HI,

I was pondering over this topic especailly when using 375 H&H as most of loads fit comfortably and when you shake the round you hear the powder.

Now what I'm wondering is would the way the powder lies either mostly all at the back or all behind the bullet leaving a small gap between the primer and the powder affect performance ???

In other words would a round that has been filled enough with powder that it cannot move perform better ?

Safari-Hunt

www.Safari-Hunt.com

I believe that it does, that is why all my reloads are slightly compressed.

Without going to extremes, I doubt if it will make a major difference. For a given type of powder there is a volume difference between the minimum and maximum charge weights.

I you ever start experimenting with reduced loads, you have to use a filler between the powder and the bullet.

Agree with Ricciardelli. Particularly if there is airspace in the powder chamber and the powder is not against the flash hole, such as when shooting downhill. It has been tested repeatedly and those results have been published in various places. One test showed extreme variances where there was airspace at the flash hole versus when the the muzzle of the rifle was pointed up and tapped so as to get the powder back against the flash hole. I too reload to 100% density, or more, for this very reason.

So, if it does have an effect what is the best, cheapest and most effective filler to use ?

Safari-Hunt

www.Safari-Hunt.com

Load density is important for maintaining low velocity standard deviations. Compressed loads can pose some pressure considerations, however, trying to stick in the 95% + load density range is effective and safe. Ball power is the easiest to achieve consistent load densities and extruded powder is the most difficult. Fortunately, there is 4831 Short Cut.

S-H - What are you attempting to load that would require filler? Some of the older British cordite cartridges might, but none of the modern cartridges will - certainly not a 375 H&H. The best solution is to select a slower burning powder. Filler is great for fire forming cases but has little application in today�s modern cartridges. To answer your question, oatmeal is great as a filler. I would avoid any synthetic filler - this can cause pressure rings in your chamber.

[ 06-10-2002, 19:03: Message edited by: Zero Drift ]

Corn meal . . . it's better shape/sized and you can buy it in bulk at most any store that sells bulk items.

Black powder shooters use corn meal or Cream of Wheat (because it's authentic for the period) -- they use it to cover charges on revolvers so they don't have to "grease" the cylinders to prevent "flashover" between the charges.

If the primer in a case shoots a flame across the surface of the powder it can "detonate" the charge rather than ignite it. That leads to serious pressure spikes and can cause catastrophic failures.

SAFARI HUNT,
Some powder tend to be position sensitive. How much empty space you have left in a case may also effect accuracy. The best solution I've found to this is to load a pewder with a slow burn rate that will still give the performance you want. This handles the situation nicely. Good luck.