Anyone have any feedback of feeling about the relative temp stability of say R-19. Was doing some shooting testerday at an ambient temp of abt 29 degrees. some earlier loads were at a temp of 12 dgrees. The drop at 400 yds was more than a foot greater for the colder loads than the ones at 29*. Is this a normal characteristic for this particular powder? I havent chrono'd any of these loads, the one bit of testing that I tried was to freeze a couple of loads and they did show more drop than those at 29-30*. anyone see the same results?
Reloader powders temperature stability
- Thread starter rogn
- Start date
All powders will show SOME sensetivity to temperatures, despite the hype about some of the newer powders.
Other important factors to consider when you did your tests, had one set of loaded rounds had a chance to set out and get colder than the other, or had both been exposed to the outside temps the same lenth of time?
What about the temp of the rifle for each set of loads at test time?
Also, the colder air is more dense, and will provide more resistance to the bullets flight, especially if the humidity was greater on that particular day.
Other important factors to consider when you did your tests, had one set of loaded rounds had a chance to set out and get colder than the other, or had both been exposed to the outside temps the same lenth of time?
What about the temp of the rifle for each set of loads at test time?
Also, the colder air is more dense, and will provide more resistance to the bullets flight, especially if the humidity was greater on that particular day.
first 2 cold soaked for 24 hr at abt 12 *, max drop, estclose to 30", 2 more at 29* est drop seemed abt 20", 2more 1hr in blast freeze section in plastic bag for 40 min(getting late, sundown) Drop abit intermediate. Nothing controlled or scientific abt this, just measured the drop. And scratched my head. Will try to do arun with a bit more controll. But in the meantime had anyone seen similar results?
Yes. I use everything from Reloader 10 to 25. All show some temp. variation but all powders will show some difference if for no other reason than the above mentioned cold air density. Difference in temp. of 40 deg. is good for 50-100 fps change. So what. Zero your gun for conditions and go shoot. There is no panacea in long range shooting.
The one thing I would not do is work up a 'max' load at 29F and then shoot it when it was 95F. The other way around, I have had no problems; however, I had one load with RL22 that shot awesome at 35F but blew primers at 100F that summer. The load I then worked up shoots fine hot or cold, but my hot is 105F and cold for all practical purposes is 35F.
I sighted in my rifles at 65-70 F, 80% humidity at 250Ft above sea level. Went to Canada hunting.
Temperature was -12 F, 15% humidity and it was 600Ft above sea level.
Points of impacts at 100 yards were 11 to 14 inches different (Verticle) at 100 yards. In both 30-06 and 300 Win Mag.
Nat Lambeth
Temperature was -12 F, 15% humidity and it was 600Ft above sea level.
Points of impacts at 100 yards were 11 to 14 inches different (Verticle) at 100 yards. In both 30-06 and 300 Win Mag.
Nat Lambeth
Hi Nat, and yes, I believe your findings are right on. COLD drops bullets by a lot. Temperature insensitive powders are a wish unfulfilled. One must handload for conditions, and still frigid temperatures can defeat a handloader's best efforts. I would like to know what temperature, factory-loaded ammo is intended for, temperaturewise? Cliffy
COME ON GUYS.....30 INCH DROP AT 12 DEGREES AND 20 AT
29 DEGREES.....WERE STILL SHOOTING P DOGS AT 29 AND NOTHING SHOOTS 20 INCHES OFF AT THIS TEMP....CHRIST YOU
WOULD BE DIALING THINGS UP ALL DAY AND THEN BACK DOWN....CLIENTS HAVE ENOUGH OF A TIME HITTING DEER AND
ELK AND 30 INCHES SOUNDS LIKE ITS TIME TO SWITCH POWDERS OR QUIT SMOKING CRACK.....YOU PROBABLY SHOULD
SHOOT A LOT MORE AS THIS JUST IS WRONG..........
29 DEGREES.....WERE STILL SHOOTING P DOGS AT 29 AND NOTHING SHOOTS 20 INCHES OFF AT THIS TEMP....CHRIST YOU
WOULD BE DIALING THINGS UP ALL DAY AND THEN BACK DOWN....CLIENTS HAVE ENOUGH OF A TIME HITTING DEER AND
ELK AND 30 INCHES SOUNDS LIKE ITS TIME TO SWITCH POWDERS OR QUIT SMOKING CRACK.....YOU PROBABLY SHOULD
SHOOT A LOT MORE AS THIS JUST IS WRONG..........
farmerjohn
Gold $$ Contributor
Dang it Nat, you and I got to quit smoking crack. First trip to Alaska. 1980, 1st week of Aug., working up some loads in Arkansas, using some new bullets Jack Carter down in Houston was building and Win. 748. The old 375H&H really liked them, about 2650fps and flat primers, would have to dig out my old note books to tell you exactly, but they were all the law would allow at 100 plus degrees of normal Arkansas summer.
