R-17 for the .284

[jvw2008]

In one of the past forum Bulletins Jim Hardy was suggesting R-17 as a slightly faster but still accurate powder for the straight and Shehane 284. Recent threads seem to be mainly directed towards use of H4350 and H4831SC. Has anyone evaluated use of R-17 and if so what did you find?

Jerry

 

[dragman]

Never ran it in a Shehane, but I would! I love it in my straight .284 you can really get some serious speed while keeping the SD and ES very low at least in my gun.

 

[brxbrad]

Check this out....Go down to the .284 section and you'll find a RL17 Load......I use 54.5 4831SC 32" 9twist with great results.

http://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/7mm/

 

[jvw2008]

Thanx brxbrad. I missed it on my first search.

 

[lawrence97]

I tried it in a straight 284 based on a few good reviews and bought 10lbs of it. It definitely gives out very good speed but I could never get good accuracy out of it. It also does not take very much to go from good or adequate pressure to suddenly blowing primers.

I also tried it in my 284 Shehane because i did not want my 10lbs to go unused and I got poor accuracy. The ES and sd was decent but It would go from no pressure signs to blown primer and toasted brass really quick.

I gave it a third try in my 280AI and did not have luck.

It may be a good powder for cooler states. I would not trust it with a 30-40 degree temp differential from morning to afternoon where I live in the desert.

I would stick to h4831, H4831sc, 7828 ssc, h4350, imr4451 or n160. I have not met anyone In person that has had good results with re17. Many Ive spoken to tried it with not so good results.

I would buy 1lb and see if you get lucky with it.

 

[nhm16]

In my .260 I couldn't get decent accuracy until I seated the bullets with a massive jump (0.070" or so). Even then it didn't shoot as well as H4350.

 

[ronemus]

I get ~200 fps higher velocity than with other powders I've used, and accuracy is good. I don't try to push it to the edge; any load that gives traditional "pressure signs" is too hot. Stick with pressure tested load data (Alliant, loading manuals, etc. - not "Joe Bob said on the web") with careful workup and it's a great powder in the .284. It's my go-to powder for heavy bullets.

 

[Lapua40X]

.284 Winchester
48.3 gr RL17
CBOL 2.525 (.025 off the lands)
100 yard target; scope dialed to SWAG zero estimate at 200 yards (which explains why I'm a little high) .
Always keep in mind that no gun is exactly the same as your gun. Load carefully ..... start low.

 

[Lapua40X]

.284 Winchester
53 gr 4831SC
CBOL 2.531 (.019 off the lands)
Sorry this is so small - but the group is easily recognizable.
Again, a 100 yard target but this time with a 200 yard verified zero in the scope.
Always keep in mind that no gun is exactly the same as your gun. Load carefully ..... start low.

 

[lawrence97]

Lapua, what velocities are you getting out of your re17 and your H4831sc loads?

 

[DennisH]

RL 17 is the only powder I use in my 284.

My ES & SD are consistently below 10. Rifle is very accurate, straight 284.

It works very well in my rifle. Chrono results below. I have several very close to it.

Series 1 Shots: 4
Min 2920 Max 2922
Avg 2921
S-D 1
ES 2
RL17 52.5
BR2 CCI
180 Hybrids Lapua .050 off

Series Shot Speed
1 1 2922 ft/sec
1 2 2920 ft/sec
1 3 2922 ft/sec
1 4 2920 ft/sec

 

[L.Sherm]

Lapua40X is correct no two guns are the same even though everything else is equal. I have a 6.5 WSM that other guys seem to have good luck with slow powders but I could not get mine to shoot until I used RL17. Bottom line is you will never know until you try it, just start low and work up Good luck.

 

[6mmcldasher]

glad I only bought a pound

 

[zx10mike]

my last 284 did not care for rl17 yet my mate loves it in his it seems a gamble.

 

[Lapua40X]

Lapua, what velocities are you getting out of your re17 and your H4831sc loads?

2850 range ... but that's proven to be plenty to hold very well at 1000 yards, even in the wind, so I'm perfectly happy with that. Faster isn't, IMO, always better.

 

[jvw2008]

Especially when you consider brass and barrel life. It looks like 4 of you are having decent results with R-17 (dragman, ronemus, Lapua40x, and DennisH). I'm wondering if there is a correlation with length of free bore and/or bullet jump. Are you guys using an extended free bore (>.188) or doing a long jump?

 

[dragman]

Mine is .188 freebore and I am shooting both the 168's and the 180's and I jam them both. I also coat my bullets with tungsten disulfide so even with the 180's 2950fps is pretty easy and if you don't care about brass life (as in 3-4 loadings and it's junk) I have gotten my straight .284 up too 3050fps with the 180's.

 

[bsumoba]

I tried RE-17 and it is a hot powder. Lots of good velocity. Accuracy was decent, but I never tried it out to 1K, only 100 yards.

 

[oldroper]

This 284 may be of some interest.

http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek095.html

 

[DBailey]

jvw2008, what is your intended use of the rifle?

It makes a difference in whether or not RL17 is suitable.