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+---- Thread: Simplified Reloading - Partisan Style (/showthread.php?tid=8213)
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Simplified Reloading - Partisan Style - CharlesHarris - 16 February 2016
RE: Simplified Reloading - Partisan Style - Steve - 16 February 2016
I think it's worth mentioning that reduced power rifle loads can have dangerous pressure spikes - not what you'd expect from a reduced load but a fact nonetheless. Many people have blown up rifles with reduced power loads, which is why the reloading manuals state minimum as well as maximum charge weights.
Personally, I would rather use black powder than use unknown scavenged smokeless powder.
RE: Simplified Reloading - Partisan Style - Midnitemo - 16 February 2016
I agree , would have to be a last resort to use scavenged powder , am a big fan of IMR's Trail Boss propellant , all my reloadable cartridges have a tried and tested and recomended combination using it , .308/.223 and 38/.357 it's the perfect powder for me and I've just discovered you can buy it in 5lb tubs at a fair discount , tis a very bulky powder so no need for fillers or packing with light charges and very little chance of double charging because of the bulk...perfect all rounder for my stores.
RE: Simplified Reloading - Partisan Style - Steve - 16 February 2016
Trailboss is about as foolproof as you can get - simply measure the volume in the case after the bullet is seated and use that much volume of trailboss as your maximum load. If you want less power, you can go down to 70% of maximum.
RE: Simplified Reloading - Partisan Style - CharlesHarris - 17 February 2016
The fast burning pistol and shotgun powders mentioned are trouble free in reduced loads.
Military rifle powders recovered from full charge service loads, as also described, are problematic if the charge occupies less than 2/3 of the case capacity, but if that requirement is met, there is no problem.
The dangerous pressure spikes occur when you reduce heavily coated powders in very light charges nwhich occupy less than 1/2 of the case capacity, in which case the charge lies out in the bottom of the case and a greater surface area is exposed to the primer blast.
If you follow the instructions in the article you won't get into any trouble.
RE: Simplified Reloading - Partisan Style - Mortblanc - 28 October 2017
Bumping a thread due to the fact that the weather is crap and I am bore to the point of reviewing old SUK threads, which is truly boring except for this firearms section which has some real gems if read closely.
The famous "pressure spike" is an anomaly which rarely occurs and is usually instigated by the condition CH has pointed out, a case containing less than 1/2 its total capacity.
The reason for the "pressure spike" is that if there is less than 1/2 the case filled the powder can string out of the bottom of the case and when the primer fires the entire charge of powder detonates instantly.
Powers are intended to burn from back to front of the charge and even though the ignition of a cartridge seems instantaneous there is a controlled and progressive burn from end to end of the charge.
One cartridge that is famous for this type behavior is the .38 special when hand loaded with fast burning pistol powder, specifically the brand labeled Bullseye. If the charge of Bullseye is reduced to below 2.5 grains it no longer fills the .38 spl case sufficiently and there is the potential for pressure spikes.
Reports of .38 caliber and .357 caliber pistols blowing up while using these reduced charge target loads became so common that the powder and firearm companies did some thorough testing and discovered that they actually could duplicate this event about once in every 100,000 shots. Thing was that so many million of the rounds were being fired in competition and practice that it was more frequent than was acceptable.
The recommendation became never dropping below the 2.5 grain threshold when shooting Bullseye, and if loading squib loads in rifles using pistol powder, to use a filler to keep the powder against the primer. Polyfill or even a quarter sheet of bog roll crumpled and stuffed against the charge will work.
So rule of thumb is to make sure the case is half full. You will have few if any real problems.
So using a charge pulled from a 7.62x39 in a .303 lee rifle should be no problem. You would probably still maintain a good potential for accuracy.
In addition I have purchased a bolt action rifle in 7.62x39 recently. One of my main objectives in this purchase was to ascertain the actual accuracy of the 7.62 surplus ammo now on the market.
