THE ACCURATERELOADING.COM SHOTSHELL RELOADING FORUM

Go
New
Find
Notify
Tools
Reply
  
Longshot,Steel,Blue Dot......compared
 Login/Join
 
One of Us
posted
I have data that is the same but different only in powder used.Can someone give me any feed back regarding these powders??..performance,metering,etc...I have a small supply of Steel already,but not the other two.

Steel
Longshot
Blue Dot

Thanks in advance.
ray
 
Posts: 25 | Registered: 28 August 2008Reply With Quote
one of us
Picture of Scout Master 54
posted Hide Post
Well, it depends a lot on what your trying to acomplish with them. I have not used Steel since I do little water foul hunting but have made field loads with the others.

Longshot is great for fast field loads in both 20 & 12 ga loads. If you're into speed you can achieve some pretty high velocity with it - 1500 fps. It also makes a great 28 ga powder and one of the few that you can get a full 3/4 oz. of shot to fit in the Win AAHS hull (short).

Blue Dot is fine for pushing heave payloads of shot in both the 12 & 20 ga. I have used it for years to make my heavy late season pheasant loads. It's also great for magnum pistol loads and if you check the reloading forum you can locate some reduced rifle loads. It's a must have on my reloading bench.

Both Hogdon and Alliant offer a good bit of loading data on their web sites on these powders.

Scout Master 54
 
Posts: 332 | Location: Western CT | Registered: 10 June 2003Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
I can't comment on Steel, but the other two are known for field loads, primarily...don't try for wimpy, low-recoil skeet loads with them.

I use Longshot for 16ga pheasant hunting loads. Meters great through my 700 VersaMec. Otherwise I use Greendot. Bluedot is more for 12ga loads.
 
Posts: 4799 | Location: Lehigh county, PA | Registered: 17 October 2002Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
I appreciate both responses.

I'm at fault for not being more specific in it's use.My intended use will be for heavy loads with the 10 gauge (3 1/2) mag using heavy 2 to 2 1/2 oz shot(lead)loads.My data shows very similar velocity and pressure with each powder,using the same hulls,wads and primers.

I was hoping to get a general comparison.I already know their relative burning rates and all that.I'm a bit leary of Blue Dot because of it's reputation for being sensitive in cold weather and giving pressure spikes.

So I'm really interested more in a comparison between Steel and Longshot.How does Longshot do in heavy loads??

My data actually shows Steel to be better with the heavier shot loads (over 2 oz) but with 2 oz loads,which I prefer,they are very close.
 
Posts: 25 | Registered: 28 August 2008Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
I have used a lot of Blud Dot and Steel in the 10 ga., almost all for steel loads. Both don't meter well at all so I weigh each charge when using either. I never had any problems using either in temps down to about 0 deg. F. I used to use a lot of W571 but found that the powder tended to work up past the wad. Shells that got carried a lot tended to produce some bloopers. Blue dot and steel are coarse enough that this doesn't happen with them.
C.G.B.
 
Posts: 1090 | Registered: 25 January 2005Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
Thanks for the feedback.Sometimes personal use shows attributes in a load that data can't.

I wanted to see if anyone got better results with something else.I guess I'll just stick with Steel.
 
Posts: 25 | Registered: 28 August 2008Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
I use longshot for 28 gauge "wimpy low recoil skeet loads" in Win AA HS hulls.


Chic Worthing
"Life is Too Short To Hunt With An Ugly Gun"
http://webpages.charter.net/cworthing/
 
Posts: 4917 | Location: Wenatchee, WA, USA | Registered: 17 December 2001Reply With Quote
  Powered by Social Strata  
 


Copyright December 1997-2023 Accuratereloading.com


Visit our on-line store for AR Memorabilia