I had worked up some loads with R22 for my 7mm stw with 140 grain pills. My original load was 80.5 grains of r22 and a 140 grain partition. Velocity was 3600fps out of my custom 28 inch shillen barrel. I ran out of r22 and bought a new canister with a different lot #. I backed off the load by one one grain (79) and went to the range. My first shot read 3770 across the chrono. I was shocked and even more shocked when i ejected the spent case. Heavy bolt lift and the primer fell out when i ejected the case. I was horrifed. I ended up backing all the way down to 76 grains for the same speed. I feel your pain.

Recently opened a new 5 pound caddy of Reloder 22 to make up some .270 loads. The lot number is �Aug 30 '01 Lot 25107�. According to the fellow at Alliant customer service the �fast� lot of RL-22 is 25083.



Loaded up 100 rounds of my standard .270 load � Hornady 130 grain Spire Point, Federal 210 primers and 60.0 grains of RL-22. This is usually good for about 3180 to 3200 fps in my 23� barreled Model 700. Hornady book max is 61.0 grains and Quickload says my 60 grain load is well under 60,000 psi.



First shot went over the Oehler screens at 3325 fps and gave the most classic symptoms of high pressure I�ve seen in a long time. Hard bolt lift, cratered primer and a nice bright spot on the cartridge head. I thought something must be off here. Somewhat foolishly (in retrospect � what the hell was I thinking?!) I turned my head away, held the rifle out away from me and fired another round. 3324 fps, same symptoms. Enough of that.



Went home and pulled the rounds and compared the powder to 4350, 4831, Reloder 15 � anything that I might concievably have used and it for sure was RL-22. Weighed several rounds and they were all 60.0 grains. Checked the scale with a 130 grain bullet and it was spot on, maybe .1 grain off.



I also used this lot to load some 168 grain Barnes TSX�s in my .300 Win. Mag and used my �less than max� load for 180 grain Noslers as a starting point. Got the dreaded shiny extractor mark on those cases as well.



Bottom line � I think 25107 is another fast lot powder. A lot faster, apparently, maybe around 4350 in relative quickness? My email exchange with Alliant asking for recommendations was left unanswered. Going to drop back a full 10% on the .270 and work up again this weekend as I may yet salvage this 8 pound lot, but wanted to let others know to watch out.



BTW � Yes, I know � when changing ANY component of a load one should always work back up. That�s why I usually stay away from max loads, go with the slower powders and try to pick something Quickload says is in the mid-50K�s in pressure. But I�ll tell you this one caught me by surprise.

Jim,

Yes, for some dang reason this is the case. My new lot of RL22 is 1.5 grains or so off from my past lot. You did the right thing by buying a big keg though. Fudge around with the new powder and you'll get to where you want to be. I have never found RL22 to be that consistant from lot to lot, not even when the lots are a couple months apart.