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Author Topic: RL-22, Lot to lot variation!  (Read 479 times)

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Offline Slufoot

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RL-22, Lot to lot variation!
« on: March 07, 2009, 03:15:01 PM »
I worked up a load in my 30-06 using RL-22 and a 180 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip. The pound of powder I worked up the load with gave me excellent accuracy and a velocity of 2850 fps. This was the maximum load in Noslers manual.
I ran out of that pound and went and bought another and started working up the load again. At the same powder charge that gave me 2850 with the first pound the new powder gives me 2670 fps. I'm using the same brass, same lot of primers and same box of bullets.
This seems like an awful lot of variation to me, what do you think?
Have any of you noticed this much variation with this powder?

Thanks!
Slufoot
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Offline LaOtto222

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Re: RL-22, Lot to lot variation!
« Reply #1 on: March 08, 2009, 12:09:21 AM »
I have not used RL-22 so I can not help you with lot to lot variations. It is not unusual for powders to vary from lot to lot. I have found that W 296 and H 110 can vary from lot to lot. Some reloading data has them listed with the same powder charge for the same velocity. Some times it is lower for the H110 and some times lower charge weight for the W 296 for the same velocity. I think that when different loading books have widely different powder charges to get relatively the same velocity lot to lot variations could be one of the reasons. Speer manual #14 says that 62.0 grains is max for 2721 fps with their 180 bullets. More in line with what you are finding now. Hornady #7 does not list RL-22 with their 180 grain bullets at all and Sierra #5 lists 58.3 grains max for their 180 grain bullets for 2800 fps. That is why it is important to start low and work your way up each time a new lot of powder is used. There are lots of Benchrest folks that buy their powder in mass quantities. That is so when they get their ideal load worked up, they do not have to change their load data every time they get a new batch of powder. Good Luck and Good Shooting
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Offline cwlongshot

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Re: RL-22, Lot to lot variation!
« Reply #2 on: March 08, 2009, 01:39:57 AM »
I don't use this powder very much... but 2850 for a 180 in a '06 sounds mighty fast to me... 2675 (2700)sounds more in line with real attainable, within pressures velocity.

 What is your barrel length?

CW
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Offline drdougrx

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Re: RL-22, Lot to lot variation!
« Reply #3 on: March 08, 2009, 03:20:30 AM »
Hi Slu...
I use RL-22..A LOT....I use it for my 300win, 200gr and 180gr bullets, 30/06 180gr bullets and 270win 150gr bullets.  I suspect I use about 3lbs / year.  Having said that.....I use 61gr RL-22 in my REM KS Mountain rifle with a 24" barral....and...over my Oehler Chrono...I only get 2700fps.  I think the 2850 you got is an arboration. 

But to answer your question...no...I haven't seen variation...
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Offline Slufoot

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Re: RL-22, Lot to lot variation!
« Reply #4 on: March 08, 2009, 03:48:49 AM »
Quote from: LaOtto222 on March 08, 2009, 12:09:21 AM
I think that when different loading books have widely different powder charges to get relatively the same velocity lot to lot variations could be one of the reasons. Speer manual #14 says that 62.0 grains is max for 2721 fps with their 180 bullets. More in line with what you are finding now. Hornady #7 does not list RL-22 with their 180 grain bullets at all and Sierra #5 lists 58.3 grains max for their 180 grain bullets for 2800 fps. That is why it is important to start low and work your way up each time a new lot of powder is used.  Good Luck and Good Shooting

Great post and excellent advice LaOtto222! This is THE reason we always need to work our way back up when we buy a new lot of powder.

Just think if I had worked up a load with the slowest lot of RL-22 and then bought another lot of the fastest and went straight to the max load. I don't think things would have been too pretty, a stuck bolt or worse would be very likely.


Quote from: cwlongshot on March 08, 2009, 01:39:57 AM
2850 for a 180 in a '06 sounds mighty fast to me...

It does to me too CW!
Nosler lists 2872 fps with this powder in a 24" barrel, the barrel on my Marlin XL7 is only 22" so I figured 25 FPS per inch should get me close to 50 FPS less than what the book calls for. I was only 22 FPS less than the book so I'm sure the pressure was a little higher.
I only had a dab of the faster lot of powder when I worked up this load and these were my last three rounds that I fired through the chronograph. They averaged 2850 fps and my 3-shot group at 100 yards was only .420" center to center. That's why I had to go buy another pound of RL-22! ;D


Quote from: drdougrx on March 08, 2009, 03:20:30 AM
Hi Slu...
I use RL-22..A LOT....I use it for my 300win, 200gr and 180gr bullets, 30/06 180gr bullets and 270win 150gr bullets.  I suspect I use about 3lbs / year.  Having said that.....I use 61gr RL-22 in my REM KS Mountain rifle with a 24" barral....and...over my Oehler Chrono...I only get 2700fps.  I think the 2850 you got is an arboration. 

But to answer your question...no...I haven't seen variation...

Hey drdougrx, you posted while I was typing. Thanks for sharing your experiences with this powder. The velocity you are getting is more in line with what I'm getting now with my new pound.
The RL-22 that gave me 2850 is pretty old, I know I've had it for several years. I bought it when I had a 25-284 but I got rid of that gun years ago.
I wonder if the age of my RL-22 had anything to do with the speed I was getting with it?

GOOD SHOOTING!
Slufoot
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Offline Darrell Davis

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Re: RL-22, Lot to lot variation!
« Reply #5 on: March 08, 2009, 02:02:58 PM »
Yep, lot to lot variation is a reality of manufacturing life, and the reason the manuals say to always back off when there is any change in a load, and this includeds changes in lot numbers of brass, powder and primers.

I had extreme pressures show up one time with nothing more different then just lot to lot differences in some Remington 30/06 cases.

It doesn't take much to again run a few test loads for pressures once the "working up" has been completed and duly recorded along with your test targets.

As per RL22, I worked up loads for a 300 win. Mag. back a few years - Browning A-bolt w/26" tube - WW cases, CCI mag. LR primer and a 165gr Nosler partition.

That combination gave me between 3200 and 3300FPS, until I bought more powder.  At which point my velocity dropped to +/- 3200fps.

You will read about this situation in the loading publications and about the only solution is to buy your components in larger amounts.  You may not get one of the "fast" lots, but you will have consistancy which is more important then the extra 50 +/-fps.

Anyway, I normally tried to buy more then one can of powder at a time, once I had a load worked up and would ask for cans of the same lot numbers. Better yet, buy in the larger containers and then the issue won't come up very often.

Keep em coming!

CDOC
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