H4350 hotter than normal?

theodoreh

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I think my batch of h4350 is hotter than normal, please let me know if I missed something. Gonna go back out in a week.

Prochrono graph 5' away from barrel, been using it for years and always been accurate confirming drops beyond 1k yards. Next range visit will confirm drop.

10" twist 26" Mcgowen barrel, 300 wsm, no brake, Savage 16. My berger and Amax loads are book accurate.

2.92" coal, .02" off lands, new norma brass (no h20 capacity yet), 180 grain Maximus CEB bullet (1.437" oal), Fed 210 primer, h4350 (powder recently purchased)

61.5- 2962fps
62- 3044fps
62.5- 3100fps
63- 3083fps (bolt slightly stiff)

Ended up pulling hotter loads, 64 grains and up is compressed. Here are three references below using H4350. Barnes load data is off the chart, glad I used other references for starting my loads.

-Berger 180 elite (1.375 oal) data shows ~64gr max load, ~2960fps, 2.9" coal, 26" barrel

-Hodgdon 180 e-tip (1.464 oal) data shows 63.7gr max load, 2925fps, 2.86", 24" barrel

-Barnes 180 ttsx (1.48 oal) data shows 67.1gr max load, 2993fps, 2.83" coal, 24" barrel


-My next range visit is 61.8 grain which should be ~3000fps and call it good if my groups are good.

So is my H4350 hotter than normal?
 
Here's my 300 WSM load
180 Accubond
Norma brass
F210M
H4350 64gr. ( Lot is 3 years old)
24" barrel
.015 off lans
2930 fps by Magneto speed and drops verified to 600 yards.

So, yea, seems that's some hot H4350.

What is a Maximus CEB?
 
Here's my 300 WSM load
180 Accubond
Norma brass
F210M
H4350 64gr. ( Lot is 3 years old)
24" barrel
.015 off lans
2930 fps by Magneto speed and drops verified to 600 yards.

So, yea, seems that's some hot H4350.

What is a Maximus CEB?

CEB is short for cutting edge bullet. Maximus is a type of bullet in production. Leadfree like the 180 e-tip.
 
I think my batch of h4350 is hotter than normal, please let me know if I missed something. Gonna go back out in a week.

Prochrono graph 5' away from barrel,

Please back your chrono out to 15'.
Also, I've owned about at least six Mcgowen barrels, two of which has exhibited massive pressure/velocity increases in sub -freezing temps using the exact same lot# components .

I'm not entirely blaming the Mcgowen barrel but these two scenarios had Mcgowen barrels involved. One was with Retumbo the other with RL33.
 
Years ago they made a powder called HI VEL 2 I think it was called, when my father bought a new pound it had a different lot number and he said it was a little hotter than the old. Always buy enough when you have to resupply your inventory with same lot # powder I am sure most of you know this, also old powder can lose some of its potency if it is exposed to air for a long amount of time. My father said he used the powder any way, he said the bolt just worked a little stiffer. That was before my time, over 65 years ago. Good luck hunting and be safe.
 
You said that you have the screens 5 feet away. Not sure if it matters, but I think my Pro Chrono says to put the screens 15 feet away for rifles, and 10 feet for pistols. I think the muzzle blast might cause reading problems.
 
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something to keep in mind also is you said that this load workup was with New Brass the same loads could be a little hotter on the second firing of the brass I seen this with a 7 wsm & rl 17 pretty sure there are some threads on here about this , it is possible that you could feel the same bolt lift with a grain or two less on the next firing of the brass
 
Maximus CEB bullet

Its simply the difference in bullet construction and how much bullet bearing surface is in contact with the barrel. More contact = Higher pressure. Higher pressure = More velocity.

When the Barnes all copper bullet was invented (no groves) the standard loading data for lead core bullet would blow primers. Read Barnes history. Copper fouling was another major problem.

Barnes all copper bullets are now "Grooved for lower pressures"

Different component = Different pressures.
 
I did some comparison with some new 300 WSM Norma cases and some old ones I've been using for years. The old cases weigh 237 grains and the new case came it at 251 grains. This difference is significant and will require a charge reduction to keep pressure in check.
 
Its simply the difference in bullet construction and how much bullet bearing surface is in contact with the barrel. More contact = Higher pressure. Higher pressure = More velocity.

Good point, I'm trying to get 180grain e-tip (1.464" oal) bearing surface length vs 180grain Maximus (1.437 oal) bearing surface length for a good comparison.

61.8 grain of h4350 9 shot, 15' away from chronograph averaged 3060fps today, faster than I thought. Groups were ~half inch. Here is a kicker- This CEB load shoots 7.5 Moa higher than my standard 215 bergers @2730 FPS. I shot them both today to confirm zero difference.

I then stretched out the 180 Maximus to see if bc and velocity were close. Ballistic input 3060fps, .5 g1 (Guessed bc), gave me 15.9 Moa drop for 798yards. All 3 shots were ~7-9" above center of target.

Thanks for your input. I was nervous about overpressure.
 
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