The 2009 WC-846 Thread

[SyberShooter]

Not wanting to hijack the other 846 powder thread, that has been running almost 6 years, I decided to give it a rest and start my own.

I have read several times that WC-846 and BLc2 are basically the same powder - one is pulled and one is new commercial production, nevertheless, it is often recommended to work up 846 loads from BLc2 data.
OK so I load up a sample group of 147gr 308 using surplus 846 and another set of the same bullet and primer with BLc2. (anyone see where this is heading?). I used 1/2 grain increments starting with 44 gr up to 46gr. I used a PACT chrony and fired them with thru my Rem 700.

What I found was that the W846 was consistently 250 fps faster than the same load with BLc2! WC846=2750-2800fps vs BLc2=2500-2550, or so.

When fired thru my FAL, the 846 load was another 50-75 fps faster than the bolt, which surprised me - i thought the bolt action would have a higher velocity.

Anyone else have similar results? What does this say about the pressure levels in 846 using BLc2 data? There were no pressure signs, no primer problems, no split cases, no difficult bolts, no unusual recoil/sound.

 

[rg1]

If 846 is comparable to surplus powders I've used then the next lot number you buy "might" be faster or slower than the lot you now have.
I've used several lots of 844, surplus 4895, 860, and 5010. The 844 lots which is supposed to be comparable to H335 were either slower by up to 200fps or 150fps faster than the same charges of H335. The surplus 4895 was hotter than cannister IMR 4895. Three lots of 860 were almost exactly the same speed yet the 4th lot was 300 fps slower than the other 3. I slowly learned that if you buy surplus to buy in bulk so you don't have to rework up loads every time you switch lot numbers.