WrongHanded
Member
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2017
- Messages
- 4,771
And it didn't go great.
Sunny, windy, I probably shouldn't have tried. (73 degrees btw)
So what happened?
It started well, with 3 rounds of leftover .45 acp. SNS coated LRN 230gr. They went at mid to low 800's. Okay.
Then some Double Tap 230gr FMJ-FP, which they advertise as 1,000fps from a 5" 1911. 10 shots:
1,216
195
1,222
205
917
1,230
923
1,225
Not right at all. But I persisted with another handload. 11 rounds of a 230gr RNFP over 5.6gr of W231. These averaged 854fps, except for the 1,190 and 1,236 results.
And still I continued. As I'd paid for the range time and driven a good distance.
Out of my BH 4-5/8 .41 mag, a 210gr XTP over 15.5gr 2400. Mostly in the 1200's, with a couple at slingshot velocities, and the only reasonable result of 1,064. Not a good sign.
And then with the same gun, a 230gr WFN with 17.0gr 2400. I could almost believe this would run in the low 1200's (which is mostly the results I got) but the other numbers make me second guess that. And then there was the 915fps and 1170fps readings. I'd been very careful with my powder charge weights on this particular load.
My RH .44 mag with 5.5" barrel, gave me from 1,066 to 1,241 shooting a 240gr XTP over 9.0gr of W231. And that's where I stopped to think.
Perhaps I had the chronograph too close. Is was maybe not quite 10 feet away. So I moved it to 15 feet or so. I though perhaps I was getting false reading from the muzzle blast? How could I know if I didn't try. But that didn't seem to help.
I tried 20 rounds at both 11.0gr and 11.5gr of Unique under a .44 mag 240gr LSWC. Now these numbers may be higher than the Lyman manual I have, but barring some readings in the high 1500's and low 1600's, I think they could be accurate.
11.0gr Unique, 240gr LSWC, .44 mag 5.5" barrel. 10 shots:
Average - 1,196
Low - 1,161
High - 1,211
E.S. - 50
S.D. - 41.82
11.5gr, 7 shots
Average - 1,234
Low - 1,219
High - 1,256
E S. - 37
S.D. - 11.487
Except that the other 3 shots were:
1,640
1,576
1,689
I got more strange numbers from the same .44 mag. This time shooting a 300gr 'Hammer' from MBC over 16.5gr 2400. Where I got some 1200's, some mid 1,000's, and some 200's.
I also tried some 310gr Montana Bullet Works LBT WFN-GC at 17.0gr 2400. Also some wild numbers. As high as 1,206 and low as 535.
Doesn't all this make me sound like I have no idea how to reload?!
And THEN, I tilted the tripod so the sun didn't hit the sensors! I put it over at about 45 degrees, to where the sensor windows were casting a shadow over the sensors. And NOW I start getting consistent numbers.
The 300gr Hammer with 16.5gr 2400, 10 shots:
Average - 1,076
Low - 1,043
High - 1,114
E.S. - 71
S.D. - 22.24
And lastly, I shot 20 rounds of that 310gr LBT WFN-GC, with my preferred 16.8gr 2400, from the same 5.5" RH in .44 mag:
Average - 1,112
Low - 1,087
High - 1,149
E.S. - 62
S.D. - 16.6
So I don't know if wind gusts moving the chrono are a likely cause of some of the very low or very high numbers, but I think the sun hitting the sensors definitely had a negative effect on the readings. Unfortunately, that .41 mag 230gr WFN load is one that I really wanted to get velocities on, as it seems to be amongst the most accurate load I've worked up.
Anyway, I learned some valuable lessons about what not to do with a chronograph. The unit is a ProChrono Digital from Competition Electronics, if anyone wants to know.
Sunny, windy, I probably shouldn't have tried. (73 degrees btw)
So what happened?
It started well, with 3 rounds of leftover .45 acp. SNS coated LRN 230gr. They went at mid to low 800's. Okay.
Then some Double Tap 230gr FMJ-FP, which they advertise as 1,000fps from a 5" 1911. 10 shots:
1,216
195
1,222
205
917
1,230
923
1,225
Not right at all. But I persisted with another handload. 11 rounds of a 230gr RNFP over 5.6gr of W231. These averaged 854fps, except for the 1,190 and 1,236 results.
And still I continued. As I'd paid for the range time and driven a good distance.
Out of my BH 4-5/8 .41 mag, a 210gr XTP over 15.5gr 2400. Mostly in the 1200's, with a couple at slingshot velocities, and the only reasonable result of 1,064. Not a good sign.
And then with the same gun, a 230gr WFN with 17.0gr 2400. I could almost believe this would run in the low 1200's (which is mostly the results I got) but the other numbers make me second guess that. And then there was the 915fps and 1170fps readings. I'd been very careful with my powder charge weights on this particular load.
My RH .44 mag with 5.5" barrel, gave me from 1,066 to 1,241 shooting a 240gr XTP over 9.0gr of W231. And that's where I stopped to think.
Perhaps I had the chronograph too close. Is was maybe not quite 10 feet away. So I moved it to 15 feet or so. I though perhaps I was getting false reading from the muzzle blast? How could I know if I didn't try. But that didn't seem to help.
I tried 20 rounds at both 11.0gr and 11.5gr of Unique under a .44 mag 240gr LSWC. Now these numbers may be higher than the Lyman manual I have, but barring some readings in the high 1500's and low 1600's, I think they could be accurate.
11.0gr Unique, 240gr LSWC, .44 mag 5.5" barrel. 10 shots:
Average - 1,196
Low - 1,161
High - 1,211
E.S. - 50
S.D. - 41.82
11.5gr, 7 shots
Average - 1,234
Low - 1,219
High - 1,256
E S. - 37
S.D. - 11.487
Except that the other 3 shots were:
1,640
1,576
1,689
I got more strange numbers from the same .44 mag. This time shooting a 300gr 'Hammer' from MBC over 16.5gr 2400. Where I got some 1200's, some mid 1,000's, and some 200's.
I also tried some 310gr Montana Bullet Works LBT WFN-GC at 17.0gr 2400. Also some wild numbers. As high as 1,206 and low as 535.
Doesn't all this make me sound like I have no idea how to reload?!
And THEN, I tilted the tripod so the sun didn't hit the sensors! I put it over at about 45 degrees, to where the sensor windows were casting a shadow over the sensors. And NOW I start getting consistent numbers.
The 300gr Hammer with 16.5gr 2400, 10 shots:
Average - 1,076
Low - 1,043
High - 1,114
E.S. - 71
S.D. - 22.24
And lastly, I shot 20 rounds of that 310gr LBT WFN-GC, with my preferred 16.8gr 2400, from the same 5.5" RH in .44 mag:
Average - 1,112
Low - 1,087
High - 1,149
E.S. - 62
S.D. - 16.6
So I don't know if wind gusts moving the chrono are a likely cause of some of the very low or very high numbers, but I think the sun hitting the sensors definitely had a negative effect on the readings. Unfortunately, that .41 mag 230gr WFN load is one that I really wanted to get velocities on, as it seems to be amongst the most accurate load I've worked up.
Anyway, I learned some valuable lessons about what not to do with a chronograph. The unit is a ProChrono Digital from Competition Electronics, if anyone wants to know.