What is proper english; Gr= grains of lead weight-Gn=powder weight?

[PWC]

This sounds like discussions I've seen about "headspace".

 

[Walkalong]

Nah, that’s much worse.

 

[Atavar]

Best rule for using any abbreviation: If in doubt write out whole word

Actually, correct English rules say to always spell out and parenthesize any abbreviation (abbr) the first time you use it in a document or thread. Once defined you can use the abbreviation after that. This way you can avoid being misunderstood even if your abbreviation is wrong or your reader is not familiar with the abbreviation.
I wish more people here would do that.

https://www.mcc.gov/resources/story/section-writing-guide-good-grammar#:~:text=Abbreviations should only be used,such as MCC and USAID.
Abbreviations should only be used if the organization or term appears two or more times in the text. Spell out the full term at its first mention, indicate its abbreviation in parenthesis and use the abbreviation from then on

 

[45 long]

Scientists are going to be the first people to say “What’s a gn?” They are nitpickers.

I'm sorry, if scientists can't nitpick, what's left. That's their job.

 

[Gun-Reck]

Use "gr." for bullet weight, and "grn." for powder weight.

In a string of load data, it easily identifies which is which.

 

[shoobe01]

gr is the official (per NIST Office of Weights and Measures). Not GR or Gr but gr. Note that all labels for units are one space after the value. 14.6 gr, never 14.6gr. Do not end unit abbreviations with a period. gr not gr. Do not pluralize abbreviations. 12 gr never 12 grs.

If any ambiguity is possible, spell it out, grains. Also, as for the abbreviation, in all lower case. Yes, words get pluralized, 1 grain, 4.5 grains, which is a good reason to avoid spelling out units in documentation as now you have to keep track of that.

There is no other proper abbreviation or notation in US English.

(I compiled and maintain an engineering specification for unit names, abbreviations, and conversion from SI at one of my F50 clients.)

 

[BushMaster-15]

I've never been confused when someone posts " My Load for my .357 is , 158 gr. WC W/ 15.5 gr. H 110 .

IF anyone has trouble deciphering the above formula ,perhaps reloading ISN'T for you . Go ahead and try to put 158 gr. of H 110 in a .357 case

 

[Walkalong]

Do not end unit abbreviations with a period. gr not gr. Do not pluralize abbreviations. 12 gr never 12 grs.

I'm so guilty.....

 

[NR53]

Yeah, reloading has a language all it's own. With all the abbreviations and acronyms, it's a wonder anything is understandable. Stick around long enough and a person will learn to speak ( and write) reloading language. LOL

 

[cfullgraf]

Since we live primarily in the English standard of measurements, alot of confusion creeps in.

In most measurement systems, units of mass (grams, grains, etc. ) have different names than units of volume (cubit cm, liter, etc. ).

In the English system, there is some confusion. For instance, we have pound force and pound mass. They are different, usually by a correction of the acceleration of gravity. Did you know thst when you step on a scale, your weight is measured in pound force?

For water, a fluid ounce is the same as an ounce weight (a “pints a pound the world around”) but for a material with a different density as water, that ditty does not work. (A gallon of gasoline weighs 6 pounds while a gallon of water weighs 8 pounds. The volume of the two gallons is the same)

Clear as mud? With the English system, fortunately we do not measure the speed of a car in furlongs/fortnight.

Bottom line. a grain is a grain whether a measure of bullets or powder. It is a measure of mass.

I’ve led to believe the abbreviation is “gr”.

 

[CQB45ACP]

Kept these on my desk at work for 34 years. Got them in college and referred to them often. I was a bureaucrat but tried to write like a human. Old Miss Racely would’ve been proud.

But sometimes plain language doesn’t work and like we’ve said here, you go to the authority, and in this instance it’s NIST.

 

[Jim Watson]

For water, a fluid ounce is the same as an ounce weight (a “pints a pound the world around”) but for a material with a different density as water, that ditty does not work. (A gallon of gasoline weighs 6 pounds while a gallon of water weighs 8 pounds. The volume of the two gallons is the same)

Close enough for Kip Russell, but not exact. A US gallon of water masses 8.34 lb, sometimes given as 8 1/3 lb. This was important in my line of work when I needed to measure the specific gravity of a product, multiply it by the density of water to get pounds per gallon, used to figure shipping weights. (An Imperial gallon is 10 lbs of water, we are NOT on the "English system." But it got you a bigger pint of beer over there.)

