Handgun loads with Alliant Steel?

[mtnbkr]

I saw a lb of Alliant Steel today for $7.95, so I picked it up with the idea that it might be useful for moderate 357mag and 45Colt loads. Using Alliant's "relative quickness" as a guide, it's a little faster than 2400 (27%) and slightly slower than Blue Dot (37.8%), both of which are useful for the 357mag and 45Colt.

Since it's closest to Blue Dot, I felt like I could probably take about the same charge of Steel for a given recipe and get slightly slower velocities.

For example, Alliant lists 10.7gr of Blue Dot for a 357mag 158gr JSP at 1400fps. I would start with 9.5-10gr of Steel and go from there.

For the 45Colt: 11.5gr Blue Dot and 250gr LRN for 890fps. With Steel, I would start at 10.5-11gr.

Am I on the right track or do I have a pound of powder that's of no use to me.

Chris

 

[Clark]

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.

I wrote Alliant when the powder came out about pistols and they said no way, but after a few years I read about Mike McNett doing it, so I got some and tried it for overloads. There is no load book data, so I picked a load and worked up until no more powder would fit.
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10mm Glock G20:
Steel 200 gr .658, WLP, 14 gr, 1.3", case full, powder could be
compressed more, Barsto barrel , ok, [no Alliant data]

This powder is very good, but not as good as 800X for this

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9x23mm Tokarev:
STEEL, no data
.358" 158 gr LSWC, 1.3", 10 gr case full, ok, can go higher with double compression


This powder is very good for this, but not as good as Power Pistol for this.

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For more information go to Glocktalk forum the 10 ring forum and search against the name "McNett" and the word "Steel" and you will find more data on 10mm.

 

[mtnbkr]

Regarding the 10mm, why so much powder? Steel is between 2400 and Blue Dot in "relative quickness". I would think your load would be between the loads called for by those powders, but you're several grains higher than the slower 2400's published load.

How about some of the non-balistics results. IE, was it dirty, was it harder to ignite, etc?

Chris

 

[MCNETT]

You can check out my old thread on Glocktalk called "STEEL, finally!" for loads and ballistics. As far as the powder goes, it has the largest flakes that I have ever encountered, definitely not a good powder for metering. Not a dirty powder, nor was it hard to ignite. I loaded for both my 10mm and .357MAG, and I believe it would be a good powder for my .44, but I grew tired of hand-measuring every load, so I stopped testing.
-Mike