I had been using a variety of surplus Russian, Bulgarioan, Polish and Serbian ammo for several years in my SKS and AK rifles but I never really believed I was getting the full potential of the ammo from those mass produced military platforms.
In short, I was not sure if any accuracy problems were caused by the rifle or caused by the ammo.
The AK has a horrible reputation for accuracy potential. The SKS is a little better, but neither are famous as target rifles. I had already dispelled some of the rumors if only in my own mind by mounting good scopes on both platforms and obtaining shot groups of less tan 2" @100m from both platforms as being normal and shooting a couple of 1 1/2" groups with my AK.
At that point I realized that most of the people reporting the bad groups from their rifles were either:
1. Not using the sights furnished with the rifles.
2. Not using scopes on the rifles furnished with scope mounts.
3. Really bad shots!
As soon as I could get a scope mounted on my new rifle, a Ruger American Ranch Rifle, I headed for the range with an assortment of ammo. I had 4 types of surplus ammo and a box of Privi Partisan soft point produced for the commercial market by the Serbians.
Within an hour I had a half dozen tiny groups sprinkled around the aim points on the paper.
The surplus ammo was consistently providing 1 1/4" groups and one batch of Russian made "spam can" ammo with no brand name and only lot numbers on the box offered a group of less than 1"@100m.
I was amazed, and overjoyed! This cheap surplus ammo was superb even though being turned out by the millions of rounds and some of it being left from the mid-1970s. The only reason anyone equipped with an AK misses their target in combat is because they fail to aim!
Then came the disappointment.
Neither the PP Serbian commercial soft point or the box of Federal commercial ammo I would expect to use as hunting ammo offered the same performance as any of the surplus rounds. The PP ammo gave only a 6" group strung vertically and the Federal was all over the target with an 8" cluster which I would not call a group.
Come to think about it, I may be pulling some bullets and swapping soft point slugs for FMJ before hunting season arrives!
RE: Simplified Reloading - Partisan Style - CharlesHarris - 28 October 2017
The cause of the Bullseye Blowups was thoroughly investigated by the NRA and by Hercules Powder Co. at the time, and the only way the results could be duplicated was with a combination of multiple powder charges and increased seating depth, caused by mis-operation of progressive loading machines. I will try to attach an article which goes into detail on this, but am not sure how successful that may be...
RE: Simplified Reloading - Partisan Style - CharlesHarris - 29 October 2017
The thumbnails are readable if you click on them to enlarge for viewing.
RE: Simplified Reloading - Partisan Style - Mortblanc - 29 October 2017
I find part of their discovery troubling.
If they only had cylinders blow during trials when they suspected a crack between cylinders then what caused the crack?
Those cases with 5-10 charges and a bullet on top were troubling too. I can not imagine that happening to any reloader with an IQ higher than his age! I suppose that anything is possible.
The studies I read were many years prior to this report, made before even I had begun reloading and I discovered them early in my studies. My first powder purchase had been Bullseye and I have to admit that it was my last purchase of that powder type. I still prefer a powder that will overflow the case if double charged whenever possible, but that is not always possible due to powder density and the size of the case.
My second can of powder was the Unique label, simply due to the bulk and safety margin of the slightly slower burning powder. There is no way to know how many cans of Unique I have burned over the years. I used it contentedly for several decades for all my .38/9mm/45 reloads and all my shotgun reloading until the recent shortage of components over here caught me with a limited supply.
I was forced to purchase a large amount of the powder Spain uses for loading their NATO spec 9mm rounds and it has given me good performance in all the pistol rounds I have reloaded using it. I have reloaded everything from 7.65acp pistol up to .44 magnum with good results, although the large .44 cases need a slower powder. I have also used it in 12 gauge shotgun loads to good effect.
As soon as the products were once again available I stocked up on my favorites as well as purchasing some new offerings that seem to better suit my rifle shooting needs.
RE: Simplified Reloading - Partisan Style - Straight Shooter - 29 October 2017
I wonder what powder Keith uses ? i would think he could well make his own .....as can many with guns ...or is this only possible for single bore black powder type weapons.