N320 Consistency?

[windscreen]

Last night I finally transitioned from one lot of N320 to a new lot (had 16 lbs of each lot). Much to my surprise, on a 20 throw average, the new lot is just a hair over 4% more dense. Thinking I screwed something up in my measurements, I emptied out my Dillon powder throw, put back in the bit of the old lot I had left and re-checked everything. Yup, new is +4%.

That seems really high to me, particularly for a powder with N320's reputation. Are my expectations just too high?

Also, anyone want to guess what controls velocity as I rework my pet load - volume or mass of powder?

-Steve

[kevin c]

^{As far as I know, just about everybody depends on charge weight as far as load ballistics go, but, for the number of rounds we reload, we depend on volumetric powder dispensing. That basically means readjusting the measure to throw whatever volume you need to get the charge weight desired.}

^{From personal experience, I'd say that N320 meters very consistently and, from one lot to any other, has very consistent burn characteristics for any given charge weight. I might need to tweak the measure slightly, but, once I get the charge weight I want, I'll have pretty close to the ballistics seen with previous powder lots.}

Edited April 10, 2013 by kevin c