Powder particle shear

[P95Carry]

I have reloaded for *** years! But have wondered now and again - and now whilst loading some 38 spls ... what if any might be the effect of the powder dispenser on particle structure.

I think most would agree that increase in surface area will yield a faster burn rate. Certainly when churning out target 38's ... using a shotgun powder which is quite flakey - I get the impression that some particles suffer shear as the charge is ''levelled off'' - once the volume cavity is full. The charge then dropped must include some finer particles.

I daresay all this is immaterial, as from one drop to next things should be pretty consistent - and so therefore should be the loaded round's behavior.

Just musing tho - as to whether in any extreme cases this might be significant - comparing let's say - a scale weighed charge per load, as against each load being dropped, with some powder shear.

Probably not even worth worrying about eh!

 

[griz]

I wondered about that kind of thing and came to the same conclusion, it doesn't matter. I have heard advice that when you normally feel grains shearing while throwing charges of long grained powder from a measure, that a charge where you don't feel shearing should be recycled. The reasoning is probably more for consistency rather than sheared granuales though.

Anyway I've pulled bullets on highly compressed loads and if there is an effect from damaged powder, it would show up with those loads first.

 

[brickeyee]

Sort through the powder under a microscope and note how many short tubes you can find. I did it a couple times years ago. At first it looked like I might have something. Then I just sorted through the same weight of pwder froma dipper and trickler load. About the same number of short pieces.
I wil admit to a sample size of only 2 loads from the Uniflow and one with the dipper. It took a lot of hours under a stereo microscope.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Nice thought, but total eye strain. A good point though. I have also wondered about the same thing. Now I don't have to worry and get eye strain too. I'm not even sure I can count that high either

 

[Smokey Joe]

Particle shear

Have been using long-particle powder for *** years myself, and for most of that time, have been shearing grains in a powder measure. (IMR 4350 has been the powder of choice most of the time. For what it works at, it works really good.)

My conclusion when I first heard the grains being sheared was that since (1) the total number of grains compared to the sheared grains will make the effect of the sheared grains insignificant, and (2) since it was happening at almost every throw of the measure, and I'd be getting the other ends of the sheared grains in the measure in the throws where grains were not being sheared,and (3) there wasn't much of anything I could do about it, anyhow (short of changing to a small-ball powder), and (4) the loads with the long powder grains were working great in the guns for which I was loading, therefore I was going to ignore the whole thing and just proceed.

Mind you, I'm not a maximum-load kind of guy; accuracy is the goal. So since I'm not pushing the envelope in the velocity/pressure department, maybe I can get away with more that way than otherwise.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Might I recommend H4831SC? Hogdon has already sheared the long grains for you. Evidently the powder manufacturers don't have a problem with sheared grains or Hogdon wouldn't have done it with H4831SC so it would flow better and give better powder density. Just a thought. I used H4831 (no SC) for years and I bet I sheared a whole lot of grains. I do prefer the SC version best. It measures and flows much better the H4831 (no SC) did.

 

[Smokey Joe]

Smaller powder pieces

Good thought, Bushmaster. But I have never needed to use 4831, SC, LC, or otherwise. However, a powder with small grains IS nice to measure. Have used H380 on occasion; its grains are little tiny balls that flow like water and measure about that well, too.

Early on in my loading career I decided that a powder's effectiveness in the cartridge, in the chamber, would decide my use of that powder. Regardless of what degree of hassle that powder was to get into the case.

If you don't load for performance, why handload?

Call me a grouchy old stick-in-the-mud.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Smokey Joe, I sit here and read as to how fast these guys brag that they can load a mess of cartridges. Then I sit here and read just how many times that they have problems with those same cartridges. :banghead: Yes. Before some of you tell me that you blast thousands of bullets down range each day for compitions, I am aware of your need for speed of reloading. But the rest of you must feel that if you can't keep up then......Lord knows what would happen.
Me....Why I'm in no hurry to get from here to there, am in no hurry to get from Point A to Point B, am in no hurry to get to heaven and am in no hurry to load what I need for range and field. I do, however, wish to have the very best that I can produce from my loading bench when I go to the range or on a hunt.

If the powder is THAT good I'll load it one grain at a time if necessary. I agree with you Smokey Joe, the end product is more important then how long it took you to get there.

I will take my ever-lovin' time doing it.

I am a grouchy ol' fart...And darn proud of it