dirty powder question

[usmc0811]

I went and shot off about 100 rounds of my reloads the other day, when I was finished I had all sorts of unburnt powder flakes and residue all over my face hands and up my forearms. Why is this? I was using HS-6 powder with my 45acp 230 gr LRN bullets. Is it just really dirty powder?

 

[243winxb]

CAUTION: The following post includes loading data beyond currently published maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The High Road, nor the staff of THR assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.
Try a WLP or Rem primer or a mag primer. Slow ball powder for the 45 acp. It may be cleaner at maximum powder charges? Hodgdon has 8 gr as maximum. Steves pages has this

HS-6 From 7.0 grains to 9.4 grains

http://stevespages.com/page8a.htm

 

[mdi]

As 243 hinted at; some powders will not burn optimally at lower end pressures, leaving unburned kernels...

 

[CLP]

I was about to delve into working up a load with HS-6. Here's a thread I started prior to taking the plunge: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=755719.

What I learned from member's responses was enough to dissuade me from working up a load- though I had already loaded 100 rounds of various charges within the published range. I think I'm just going to pull them, salvage the powder, and re-load with Autocomp or CFE Pistol (the only two pistol powders I've been able to find lately).

 

[NWcityguy2]

Yeah that powder isn't an ideal fit for 45acp. The load data is there and it can be pressed into service, but unless you are primarily using the powder for a more suitable caliber with some 45acp on the side, there are much better choices.

The thing for 45acp is, there is no powder too fast. On the very fast end you won't be able to match factory velocities with 230 grain bullets, but they function perfectly. Competition shooters use light charges of fast shotgun powders (Clays, Competition, WST, Nirto 100) because they are more economical and recoil less than fast pistol powders like Bullseye, AA2 and 231. All of which are good choices for 45acp. Once you start venturing into slower powders you'll start to see much larger charges for small gains in velocity or sometimes not even that.

 

[murf]

an older hogdon manual shows a starting load of 8.0 and a max load of 8.2 grains of hs-6 with a 230gn jacketed bullet. hs-6, like its brother h110, is a slow ball powder. funny things happen when you download it and it almost always requires mag primers.

coincidentally, i'm working up a 45acp load using hs-6. this powder needs a lot of case tension for a consistent burn. the o.d. on my sized cases is .468", the loaded round o.d. is .472".

cci 350 primers are not as a consistent burn as wpl primers. i'm getting 11fps extreme spreads (5 shots) with the wlp primers and twice that with the cci350s.

luck,

murf

 

[CLP]

Would HS-6 burn more efficiently with a longer barrel, like in a Camp Carbine or other 45 ACP carbine length rifle?

 

[PO2Hammer]

Probably not.
It's about pressure and heat.
HS-6 is filthy even in long barrel .357s until you get the pressure high enough to flatten the primers.

Magnum primers seem to help in .357, but not a lot.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Probably not.
It's about pressure and heat.
HS-6 is filthy even in long barrel .357s until you get the pressure high enough to flatten the primers.

Magnum primers seem to help in .357, but not a lot.

I can't agree HS-6 isn't dirty in the 357 Mag unless you are loading to .38 Special pressures. A lot of handloaders will use HS-6 in the wrong applications and then badmouthing the powder unfairly. HS-6 is a good powder for the correct loading but not for low pressure cartridges like the 45 Auto. When you use HS-6 it benefits from a Magnum primer. The powder burns more completely and you SD numbers will drop to single digits most times.

 

[PO2Hammer]

Freeloaders?

What that about?

Seems like we are close to agreement about HS-6, why the trash talking?

 

[savagelover]

I always used Bullseye as my choice for hand gun powder..Worked wonderful and was very clean.And a lb. went a long ways..

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Freeloaders?

What that about?

Seems like we are close to agreement about HS-6, why the trash talking?

Please believe me, that word was supposed to be "handloaders" not freeloaders. I really don't know how I made that mistake but it was unintentional. Sorry...

EDIT: I know how it happened, I was visiting with my grandchildren and was using a Kindle fire to check the forum at night. That tablet has an auto correct and the tablet changed the word it didn't know to one it did know and I didn't catch it. I will be much more careful in the future.

 

[Walkalong]

I hate auto correct functions. They do the craziest things.

 

[Blue68f100]

I always turn auto check off. Let it mark the ones wrong and I correct them later. HS6 is a powder that burns better at the upper end.

 

[higgite]

I've never used HS-6, but I am also one who hates auto connect... auto collect... ... AUTO CORRECT, DAMMIT! There, that's butter!

 

[Potatohead]

Off topic Warning

I hate auto correct functions. They do the craziest things.

There's some lists online of some really funny auto corrections that people have ended up with. My wife sent her mother a really funny one the other day. i'll post it if she can remember what it was but it was really funny...


My dad accidentally sends "Perrier" for pepper sometimes when we're texting. (we sell fruit/veg)
How it ends up Perrier, I have no idea. He just leaves it now and we both know we're talking about pepper.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I hate auto correct functions. They do the craziest things.

I can't find where to turn off the auto-correct on that tablet. It's fairly new to me and I'm not all that familiar with all the features yet. It's one of the new Fire HDX tablets and the screen is amazingly clear.

 

[moxie]

Are you shooting at an indoor range? Some of them with subpar ventilation result in dirty hands, arms, and faces. Shoot the same loads outdoors and very little problem.

 

[Steve C]

I had all sorts of unburnt powder flakes and residue all over my face hands and up my forearms. Why is this? I was using HS-6 powder with my 45acp 230 gr LRN bullets. Is it just really dirty powder?

Loading manuals usually list loads in order from the fastest burning powders to the slowest powders one can use to produce loads for the particular cartridge. If you look at your Hornady data you will see that HS-6 is at the slow end of the powder list along with AA-7. In modest pressure cartridges like the .45 acp and .38 spl medium burn rate powders like Unique, AA5, Universal, etc. are optimal for velocity performance. Slower powders like HS-6, Blue Dot, and AA-7 will work but as you have experienced, will not be "clean" at the working pressure of those cartridges. Faster powders will be more economical as the amount needed is smaller but will produce lower velocities, thus their use for target loads.

HS-6 is a relatively slow ball powder and ball powders in general are more difficult to ignite often requiring magnum primers. The only way to "clean" it up a bit in .45 ACP and .38 spl is to use maximum loading with a hotter primer like Winchester LPP for standard and magnum loads. If used in higher pressure cartridges like the 9mm .40 S&W or magnum cartridges HS-6 will clean up nicely.