RL33 and Ramshot LRT Compatibility

[Louisiana Reloader]

Recently I have been trying everywhere to find RL33 powder and there is none to be found. I recently purchased a Browning X-Bolt Hells Canyon Speed in 28 Nosler. Most all of the reloading books have RL33 as one of the top powders for 28 Nosler in speed and consistency. After reviewing several burn rate charts to find something close I came across some Ramshot LRT (Midsouth Shooters Supply has it at the moment) and decided to take a chance on it and I am glad I did. First let me say that there is very little reloading data (at least that I can find) for LRT powder. Based on what little information I could find it appears to be slightly slower than RL33 and it meters great. Since LRT is slightly slower than RL33 I knew it would be safe to start with that data and work loads up from there. With the help of my trusty chronograph, I can tell you that I got within 25 fps of Nosler and Hornady maximum published load data for RL33 for 150 grain bullets in 28 Nosler. My recipe is as follows for 28 Nosler (26" barrel):
Hornady Brass (all I could find--I prefer ADG)
CCI 250 Primer
150 gr Swift Scirocco
95 gr of Ramshot LRT
.002" of shoulder bump
Seated .010" off the lands
Avg velocity is 3,413fps with an SD of 20fps
No noted pressure issues at all. This load is not compressed and I could probably go a little hotter but I am not--3,413fps is good enough for me for where I hunt Louisiana whitetails.
Hope this information helps for anyone who shoots a 28 Nosler or anyone that is looking for RL33. I think you will be happy with Ramshot LRT and you will love how it meters. Thanks

 

[HSmithTX]

I never considered it for light bullets so thanks for sharing your info. I tried it with 180, 185 and 195 grain bullets in the 28 and couldn't get enough in the case to get pressure or speed I was looking for. I might need to revisit with 160 class bullets, RL33 and 26 both will run the 162 ELD-X right at 3400 in both my 28's and shoot really well but I am out of RL33 and saving my 26. LRT was the same in 300RUM for me, pushing the bullets out of the case and no pressure or speed but I only tried 212 and heavier.

 

[Louisiana Reloader]

You are very welcome. Most people who buy the 28 Nosler don't buy it to run the lighter bullets because it really excels in the heavier bullets that you are loading. I loaded up some 175 ELD-X's using H870 (I've got a nice stash of that) and was averaging 3,252 with it but the H870 won't get me there with the lighter bullets. I was smiling at my chrono when testing the 150's with the LRT. You might want to test some loads with the LRT since there is a little floating around right now (Midsouth had some this morning). Thanks