Engineering101
Well-Known Member
I've been working up some loads for my 26 Nosler. While waiting for the barrel to cool I noticed something I haven't seen before. Out past the end of the scope the barrel was hot while the first 5 inches or so including the chamber area was cool. It was like it hadn't been fired. One I noticed this I kept checking thinking the heat would eventually soak through the thicker chamber area but it never did. The obvious conclusion is that the powder isn't burning near the chamber but is burning down the barrel past the end of the scope. It did the same thing on the next shot and the next and the next. I hadn't noticed this previously because I was using other rifles while the 26 cooled so I just fired it and put it on the rack.
This is pretty crazy in my book because the powder should be having a hard time getting out of the case and thus more of it should be burning in the case. However, I know basically nothing about barrels and powder combustion so I'm hoping that one of you more knowledgeable guys can clue me in? Thanks in advance.
The load was 77.5 grains of Magnum which is a half grain under the minimum load per Nosler data. Velocities ranged from 3,330 to 3,400 fps with the 127 LRXs out of a stainless 26" 5R Krieger with a 8.5 twist. (Seems like the barrel is kind of tight so velocities are up compared to the Nosler data.)
This is pretty crazy in my book because the powder should be having a hard time getting out of the case and thus more of it should be burning in the case. However, I know basically nothing about barrels and powder combustion so I'm hoping that one of you more knowledgeable guys can clue me in? Thanks in advance.
The load was 77.5 grains of Magnum which is a half grain under the minimum load per Nosler data. Velocities ranged from 3,330 to 3,400 fps with the 127 LRXs out of a stainless 26" 5R Krieger with a 8.5 twist. (Seems like the barrel is kind of tight so velocities are up compared to the Nosler data.)