Effects of temperature?

[ontarget]

So it's basically a timing thing? Tuning velocity to your barrel?

 

[Blue68f100]

Yes, but the powder has a sweet spot too, that your looking for.

 

[Llama Bob]

So it's basically a timing thing? Tuning velocity to your barrel?

Charge weight is what you tune. Velocity compared to charge weights around it is how you know you tuned it right.

The eventual goal is accuracy and reduced sensitivity to charge weight or other more subtle load changes of which temp is one.

 

[ontarget]

So if I'm using a temp sensitive powder but keeping the rounds in the house until I'm ready to shoot them then placing them inside my coat until actually placing them into the chamber I should only notice a difference caused by air density?

 

[Llama Bob]

In general yes. I would be fairly quick about going from your coat to shooting.

 

[ontarget]

Thanks for the info. I'm new to handloading and have spent a bit of precious time loading some rounds for testing. Weighing each charge to guarantee consistency and measuring every case before loading and every round after seating the bullets. Can't wait to see how they shoot and didn't want to wait till spring for sure.

 

[[email protected]]

Several years ago I had an excess of free time and decided experiment with cold temperatures. I had some surplus WC844 that I have been using in 223 rem for ar15 plinking ammo. My normal load consisted of Wolf small rifle mag primers. I wanted to test what if any effect freezing temperatures had with this powder using standard and magnum primers. .
I loaded two sets with standard wolf primers and two with wolf magnum primers. The problem was that it was in the middle of the summer, so I borrowed a small area of the wife's freezer and placed three rounds from each standard and magnum primer loads inside the freezer to chill for a few days.
After a few days I set up the chrony and began my experiment. The control, none frozen with standard and magnum primers rounds had similar velocity. The frozen rounds with magnum primers had a lower velocity. I figured that the frozen rounds with standard primers would have even more velocity loss, but the experiment didn't end so well for my chrony. The first one of the frozen standard primer hang fired. I slightly dropped the rifle down a little, which turned out to be just enough for the muzzle to line up with the display on the chrony. The rifle fired and I had a nice little 22 caliber hole in the display. The other in this group also hang fired.

 

[ontarget]

Yeah right. That's just what you told your wife so you could get a new chrony. Lol.