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Is IMR 4350 a Dirty Burning Propellant?
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Just worked up a load for a .270 Win using IMR 4350 and during barrel cleaning after shooting sessions it seems to take twice as many patches to get the fouling out as with, say, H4831, H380, or IMR 4831. I'm using Butch's Boreshine as a solvent.

Is this my imagination or have others had the same experience?


An old pilot, not a bold pilot, aka "the pig murdering fool"
 
Posts: 2860 | Registered: 14 October 2004Reply With Quote
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Get a nylon brush and a bore snake.

You will never look back.


"History is made at night. 'Character' is who you are in the dark!" - Lord John Whorfin
 
Posts: 12 | Location: Austin, Texas | Registered: 07 August 2006Reply With Quote
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What seems "dirty" to one shooter may be "clean" to another.

How much powder and which bullets are you using?

IMR 4350, like most other powders, has a pressure range within which it burns best. Used inside that range, it burns quite cleanly. Used at slightly too low pressures, it is not completely consumed and can leave all kinds of crud in the bore. But again, almost all powders are like that.


My country gal's just a moonshiner's daughter, but I love her still.

 
Posts: 9685 | Location: Cave Creek 85331, USA | Registered: 17 August 2001Reply With Quote
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I use it in maximum loads with the 260 grain Partition in my 375 H&H and have never noticed any extra cleaning effort over IMR4064 or H4831.


Frank



"I don't know what there is about buffalo that frightens me so.....He looks like he hates you personally. He looks like you owe him money."
- Robert Ruark, Horn of the Hunter, 1953

NRA Life, SAF Life, CRPA Life, DRSS lite

 
Posts: 12566 | Location: Kentucky, USA | Registered: 30 December 2002Reply With Quote
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IMR 4350 is one of the first powders I used to hand load. I haven't notice it being a dirty powder but then again I use it for it's intended purpose heavy bullets. I will say that some of the new powers I use say N133 and some of the other VV powers burn cleaner. But compared to 4831 and the other powders of era it is not bad.
 
Posts: 1679 | Location: Renton, WA. | Registered: 16 December 2005Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by dustoffer:
Just worked up a load for a .270 Win using IMR 4350 and during barrel cleaning after shooting sessions it seems to take twice as many patches to get the fouling out as with, say, H4831, H380, or IMR 4831. I'm using Butch's Boreshine as a solvent.

Is this my imagination or have others had the same experience?


By far the nastiest burning powders I've used, aside from black, were some of the early WW slow-buring ball powders like WW 780, etc. If you are getting a lot of crud from IMR 4350, your loads are probably developing pretty low pressures, and the powder is not burning completely......


"Bitte, trinks du nicht das Wasser. Dahin haben die Kuhen gesheissen."
 
Posts: 4386 | Location: New Woodstock, Madison County, Central NY | Registered: 04 January 2005Reply With Quote
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I sometimes use a load of IMR-4350 and 140gr Hornady BT. It's not any better or worse than H4831SC in the crud department.

ZM
 
Posts: 655 | Location: Oregon Monsoon Central | Registered: 06 March 2004Reply With Quote
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Is IMR 4350 a Dirty Burning Propellant?


That question is more related to shotshell powders but to your question; no, at least not in my experience.
 
Posts: 770 | Location: colorado | Registered: 11 August 2003Reply With Quote
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NO!!!! its not,ive burned alot of it,..... its a great powder , 270winchesters thrive on it. regards jjmp
 
Posts: 999 | Location: wisconsin | Registered: 26 April 2005Reply With Quote
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I'm loading 54.2 grs under a Nosler 130 gr BT. Max of 15 rounds before cleaning. MV is 2907 fps out of a 22" barrel.


An old pilot, not a bold pilot, aka "the pig murdering fool"
 
Posts: 2860 | Registered: 14 October 2004Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by dustoffer:
I'm loading 54.2 grs under a Nosler 130 gr BT. Max of 15 rounds before cleaning. MV is 2907 fps out of a 22" barrel.




That's not what I would find to be a "hot" load in many of my .270's present and past, but it should be a reasonable pressure load and burn relatively well.

Is that a "worked-up-to" Max, a particularly accurate charge in your rifle, or what? (the .2 grain increment makes me ask...)

If it is not Max in your rifle or the most accurate of numerous tried propellant charge weights, you might want to try another ouple of grains more of powder, worked up to in half-grain increments. Might just bring pressures to a cleaner burning point.

