08 June 2007, 23:26
SunsetQuestion For Seafire
Do the general guidelines for determining the charge quantity for Blue Dot reduced loads (where you measure the total case quantity of Blue Dot. . .start at 20% of the total and then work up to the maximum which should be somewhere between 50-60% of the total case quantity of Blue Dot) hold true for the very small cases like the 22 Hornet?
Thanks for any guidance you can provide on this question.
Sunset
09 June 2007, 02:47
seafire/B17GSunset,
I have not worked with cases as small as the Hornet... the 222 and 223 are the smallest...
the 20% rule definitely holds true.. and one is wise to slow down at about 50% case capacity...
it is real important to work up slowly from there..
short fat cases seem to be preferred by Blue Dot, or longer ones...
case in point.. a 284 case can run true with the 60% rule, as a WSM case can.. however a 280 or 30/06 case top out at 50%...
In a Hornet case, I'd recommend working between 20 to 40% of max case capacity and go work up beyond the 40%...
Case capacity is defined as filling powder to the brim of the case, and then leveling it off with a 3 x 5 card or something like that.. then weighing how much is in the case...
start at 20% of that figure there....
best of luck..
cheers
seafire

The Hornet is usually loaded with N110 which is only a little slower than Blue Dot. I do not have my copy of QuickLoad at hand but I am quite sure that the maximum possible load with Blue Dot is pretty close to the 8.8. grain of N110 which Vihta recomends for 45 grain bullets.
Personally, if I wanted to go down as far as 20% LD I'd choose a faster powder.
Like stated, work up SLOWLY and do not trust anything you read on the internet!