300 yds. and doesn't have a heated building. But I can put my hunting blind over the bench and also have my portable heated in there.

Would it be safe to say just keep my ammo wam? Don't let it get cooled off?

Jason

 

[bheadboy]

ignition is affected by the temp of the cartridge itself, take a round and set it in the sun and let it heat up and there will be a change, take the same one and place it in a bucket of snow and it will show a difference

The temp of a shooting room 50dg, vs the outside is not a problem as long as the ammo is in the 50 dg range, you can take ammo from home at 70dg in a cooler that has been open in the room, thak the ammo out at the range and shoot it without letting it cool down and it will preform as the temp is 70 dg except for the atmospheric effect of the more dense air, which is ver slight.

Bob

 

[lloydx2]

What kind of powder are you loading?

 

[4xforfun]

My .02.

First, the actual outside temp (when shooting from inside a warm hut) does not change anything except down range elevation. Cold air is denser so your bullet slows down quicker, but group size and shape will not be affected.

Now, when shooting outside. I try and keep my gun in the truck till it's time to shoot. Once I start shooting, I keep the pace up enough to keep the gun warm/hot. The gun is warm/hot when shooting a match...nothing changes. This takes care of the cold gun problem. I usually need a barrel /mirage shade, unless the wind is howling.

Now, the ammo. If your ammo gets cold, velocitys will drop off. That is a fact. Some powders are affected less than others. I try to keep my ammo in the truck, in my pocket...somewhere warm. Another thing you can do kinda goes against all things we have been taught. If I am unabe to keep the ammo warm, I let the loaded round sit in the chamber of my warm/hot gun for a few extra seconds before I pull the trigger.

Now, I am talking about temps ABOVE zero F. It will be a cold day in hell (pun intended) before I go out and shoot in -20F temps...so I won't comment on that.

Now, I have hunting guns that are only shot in cold weather...i then let the gun sit outside and get cold....I keep the pace of fire SLOWWWWW, to keep the temps down and I let the ammo sit outside. I see no way of shooting your cold weather development loads in the summer, unless you have a walk-in deepfreeze with a bench in it at your range.

Again, just my .02.

Tod Soeby

 

[JCinCalif]

140 TSX and H4350.

 

[500 meter ram]

I tested some of Hodgen's "extreme" powder when they first came out with it. I took ten rounds to the range on a 90 degree day. I put 5 in the freezer in the range house while I set up the chronograph and fired the first 5. Then when the other rounds got good and cold I rushed them to the line and fired the cold ones. Less than 100 fps difference in the average. I am a believer in their powders.

Chuck

 

[4xforfun]

I tested some of Hodgen's "extreme" powder when they first came out with it. I took ten rounds to the range on a 90 degree day. I put 5 in the freezer in the range house while I set up the chronograph and fired the first 5. Then when the other rounds got good and cold I rushed them to the line and fired the cold ones. Less than 100 fps difference in the average. I am a believer in their powders.

Chuck

Understand...100fps is HUGE when you are talking rifle tune. Also....If those "cold" bullets were near or at max PSI, then that extra 100 FPS is also DANGEROUS!!

 

[XTR]

I've seen a link from somewhere over on snipers hide, and I'm not certain it wasn't here too.

Someone has taken the time and effort to go to the range with a cooler and plot temperature and velocity of several powders.

What I remember from the graphs was:

Varget = very good

RL-15 and RL-17 not so much.

 

[Cornchuck]

Thakn you all for the replies. So it really doesn't matter what the temp is outside as long as your ammo stays the same as the shooting house. That's good! Now I can shoot more through the year.

By the way. The loads I have loaded up to try are as follows:
.308- 178 A-Max with IMR4064
.223- 50 gr. V-Max with W748 (I usually shoot this load, but trying seating depth)

Thanks again for the info

Jason

 

[4xforfun]

Thakn you all for the replies. So it really doesn't matter what the temp is outside as long as your ammo stays the same as the shooting house. That's good! Now I can shoot more through the year.

By the way. The loads I have loaded up to try are as follows:
.308- 178 A-Max with IMR4064
.223- 50 gr. V-Max with W748 (I usually shoot this load, but trying seating depth)

Thanks again for the info

Jason

Sorry to change the sublect, but is your shooting shack up and running? The reason I ask is that when I open the window in my heated hunting shack, the heat mirage is terrible. I suspect that it would be the same when shooting from ANY heated room. I am thinking of building one, but am not going to turn a wheel untill I know that I can shoot "mirage free" in the winter. I was thinking about an exhast fan on the back wall sucking cold air in from the open window (shooting window) and pushing it outside the back via the fan.

Again, sorry about the hyjak.

Tod

 

[lloydx2]

4064 Great 308 powder not to temp sensitive and good loading density. 748 in 223 Gets super velocity shoots good meters easy. But deadly temp sensitive. Don't leave them in the chamber to long when your in (the house)

 

[LCazador]

Yeah ! You're leaving out the fact that the 100 fps difference with so-called "extreme temp ' powder , shoots different size groups , and also shoots to a different point of impact . Do you really think that it's " extreme temp " powder ? Bottom line is test load at the temp you're going to shoot at , and try to keep your load environment somewhere close in temp and humidity to what you tested at . And never leave your powder container open or leave powder in your measure or powder dispenser , because it will change everything in your load !!

 

[4xforfun]

Yeah ! You're leaving out the fact that the 100 fps difference with so-called "extreme temp ' powder , shoots different size groups , and also shoots to a different point of impact . Do you really think that it's " extreme temp " powder ? Bottom line is test load at the temp you're going to shoot at , and try to keep your load environment somewhere close in temp and humidity to what you tested at . And never leave your powder container open or leave powder in your measure or powder dispenser , because it will change everything in your load !!

You are right about the 100 fps deal, but you can do 95% of your load workup in the winter if you are carefull. Seating depth, neck tension, can already be done...just a matter of a slight tweak in powder charge before your matches in the summer.