It has become popular of late to fret over such things as lot numbers, temp. sensitive powders and standing on ones head to when developing handloads for hunting. Up to a point, are these things really necessary? I do believe, and have proven, that when a new lot number of powder is used that tweaking the powder charge is sometimes necessary. I, as a matter of course save a few shells from a proven load and using a chronograph match the old with the new in terms of velocity and have always been �good to go�, or so it seems.



There are those who claim to have rifles that have never shifted zero through years of use all while being used around the world in diverse climes. I believe every word of it, and have handled some of these rifles personally ( usually these rifles are the way they are for a reason). So the question begs to be asked: �have these rifles been fed temperature insensitive powders, and bullets and brass with the same lot #�s all these years. I don�t think so.



So, do we worry over nonsense, are some rifles more forgiving than others, or is someone just looking for something to talk about? Do I really need to buy 3000 Nosler Partitions of the same lot # in one fell swoop and shoot nothing but "extreme" powders?



Chuck

The only powders I've ever had problems with have been in the Reloader series and especially RL15 and RL22. I've had powder from different lots give bery large differences in velocity and some were very, very different with respect to pressure.

For example! In my .375 one lot of RL15 gave extreme pressure signs at a certain powder charge and the velocity was about 2450fps with a 300gr Partition.....keeping everything else the same except using a different lot of RL15 I got to almost 2600 fps using 2 more grains of powder and no pressure signs.

I won't argue with differences is powder of varrying lot numbers.

Chuck

I find that changing powder lot#s can have a significant effect on a load.I often have to vary powder charges by up to two grains when changing lot#s.The worst that I have seen was changing from the old h-1000 to the new h-1000 extreme.One of my 300ultramags would consistantly group 1/2" with the old h-1000 but would do no better than 1-1/4" with two different lots of the new h-1000 extreme reguardless of the charge weight.I gave up on using h-1000 altogether when my old stock ran out.
All of my hunting loads were chosen because they provided consistant accuracy even when the powder charge was increased or decreased by a grain or more.These loads seem to be very consitant in varying temperatures as well.Loads whose accuracy changed noticeable with a small increase or decrease in powder charge seem much less consistant in varying temperatures so I do not use them for hunting.

Chuck, at times I'm not sure where the line should be drawn on this stuff. Some guys get so wound up over load development that I could swear they're getting ready for chipmunk hunting at extended range rather than big game hunting.

Other guys fuss and fume over loads just trying to salvage some decent accuracy when there's really something fundamentally wrong with the rifle or scope -- issues that handloads simply aren't going to cure.

I have found that well put together rifles chambered for standard factory cartridges simply aren't that fussy over specific loads, lots of powder, primers, or brass, and tend to shoot a variety of loads well. If I can come up with a load that shoots consistently under a MOA at all ranges, provides consistently low chronograph readings, functions without pressure problems at all temperatures I might encounter, and if it does so with good premium hunting bullets, I'm happy. These parameters aren't that hard to achieve in my experience.

The last thing I want to do is turn a factory cartridge into, in effect, a 'wildcat' by over-working loads, and I absolutely stay away from ordering off-beat chamber dimensions. 'Tight-necks', 'deep-throats', and related nonsense are just about worthless in terms of any meaningful accuracy gains, and they increase the headache ratio by at least a hundred fold.

When I work up a known and proven load with a different batch of powder, etc., I do reduce the charge by at least a couple of grains and work my way back up. It's the prudent thing to do. I usually buy brass, primers, bullets and powders in large quantities once a solid load has been established for a rifle I have long-term, consistent-use plans for, and this type of buying eliminates a number of headaches in and of itself.

I can think of a number of my friends who have literally used the same loads in the same rifles around the world for many years and never found a reason to change the recipe, and that recipe might include an IMR powder, a Hodgdon powder, or an Alliant powder. I don't hear them complaining about pressure problems in Botswana, reduced power in the arctic, or quirky accuracy that was incapable of getting the job done when the time came to iron-out a trophy animal at extended range. The secret to their success has not been a revolutionary 'extreme' powder coating, a unique lot of brass, neck-turned cases, or anything super-specific. The secret has been coming up with a solid rifle and scope that is mechanically sound, and then a solid load development regimen that produced a load or two that works as it should when it's either hot or cold. No magic to it.

My one load that I have worked up for my pair of .300 Winchester rifles features new Winchester brass that is neck-sized and trimmed square, plus deburred flashholes; Reloader 22 powder, Federal 215 primers, and 180 gr. Nosler Partition Protected Points. This one load shoots with equal accuracy in both rifles; has been used in many places, both hot and cold; will see Africa yet again this September; and is absolutely lethal on whatever I use it against. I reproduce the one load, and I can grab either rifle, a box or two of shells, and go hunting. NO fuss, no complication, no problem -- just results. I have 280 rounds of this recipe in process right now.

Life can be just as simple or as complicated as anyone wants to make it.......

AD

Oh Chas, do you know how many reloaders will go to bed tonight and lie awake in the dark, hugging their blanky and sucking their thumb because you would dare to tell them that about 90% of the "stuff" (aka crap) they do is pointless in the real world.
If they want to do it, fine. But I do get irked when they try to assume the high road and imply that what they do makes them better people than us great unwashed.

i agree beemanbeme, i have friends that are way to annal about loading and shooting and take a high and mighty additude when discussing loading and shooting with others.
and they are so fragile. i love it when i show up with my old done it myself ruger M77 and blow there ass' away at the bench.