If that doesn't seem to work I don't know what to suggest to you, insomuch as other powders seem to burn cleanly.

What is particularly perplexing to me is that you say 4831 DOES burn cleanly in your rifle. Original 4831 was exactly the same powder as 4350, but with 5% more burning deterrant coating added. (Of course, you probably are comparing your 4350 to some modern version of 4831, which is definitely NOT basically the same powder composition as either the original 4350 or 4831 even though it does match the burn rate of the old 4831 very closely.)


My country gal's just a moonshiner's daughter, but I love her still.

 
Posts: 9685 | Location: Cave Creek 85331, USA | Registered: 17 August 2001Reply With Quote
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No, its not, but even if it were, it would be worth the cleaning up. It is one of the "go to" powders that is suitable for a wide range of cartridges. Kudude
 
Posts: 1473 | Location: Tallahassee, Florida | Registered: 04 January 2005Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by webtaz99:
Get a nylon brush and a bore snake.

You will never look back.


You can clean your rifle with a bore snake if you want, just stay the heck away from mine! Those damn things have damaged more bores than any other means of cleaning. Dragging a rope through a bore, loaded with abrasives will wear unevenly on the all important crown and forcing cone of the barrel.

4350 is an excellent powder, I'm not worried about whether it's dirty or not. Used in the pressure range it's intended for, it's as clean as any other powder.


if you run, you just die tired

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Speak kindly to me, beloved master. Revel in my unconditional love, and give me every minute that you can spare, for my time with you is short.

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Posts: 596 | Location: Oshkosh, Wi USA | Registered: 28 July 2001Reply With Quote
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Whoops!
 
Posts: 1679 | Location: Renton, WA. | Registered: 16 December 2005Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by Jay Johnson:
quote:
Originally posted by grizz:
[You can clean your rifle with a bore snake if you want, just stay the heck away from mine! Those damn things have damaged more bores than any other means of cleaning. Dragging a rope through a bore, loaded with abrasives will wear unevenly on the all important crown and forcing cone of the barrel.


grizz I’ve watched people use those things too. They step on it to drag it through the barrel. You can see the dirt on the thing. You mention it they look at it briefly then just start to drag it back through the barrel again. Talk about attention deficit. Any more I just have to laugh. You watch them for a while and then you notice the groups their gun is shooting and now you know the rest of the story. LOL
 
Posts: 1679 | Location: Renton, WA. | Registered: 16 December 2005Reply With Quote
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Alberta Canuck--worked up load but not to max. Stopped at that charge as accuracy was beginning to fall off noticeably. At 1.0 gr less, it was shooting .6" for 3 shots, and at this charge, shooting .85" based on 10 3-shot groups shot in two different range sessions. Certainly enough medicine for feral hogs, coyotes, and whitetails.


An old pilot, not a bold pilot, aka "the pig murdering fool"
 
Posts: 2860 | Registered: 14 October 2004Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by dustoffer:
Alberta Canuck--worked up load but not to max. Stopped at that charge as accuracy was beginning to fall off noticeably. At 1.0 gr less, it was shooting .6" for 3 shots, and at this charge, shooting .85" based on 10 3-shot groups shot in two different range sessions. Certainly enough medicine for feral hogs, coyotes, and whitetails.



Yes, definitely a useable load. Satisfactory accuracy, not excessivley hot, good bullet for much of available hunting in NA.


Sometimes accuracy comes in cycles. That is, groups tighten, then loosen, then tighten again as one continues to increase the charge. Am not saying that would happen in your rifle, but it might. Based on that possibility, I'll change my suggestion a bit and say "Why don't you try going up 1.2 grains, in .3 grain steps?" You MIGHT get just as good accuracy with cleaner burning somewhere along the way. Then again, you might not. You'll never know unless you try.

Of course, stop and drop back down to the next lower charge if you hit significant pressure signs anywhere along the way.


My country gal's just a moonshiner's daughter, but I love her still.

 
Posts: 9685 | Location: Cave Creek 85331, USA | Registered: 17 August 2001Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by dustoffer:
I'm loading 54.2 grs under a Nosler 130 gr BT. Max of 15 rounds before cleaning. MV is 2907 fps out of a 22" barrel.


That should be enough to keep pressures up in the proper range. My load is 55.5 grains with the 130-grain Nosler Partition bullet.....


"Bitte, trinks du nicht das Wasser. Dahin haben die Kuhen gesheissen."
 
Posts: 4386 | Location: New Woodstock, Madison County, Central NY | Registered: 04 January 2005Reply With Quote
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