XMR 3100

[AK300]

What to do with 7 pounds of XMR 3100.
somehow I’ve ended up with a bunch of 3100. Does anyone remember loading it? I’ve tried it in my 300wm. It works, but not well. I haven’t developed a accurate load with it yet. Maybe it’s just too old.

 

[rockrat]

IIRC, its repackaged surplus 4831 but don't quote me on that. If so, it does have a few years on it. I use a mag primer with mine and it seems to help a bit. I use mine shooting cast bullets in an '06 and a 308

 

[wagonman]

Laurie did a writeup on this powder awhile back it was manufactured in Europe forget who did, good single base powder similar to the 4831s discontinued in us markets used a 8lb jug in 7mm rem then I couldn't get more

 

[lotech]

I used a good bit of 3100 years ago. As I recall, it was just slightly slower than H4831. Results in the way of accuracy were about the same as H4831 - very good. Accurate Arms used to publish data. A search may turn up data.

 

[JLT]

I have about 3.5 pounds of 3100 left. It is dedicated to my .25-'06, and I use it with 117 gr. Sierras and 120 gr. Speer BTs. What remains has been with me for longer than I care to remember and it has always performed very well in various .25-'06 deer rifles I've had over the years. I find it a bit slower in burn rate than H4831 and it produces good velocity and way better than necessary accuracy for hunting.

I suspect it would be an outstanding performer in .270 Win, .280 Rem and .280 AI with medium-to-heavy bullets and the bigger 6mm cases with heavy bullets. I'll never know for sure, though. The .25-'06 will get to eat all of it.

 

[Laurie]

IIRC, its repackaged surplus 4831 but don't quote me on that. If so, it does have a few years on it. I use a mag primer with mine and it seems to help a bit. I use mine shooting cast bullets in an '06 and a 308

The original Accurate Arms 3100 was simply relabeled surplus IMR-4831. No lot numbers were shown - they didn't need to as there was only a single huge lot.

When it was gone, and I can't give a date, Accurate Arms sourced a replacement from Explosia A.S. in what was then Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic. This powder is still available in Europe as Lovex SO71. It is (very) roughly equivalent to IMR-4831 and is a rather coarse-cut slow burning tubular powder.

When Western bought AA out 16 years ago, it terminated the Czech contract and has failed to source a lasting replacement for 3100 from any of its existing suppliers. Shooters World is now buying Lovex powders in bulk, renaming them and packaging them up in the US for distribution. So far, it hasn't adopted SO71 as one of its standard grades, although it's been reported on this forum that they've imported and sold bulk lots to ammunition companies. People have asked SW to consider adding SO71/3100 to their canister range, but have no idea if this will ever happen.

What to do with 7 pounds of XMR 3100.

What do you load for? I have the old (2000) Accurate reloading manual pre-dating the Western changes and may be able to help.

 

[2506]

I used it in during my 7mm Rem. Mag phase of life. You could just about fill a case up to the start of the neck and seat a 139 to 160 gr bullet and the Rem 700 rifle I had would put them in the same hole at 100 yards. Problem with the 7mm Rem Mag, and it did not matter what bullet I used. Unless you hit CNS the deer would run off a good ways.

Could not understand it but they would slosh on the inside but they would run off 100 or so yards. Where I was hunting at the time in east NC if a deer got out of the crop field it was swamp and jungle and it was almost impossible to trail up a deer.

 

[JSH]

When AA3100 was gone I went on the search for one more pound. I was told over and over it was the same as 4831 and use that.

My chrono and two other 25-06 rifles say it is not the same as 4831. Tried and tried with it. The speed with the accuracy is not there.
Even spoke with a gent that said he packaged the stuff. He said it all came out of the same tube. My comment, yeah pull up to a gas pump and take your pick of three grades out of the same hose.

It is the powder for the 25-06 with 117-120 bullets.

It may be the same or close in other cartridges, but have to say not in the 25-06.

 

[AK300]

The original Accurate Arms 3100 was simply relabeled surplus IMR-4831. No lot numbers were shown - they didn't need to as there was only a single huge lot.

When it was gone, and I can't give a date, Accurate Arms sourced a replacement from Explosia A.S. in what was then Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic. This powder is still available in Europe as Lovex SO71. It is (very) roughly equivalent to IMR-4831 and is a rather coarse-cut slow burning tubular powder.

When Western bought AA out 16 years ago, it terminated the Czech contract and has failed to source a lasting replacement for 3100 from any of its existing suppliers. Shooters World is now buying Lovex powders in bulk, renaming them and packaging them up in the US for distribution. So far, it hasn't adopted SO71 as one of its standard grades, although it's been reported on this forum that they've imported and sold bulk lots to ammunition companies. People have asked SW to consider adding SO71/3100 to their canister range, but have no idea if this will ever happen.


What do you load for? I have the old (2000) Accurate reloading manual pre-dating the Western changes and may be able to help.

Thank you for such a detailed response! How does one know when powder is just too old to use? It’s been kept in a dark cool place it’s whole life.

 

[Laurie]

If it looks OK and smells OK, it probably is OK. I recently acquired three old 1kg bottles of Viht N165 from a late friend's estate, all dated 2004. One had been opened and part used, so the contents may have lost a bit of their moisture content. I've started using this bottle and it performs as well as recent lots, but seems to produce a tad less velocity needing another half to full-MOA elevation at 600 yards in 284 Win with a 180gn SMK.

Powders that are 'off' usually show signs of breakdown with dust forming. They produce an acrid unpleasant acidic / vinegar type smell, not the usual solvents smell that powder in good condition gives off.

ICI Nobel in Scotland ceased production in the late 80s. When I started shooting some years earlier, its range was the most widely used one in the UK by far so there was a lot about. Even now, 30 years after the last date that they could have been made, there are enquiries about applications and data for Nobel powders every now and then on our forums. ICI used paint / thinner type steel cans with a tight metal cap pressed-in type seal in the outlet. I've never seen one I wouldn't use unless the tin had become rusted or the sealing cap was damaged.

 

[Laurie]

When AA3100 was gone I went on the search for one more pound. I was told over and over it was the same as 4831 and use that.

My chrono and two other 25-06 rifles say it is not the same as 4831. Tried and tried with it. The speed with the accuracy is not there.

Handloader magazine tested Accurate 3100 twice against 4831. The first time / lot was as close to 4831 as you'd get subject to lot variations. The later test of Czech manufactured 3100 gave very different results and you cannot use 4831 data for it.