Author Topic: Strange occurence with a load today, help! (Read 666 times)

Selmer · « **on:** January 11, 2004, 01:13:40 PM »

I was testing some new loads today out of my .454 Casull barrel with my Encore and I ran into a load that did something I'd never seen before. I would shoot, and the muzzle blast was horrendous, even worse than normal, the cases came out sooty, and there was what looked like unburned powder in my barrel. It was a cast, GC 355 gr bullet with 21.5gr. of H110 behind it. It shouldn't be that the bullet was under-sized because I used the same bullet in a AA#9 load and a Unique load and they worked just fine. The group was horrible, and the experience overall scared me a little bit. It's not the heaviest load I've shot in the barrel, nor the heaviest load I shot out of it today, but I know I'll never use it again. For those wondering about the crimp, it was a heavy crimp, one full turn on my Lee Factory Crimp die. Let me know if you have any hypotheses about my experience, I'd love to hear them. I shot quite a few rounds after that set and everything went fine, other than the fact that I determined HS-6 is a horrible powder for my gun!
Selmer

ricciardelli · « **Reply #1 on:** January 11, 2004, 04:39:24 PM »

Contaminated powder?

Selmer · « **Reply #2 on:** January 11, 2004, 04:41:59 PM »

Nope, not contaminated powder, all of my other loads with H110 from the same lot shot great, I even checked my "standard" accuracy loads at 50 and 100 yds, both groups were 1" or better, as expected.
Selmer

Paladin · « **Reply #3 on:** January 11, 2004, 06:25:16 PM »

primer?

512 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 12, 2004, 03:13:24 PM »

selmer,
your load with h-110 is too light. go up and it will settle down.
soot or smoked cases is a sign of not enough pressure to seal case in chamber. loud report is a sign of it also.
we shoot way more h-110 with a 370gr. in a freedom revolver. with those types of ball powders, too much air space results in what your describing.
hope this helps. 512

Selmer · « **Reply #5 on:** January 13, 2004, 05:47:21 AM »

that's the same response I'm getting elsewhere 512, and I'm sure that's it. What are you shooting out of your FA revolvers for loads? Will the Encore handle the same loads? I'd assume it will, but assuming in the case could get me hurt pretty bad.
Selmer

512 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 14, 2004, 06:47:11 AM »

selmer,
as i havent loaded for the encore, i dont feel i am qualified to recommend data.
however, i can say that when the powder reaches the base of the bullet, pressures rise quick and thats where i get the best ballistic uniformity. i started a lot higher with the 370gr. than where you are at now. but theres a lot of difference in the revolver and the single shot.
i am used to having to load a full density charge with the revolver to get good results. in fact most of my best loads are compressed.
hope this helps, 512

Selmer · « **Reply #7 on:** January 14, 2004, 07:15:59 AM »

I reread my first post this morning then checked my load data. I had 24.5 gr. of H110 behind that 355 gr. bullet, not 21.5, but this is still much lower than what everyone is telling me to use, so I'm still going to attribute the strange acting load to a charge that was too low for H110
Selmer