Flew into Talkeetna at night about 14 degrees. Guns and ammo stayed outside that night, flew out the next AM to our lake up in the Wrangle Mtns. on the Sheep River Range, landed, got our gear arranged and tents set up, still about 14 or 15 degrees, and checked our rifles. We set up a c-ration case box at 100 steps and fired, first shot my rifle sounded like a real weak round, not a (crack, pun intended), but more of a softer POP. I fired another, same sound. Went down range to look and the rounds had hit at least a foot or more low if not more. Checked my buddies rifle that we had sighted in on my farm with the same loads two days before in Arkansas and the same thing. We resighted and went on with our hunt. Later in the week we had a 300 gr. fail to compleatly shoot through a caribou. We talked to Jack about it when we got back and he said it wasn't unuasual and try IMR powders.
In the next few years of hunting Alaska we started loading in the winter in Ark. for our fall hunts and did not have as much trouble. We still had to re-sight for verticle if the temp. was around zero or below when we got there. My experience anyway......good shooting,JF
Flew into Talkeetna at night about 14 degrees. Guns and ammo stayed outside that night, flew out the next AM to our lake up in the Wrangle Mtns. on the Sheep River Range, landed, got our gear arranged and tents set up, still about 14 or 15 degrees, and checked our rifles. We set up a c-ration case box at 100 steps and fired, first shot my rifle sounded like a real weak round, not a (crack, pun intended), but more of a softer POP. I fired another, same sound. Went down range to look and the rounds had hit at least a foot or more low if not more. Checked my buddies rifle that we had sighted in on my farm with the same loads two days before in Arkansas and the same thing. We resighted and went on with our hunt. Later in the week we had a 300 gr. fail to compleatly shoot through a caribou. We talked to Jack about it when we got back and he said it wasn't unuasual and try IMR powders.
In the next few years of hunting Alaska we started loading in the winter in Ark. for our fall hunts and did not have as much trouble. We still had to re-sight for verticle if the temp. was around zero or below when we got there. My experience anyway......good shooting,JF
Since I've never puffed on anything other than tobacco, and even that I quit ten years ago, I find instability in loadings as temperatures DROP. Even at the muzzle, velocity changes, plus cold air is dense air for additional velocity problems. Even a five degree temperature change affects muzzle velocity slightly. Still a solid load will perform well regardless of weather conditions, albeit much better in warmer weather. Cliffy
Farmer John,
I dunno where you were or when you were there, but there are no wrangle mtns or sheep river range anywhere near talkeetna AK. Dunno when you were hunting but 14F is not a temp you would see in talkeetna until mid October.
Also pretty hard for me to buy that a .300gr .375 bullet would penetrate a caribou but not have oomph to carry through. Now maybe you boys were loading some old cannister salvage powder from the Korean War or WWII (The Big One); who knows, but seems like a pretty preposterous story all around to me. I do appreciate a good chuckle though.
I dunno where you were or when you were there, but there are no wrangle mtns or sheep river range anywhere near talkeetna AK. Dunno when you were hunting but 14F is not a temp you would see in talkeetna until mid October.
Also pretty hard for me to buy that a .300gr .375 bullet would penetrate a caribou but not have oomph to carry through. Now maybe you boys were loading some old cannister salvage powder from the Korean War or WWII (The Big One); who knows, but seems like a pretty preposterous story all around to me. I do appreciate a good chuckle though.
Reading in Nat's comments at 12 below steel starts acting different. cold weather (32) or below also requires special attention to gun maintenence such as lubricants in trigger and the bolt. I feel that the temperature sensitive issues that people are talking about is overated. load and test at the temps you are going to shoot at. If you are trying for that .0001 group load at the range.
Here is a link to Hodgdon's testing on temperature sensitivity:
http://www.hodgdon.com/smokeless/extreme/page3.php#top
http://www.hodgdon.com/smokeless/extreme/page3.php#top
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