Jump to content

Picking a powder? Reloading novice!


Recommended Posts

52 minutes ago, SPARKIE said:

sounds good as long as ya use n140 no 410 powder as ya have typed lol.

you may well be able to push faster than that just watch for pressure signs.

Haha! Yes there is a very important "N" on the bottle. I got stuffed on the price though! (£104 for a kg..).

Out of interest, would this be suitable for the .270 as well? A friend has given me some federal heads to try previously with Reloader 19 and they worked well. I'm keen to try some accubonds though and if I can use the Viht then that's ideal.

Thanks!

Edited by wildfowler.250
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, wildfowler.250 said:

Haha! Yes there is a very important "N" on the bottle. I got stuffed on the price though! (£104 for a kg..).

Out of interest, would this be suitable for the .270 as well? A friend has given me some federal heads to try previously with Reloader 19 and they worked well. I'm keen to try some accubonds though and if I can use the Viht then that's ideal.

Thanks!

Reloader 19 is a slower burning powder than N140. The closest Vihtavouri  equivalent would be N165 (in terms of burn rate) for which it has load data for the 270:

https://www.vihtavuori.com/reloading-data/rifle-reloading/?cartridge=15

Once you get multiple powders for different calibres, always be very disciplined about which tub/bottle you use and put back any surplus powder into. Mistakes using the wrong powder could be catastrophic.

£104 is a bit steep for a Kg of N140. Problem is that powder incurs Hazardous Shipping charges if you buy it on-line, so your local supplier has often got you by the short and curlies. Always best to stock up when you come across a good deal or are in the area of a cheaper supplier.

Edited by TriBsa
Link to comment
Share on other sites

ITL Shooting sell Vhit 140 in 3.5kg drums and (from memory) that works out about £67 per kg but unless you are a target shooter 3.5 kg is going to be a lifetime supply

Where are you just out of interest? 

You may already know this but youtube is a good source of things like how to set up dies etc.

Edited by Vince Green
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Only for other cals:  I found them better imho than Viht (for the .308 and .223 I've used them with anyway).  I use N133, N140, RS50 and RS62 for my reloading.  In .308, the RS50 gives far better velocities for lower pressures and doesn't have the N140's tendency to spike on pressure, especially when temperature picks up.  It's velocity gain with charge is more linear. It's meant to be almost identical to N140 (in its older guise, it was TR140, re-named as RS50 now) but I haven't found this.  My 308 loads were a little higher than the N140 loads but without encountering the pressure signs that I did with the Viht.  Velocities were higher for equivalent charge weights.  As flyboy says, N140 isn't suitable for the 270.  It's too hot.

For the OP's load development, a chrony is not essential but is very useful and for finer load development, is essential especially for trajectory verification and for determining extreme spread (ES).  So why is ES important?  Well, becuae you can use it to determine your node points without needing to rely on groups.  Look up the OCW or OBT methods of load development.  They work and are very economical on bullets shot.  The idea is to find the barrel time that coincides with the pressure pulse reflected off the bolt face and terminating at the muzzle where it meets the bullet just as it exits.  This coincides with the barrel time of the bullet from ignition to exit where the barrel rests on a node, and results usually in the best accuracy node.  You'll find at least two of them for each load ladder.  At each point your ES will be lower than any other point and velocities for 1% or so either side of the central low ES point will be very similar (velocity plateau).  You can also see that for this point and a percent or so either side, group centres will be to the same point on the target. 

It allows a little leeway either side which results in a year round accurate load.  I don't even bother with assessing groups now, I just shoot a ladder of 15 to 18 rounds at most and pick the low ES central point and that's my node.  It works at long range because of the low vertical dispersion that low ES gives you.  A chrony is helpful to use the ES method.  Without it, you can still see the adjoining groups which shoot to the same point with little scatter.  They will be right next to one another, with perhaps one set at a low set of charge weights and one set at higher charge weights.  In between the groups will scatter a bit or shoot round the clock.  Pick the middle charge weight of the adjacent groups which shoot the same, and don't worry too much about group size.  If on a node it'll be acceptable anyway and you can always use seating depth to tighten things up.

 

 

Edited by Savhmr
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 08/02/2018 at 19:49, Vince Green said:

ITL Shooting sell Vhit 140 in 3.5kg drums and (from memory) that works out about £67 per kg but unless you are a target shooter 3.5 kg is going to be a lifetime supply

Where are you just out of interest? 

You may already know this but youtube is a good source of things like how to set up dies etc.

Yeah spud 1967 has his own reloading videos on his website,definitely worth a watch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...