Rossi Rifleman

I just pulled the trigger (no pun intended) on a new Contender G2. Being in the Workers Paradise of SoCal, I had to buy a complete gun, no frame, so I'm going to end up with 3, the original .22, and 2 MGM barrels. One in 357MAX and an impulse buy (only one left!) of a 30-30 Ackley Improved.

I also recently bought QuickLoad and while I do not have it dialed in yet, I am playing (honest...only playing) with different cartridge/bullet/powder combos and checking against published data.

What I don't understand is powder choices. Many many published loads show burned powder percents in the 80's and ballistic efficiency sometimes under 20%.

Whet I plug in my 'play' loads, it is very easy to find a non-used powder that will give 100% burn and very high efficiencies, sometimes mid 30 to 40%.

What is going on that I don't know about or understand about powder choices?

I have always (mostly any way) tried to find a powder that would give me 80% or better case fills particularly with rifles, then I've worked to find the best charge weight for the intended purpose and bullet(s). Doesn't always work, but most of the time I'm close to what I want.

It's a little different with the gas guns(M1, AR15 and Lhungman) as I stick to powders in the burn range around 4895 that most authorities recommend, but again they tend to give a fairly full case.

With pistols some times the choice of cartridge and bullet dictate a fairly small range of powder choices. I'll either work with what i have or can get.

Now and again the urge to experiment nudges me to try a new powder. I recently picked up a jar of CFE Pistol to try out across a range of cartridge from 380 to 45 Colt. So far I've tested some 45 Colt loads and been pleased.

Make smoke,

Ohio3Wheels wrote:I have always (mostly any way) tried to find a powder that would give me 80% or better case fills particularly with rifles, then I've worked to find the best charge weight for the intended purpose and bullet(s). Doesn't always work, but most of the time I'm close to what I want. ,

This here

jamesgpobog wrote:I also recently bought QuickLoad and while I do not have it dialed in yet, I am playing (honest...only playing) with different cartridge/bullet/powder combos and checking against published data.

What I don't understand is powder choices. Many many published loads show burned powder percents in the 80's and ballistic efficiency sometimes under 20%.

Whet I plug in my 'play' loads, it is very easy to find a non-used powder that will give 100% burn and very high efficiencies, sometimes mid 30 to 40%.

What is going on that I don't know about or understand about powder choices?

Good morning James!

It is easy to be overwhelmed by the choice and figures that QuickLoad provides, and with a bit of use, you will be able to decide what is best for your needs as you look at the results of your shooting from the suggestions provided.

For me, ballistic efficiency does matter much. Here it is defined by the author: I lost interest in the value because of the word "theoretical."

I've come to respect four factors that the software presents with its suggestions:

• Filling/Loading Ration % - My shooting has suggested to me that this has a direct relationship of one powder to another. So much so that I no longer consider anything with less than a 90% case fill with rifles.
• Vel fps - I'm a hunter, and I want to maximize terminal ballistics as much as possible.
• Prop. Burnt %- Why shoot something that blows more unused product out the barrel? I would rather conserve my inventory given the expense and hassle of refilling it. With this thought, I've considered making "grains" a similar consideration in that powder is marketed by the pound (with at least one exceptions).
• P max psi - As a cast bullet shooter, it is important to me. Given near case fill and velocities, I will take the lower pressure.

Just something that you need to work. What I like about QL is that the manufacturers have not made the decisions for me. Might make a slight title change to this topic to reference Quickload.

Thanks for clarifying some of the Quickload jargon. Is case fill not so important with handgun cartridges?

Ranch Dog wrote:

jamesgpobog wrote:I also recently bought QuickLoad and while I do not have it dialed in yet, I am playing (honest...only playing) with different cartridge/bullet/powder combos and checking against published data.

What I don't understand is powder choices. Many many published loads show burned powder percents in the 80's and ballistic efficiency sometimes under 20%.

Whet I plug in my 'play' loads, it is very easy to find a non-used powder that will give 100% burn and very high efficiencies, sometimes mid 30 to 40%.

What is going on that I don't know about or understand about powder choices?

Good morning James!

It is easy to be overwhelmed by the choice and figures that QuickLoad provides, and with a bit of use, you will be able to decide what is best for your needs as you look at the results of your shooting from the suggestions provided.

For me, ballistic efficiency does matter much. Here it is defined by the author:

ballistic_efficiency.jpg

I lost interest in the value because of the word "theoretical."

I've come to respect four factors that the software presents with its suggestions:

• Filling/Loading Ration % - My shooting has suggested to me that this has a direct relationship of one powder to another. So much so that I no longer consider anything with less than a 90% case fill with rifles.
• Vel fps - I'm a hunter, and I want to maximize terminal ballistics as much as possible.
• Prop. Burnt %- Why shoot something that blows more unused product out the barrel? I would rather conserve my inventory given the expense and hassle of refilling it. With this thought, I've considered making "grains" a similar consideration in that powder is marketed by the pound (with at least one exceptions).
• P max psi - As a cast bullet shooter, it is important to me. Given near case fill and velocities, I will take the lower pressure.

Just something that you need to work. What I like about QL is that the manufacturers have not made the decisions for me. Might make a slight title change to this topic to reference Quickload.

Very cool. The way my brain works simple 'insert tab 'A' into slot 'B' is not enough. I want to know why it is tab 'A' and not tab 'C', and what happens if I do insert tab 'C' into slot 'B'. "Just do it" ain't good enough. You helped a lot.

Now...why is fill % so important? And what is your fill % for .38spl/.357mag/.357MAX?

jamesgpobog wrote:Now...why is fill % so important? And what is your fill % for .38spl/.357mag/.357MAX?

My answer is as full as possible. That's why H110/W296 works so well with .357. I like 2400 more but it would fail more than one of RD's parameters (hard to get, expensive, lots of unburned flakes).

HarryAlonzo wrote:Thanks for clarifying some of the Quickload jargon. Is case fill not so important with handgun cartridges?

GasG covered this but It is important to me, that is why I choose powers like Lil'Gun or H110.

jamesgpobog wrote:Very cool. The way my brain works simple 'insert tab 'A' into slot 'B' is not enough. I want to know why it is tab 'A' and not tab 'C', and what happens if I do insert tab 'C' into slot 'B'. "Just do it" ain't good enough. You helped a lot.

I understand that thought process. What I do is copy the powder choices into a spreadsheet (CalC). I evaluate and sort each powder against the other with "weights" and come up with a "factor" that indicates which powder is the best first choice. I can take it a bit further and have the ability to adjust the weights or eliminate them all together with "toggles". The latter is probably the one that I use the most in the comparison, zeroing out the weight of the consideration. Nerdy, I know.

What I would also suggest is that you take the powder files and break them down a bit to eliminate the many choices. The obvious first decluttering is a file that only contains the US available powders. The link will get you the .pro file, from there I have broken it down to pistol, rifle, and revolver powders that I work with by just copying and editing the usa file. If you work with this use an editor like Notepad++ or another that you would write code with so that no hidden characters or formatting is added to the file. You can google the program's name for the download page. With QL you really need to cut through the clutter as so much data is being thrown at you.

Back up in the spreadsheet view, you will notice one powder that doesn't fit my 90% rule, H4227, I allow it as I'm always looking for a way to get rid of the four pounds I bought. Absolutely worthless powder. The only use I have ever found for it is with my Rossi 351 revolver and my TL358-125-RF bullet.



The spreadsheet view is for a straight wall rifle cartridge I was working with.

Man I've got a lot to learn...

jamesgpobog wrote:Man I've got a lot to learn...

Yeah, but it is fun!