 

[mcb]

Grains official abbreviation by most standards NIST, ANSI etc is (gr) lower case. Its current definition in measurement systems that use its modern form is that it is a measure of mass defined as 64.79891 mg. Historically its definition had changed a fair amount.

 

[drband]

Kept these on my desk at work for 34 years. Got them in college and referred to them often. I was a bureaucrat but tried to write like a human. Old Miss Racely would’ve been proud.

But sometimes plain language doesn’t work and like we’ve said here, you go to the authority, and in this instance it’s NIST.
View attachment 1154127

Good old Strunk & White! Kept me on the proper writing path all through graduate school!

I have always abbreviated grain or grains as gr when recording load data.

As noted above, grams are abbreviated with a single lower case g in use. I have never seen that confused in manufacturer load data tables.

 

[Jim Watson]

Gram is properly abbreviated "g" but I have seen usage of "gm".

Then we have the novices who spell it out, referring to 50 grams of powder in a .308.

 

[J-Bar]

About twice a year someone new to using blackpowder will ask a question about measuring blackpowder powder and substitutes by "grains-volume" instead of "grains-mass". If you encounter such a thread, just get a bowl of popcorn and watch another dead horse get beaten some more!

 

[.308 Norma]

some people use both to describe both bullet grain weight and powder grain weight.

Every once in a while, my wife and I drive down to the local truck stop/diner for a meal. It’s only about a 10 miles distance (about 16 kilometers distance) drive, and we usually share a quarter pound weight (.113 kilograms weight) hamburger and fries when we get there.
Given the fact that my pickup truck gets a little better than 20 miles distance (32.19 kilometers distance) to the gallon amount (3.7 liters amount) of gasoline, it only burns up about 1 gallon amount (3.7 liters amount) of that expensive liquid in the trip down there and back.
Besides, there’s a public shooting range just over the hill from the diner. So after we eat, my wife and I sometimes drive over there and run a few rounds through our carry guns. My wife usually uses 95 grain weight bullets in her carry gun, and I usually use 115 grain weight bullets in mine. We’re both shooting factory ammo in our carry guns though, so I don’t know what the grain weights of the powder charges are in either gun.

 

[Jim Watson]

My wife usually uses 95 grain weight bullets in her carry gun, and I usually use 115 grain weight bullets in mine.

That is 6.15 and 7.5 grammes, respectively.
Note the old spelling. I've been know to slip metre past the autocorrect, too.

 

[jdsingleshot]

I was a copy editor for 21 years. When I started, I was frustrated by the frequency of nonstandard usage. On older editor told me to get used to it. "Language grows from the bottom." (I never did get used to it."

 

[Gun-Reck]

I've never been confused when someone posts " My Load for my .357 is , 158 gr. WC W/ 15.5 gr. H 110 .

IF anyone has trouble deciphering the above formula ,perhaps reloading ISN'T for you . Go ahead and try to put 158 gr. of H 110 in a .357 case

.357 158 gr. WC 15.5 gr. H 110, .357 158 gr. JSP 14.5 gr. H 110, .357 125 gr. HP 15.0 gr. H 110, etc...

 

[CQB45ACP]

I was a copy editor for 21 years. When I started, I was frustrated by the frequency of nonstandard usage. On older editor told me to get used to it. "Language grows from the bottom." (I never did get used to it."

Good one. I had a boss who really tried to push plain language—he’d say “don’t use utilize, use use”—he confessed and bemoaned the futility since there are so many different English languages. One for technologists, another for Defense, State department, Intel community, legal/law enforcement, Treasury/financial and on and on.

But I have to say our stuff came out much easier to understand thanks to him. I keep a pad next to my chair even today for writing down the dumb a** terms people say on TV.

 

[cfullgraf]

Close enough for Kip Russell, but not exact. A US gallon of water masses 8.34 lb, sometimes given as 8 1/3 lb. This was important in my line of work when I needed to measure the specific gravity of a product, multiply it by the density of water to get pounds per gallon, used to figure shipping weights. (An Imperial gallon is 10 lbs of water, we are NOT on the "English system." But it got you a bigger pint of beer over there.)

Agreed but it makes the math easier where the precision is not necessary.

A gallon of gas also is slightly different than 6 pounds.

 

[higgite]

I really don't care if 10 gallons of water weighs 80 lbs or 83.4 lbs. I'm using a hand cart either way.

 

[jmorris]

If I were being graded by Mrs. Fields, I would use Grain(s), 3-4 extra letters and not up to interpretation.

G for gram(s) and gr for grains, is what old people use.

 

[CQB45ACP]

So how does a grain of sand or wheat get measured and abbreviated?