Crushed compressed loads

[danny]

Can the powder of a compressed load be somewhat crushed before putting it in the case and still be safe to shoot?

Mortar and Pestle

Danny

 

[Jager]

I’m an Apple kind of guy and Quickload don’t work with Apple. I have just about all the reload manuals and I compare loads before I start. Even Sierra had H322 with a larger charge Hodgdon

I'm a MacOS guy, too. Quickload works fine with Crossover.

 

[Doom]

Yes. I am not knowledgeable as to what happens when you change the shape of a particular shape of a kernel of powder.
Which means one thing to me. I’m not doing it.
To me it would be like grinding 4831 into a fine powder. What’s going to happen? I have no idea and I’m not going to find out.

Burn rate of a single based powder like 322 is controlled by geometry (surface area versus volume) and chemically by coating with deterrents which burn slower than the nitrocellulose. Generally single based powders are extruded cylinders with a hole in the middle. If you break the kernel you will change the burn rate and make it faster. Compressing the powder with the bullet may break the kernels near the bullet or compress all or part of the charge what was loosely packed. Breaking a small amount of kernels near the bullet on seating will affect the burn rate late in the deflagration process where the effect will be smaller hence allowing for some degree of compression.

You do not want to alter the powder artificially. Doing so gives you no guidance as to how the powder will behave.

A little info on powder geometry:

Propellants

 

[Webster]

I’m an Apple kind of guy and Quickload don’t work with Apple. I have just about all the reload manuals and I compare loads before I start. Even Sierra had H322 with a larger charge Hodgdon

You didn't state what wt. bullet your using and the wt. of 322 poweder. Of the many powders Sierra only list H322 with a 50-55 gr bullet. Large range in the max wt. of different powders. Pick one with good speed and a low wt. of max charge so it doesn't fill the case as much.

H322. maybe not the best for low wt. bullets? Why do you need to get the max FPS without damaging the rifle or your face?

Lots of reloading data.
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://sierrabullets.com/content/load-data/rifle/224/221-fireball.pdf

If you do a Google search for 221 Fireball loading data many websites come up with free data. Reliable sources like bullet and powder manufacturers. Many powders that will give good FPS with at least 4 grs less powder than your using now.