1911Tuner
Moderator Emeritus
Pressures
As a long-time user of 2400...Hercules and Alliant...I can personally attest to the fact that it has indeed changed. I used to use Elmer's old standby 22 grains with 245-grain hard cast semi wadcutters with nary a problem. 15.5 grains of the stuff with 150-160-grain pills in .357 revolvers was a real hoot, and produced some wicked velocities...and if I had known the true operating pressures that these rounds were burnin'...I'd probably have nightmares. But...as I said...there were no obvious problems, other than shootin' a few fabulous revolvers loose. (Hindsight and foresight, y'know)
2400 changed while I wasn't lookin'. I had put my revolvers into semi-retirement for a good 15 years, and rarely shot'em. When I did, it was with old lots of ammo loaded with the old lots of powder. Eventually, that was exhausted, so I replenished and referred back to my old data. I knew better, and even though I backed off a full 10% with the new lot and started over,
20 grains with a 240 cast bullet proved to be dangerous. New cases split,
and the ones that didn't, refused to let go of their grip on the chambers, requiring a dowel rod to get'em out. Primers flowed to fill out the pocket edges so completely that if they had been the same color, I would have barely been able to see the parting lines.
So, the data that you get for the old reliables in a 30 year-old Speer or Lyman manual no longer apply. Unique seems to be the only one from that lineup that has remained consistent over the years, and is one of my three favorite pistol powders...and even that should be approached with caution for top-end loadings.
Blue Dot is a caution. Always has been. That one has the dubious honor in my entire reloading life of being the only powder that's ever busted a revolver with a recommended load...and it was a half-grain under max at that.
It may have changed for the better since those days, but I won't be using it again for anything that has "Magnum" after the numbers.
As a long-time user of 2400...Hercules and Alliant...I can personally attest to the fact that it has indeed changed. I used to use Elmer's old standby 22 grains with 245-grain hard cast semi wadcutters with nary a problem. 15.5 grains of the stuff with 150-160-grain pills in .357 revolvers was a real hoot, and produced some wicked velocities...and if I had known the true operating pressures that these rounds were burnin'...I'd probably have nightmares. But...as I said...there were no obvious problems, other than shootin' a few fabulous revolvers loose. (Hindsight and foresight, y'know)
2400 changed while I wasn't lookin'. I had put my revolvers into semi-retirement for a good 15 years, and rarely shot'em. When I did, it was with old lots of ammo loaded with the old lots of powder. Eventually, that was exhausted, so I replenished and referred back to my old data. I knew better, and even though I backed off a full 10% with the new lot and started over,
20 grains with a 240 cast bullet proved to be dangerous. New cases split,
and the ones that didn't, refused to let go of their grip on the chambers, requiring a dowel rod to get'em out. Primers flowed to fill out the pocket edges so completely that if they had been the same color, I would have barely been able to see the parting lines.
So, the data that you get for the old reliables in a 30 year-old Speer or Lyman manual no longer apply. Unique seems to be the only one from that lineup that has remained consistent over the years, and is one of my three favorite pistol powders...and even that should be approached with caution for top-end loadings.
Blue Dot is a caution. Always has been. That one has the dubious honor in my entire reloading life of being the only powder that's ever busted a revolver with a recommended load...and it was a half-grain under max at that.
It may have changed for the better since those days, but I won't be using it again for anything that has "Magnum" after the numbers.