Powder Volume

[bigsaxdog]

been loading mostly for my .45. seems that hotter loads burn cleaner, better, more consistent, with all powders tried. trying to get the best recipe for loads at the major power factor(i'm probably not alone on this one!), and from what i've noticed and read, the rule is to always fill the case as much as possible for the best ignition, burn, etc... my question is, are there tables anywhere that compare the volume of powders, like tables for powder speed? like 5 grains = X amount of cc's. when loading my 230's down to the 165 pf, wouldn't it be best to use the powder with the highest volume, largest displacement within the case? been trying to find this out, but haven't seen any info..couple of posts where guys said clay's was more bulky than N320, but do the manufacturerers(that's not spelled right, but i like the looks of it.....), publish any kind of data like this? anybody know???

[JL Hardy]

what you are looking for is volumetric density charts. Lee's loading manual has these charts as well as explanations as to how to use them. good luck. j.l. hardy

[TBF]

Ditto.

IMHO it's not just loading density, it's related to pressure. Most powders burn cleaner at higher

pressure.

But it would be hard to prove that thats the only factor at work due to most fast powders also

being bulky.

The LEE manual has alot of good data and is very helpful. Vol/cc. comparison, burn rate, density

info, reduced velocity charge calculation, and midway has new edition for like $12.95.

Travis F.

[kimel]

If you are really going for clean loads you need to start with a fairly clean powder to begin with. Titegroup, Clays and the various VV powders tend to be real clean but don't have the bulk. Unique has the bulk and will do a good job at filling the case but even the new formulation is very dirty.

Some powders, like Titegroup, are said to not be as sensitive to empty case volume as others. Not sure if this is fact or marketting though.

The computer program QuickLoad has case volume and powder filling % as part of its calculations. If you have access to that you can muck about and see what you get. One thing with QuickLoad though is that the case volumes it uses as a default are generally wrong (at least the .45 and .40 have been). Grab ten cases with the same headstamp and weigh them. Then fill them with water and weigh them. Divide the total by 10 and use that value in QuickLoad. This is also an interesting exercise to do with various headstamps. It is very interesting what you can find.

Hope that helps!