I am reloading for my 44 mag handi-rifle and noticed there is a good deal of unburnt powder left in the barrel. I am using new starline brass, large magnum pistol primers, and a middle of the road powder charge. Is this normal to get unburnt powder in the barrel? I would reduce the powder charge but like I said earlier, it is nowhere near the max charge.
IMR 4227 unburnt powder in barrel
- Thread starter ldlfh7
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Airman Basic
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Increasing the charge will help a lot but not totally stop it. Just the nature of the 4227 beast. I use a quite heavy charge of 25 grains in my 94 Marlin, and very little residue is left.
buck460XVR
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You don't say what powder charge and what weight bullet you are using. IMR4227 likes heavy bullets and upper end loads. While it shoots well at "middle of the road" levels, it can be dirty. But like Airman Basic says, even at the upper end you will still find some residue.
IMR4227 is my "go to" powder for hunting loads in .44 mag and .460 mag. Powder charge is either right at compressed or just below.
IMR4227 is my "go to" powder for hunting loads in .44 mag and .460 mag. Powder charge is either right at compressed or just below.
Kp321
Member
Also try a heavier roll crimp.
gamestalker
member
You should be able to manage a lot of that residue by increasing the charge. But with this powder, and a few others, produce powder skeletons and can be difficult to completely eliminate.
If you can recover a small quantity of what appears to be un-burned powder, pile them up and see if they ignite with a lighter, and I'll bet they won't. They are a by product of burned powder that didn't get burned at high enough pressure, or for a long enough time.
Try putting a heavier roll crimp on those loads, and, or, bump the charge up some, that should clean things up a bit.
GS
If you can recover a small quantity of what appears to be un-burned powder, pile them up and see if they ignite with a lighter, and I'll bet they won't. They are a by product of burned powder that didn't get burned at high enough pressure, or for a long enough time.
Try putting a heavier roll crimp on those loads, and, or, bump the charge up some, that should clean things up a bit.
GS
USSR
Member
+1. But, having found that 4227 produces some of the best accuracy loads, it's easy for me to overlook.
Don
bluetopper
Member
You cannot overload a 44 Mag using 4227. Especially in a Handi-Rifle, the more 4227 you can put in a 44 Mag case the better it will burn and more accurate it will be, no matter the bullet weight.
RPRNY
Member
As per above, 4227 is a dirty girl. Makes a decent brass shell .410 powder, 45 Colt powder and is my 30 cal cast go-to powder. But she's dirty...
Kurastduuks
Member
When I was doing 240gr load development with 4227 it didnt start to clean up till 23.0 with a heavy crimp. The cleanest burning loads I make with that powder use a 300 grain bullet at very high pressure FWIW
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