RL 23 HOT!!

[Addicting]

Friend payed a premium for some RL23 and I went to reload his known .5 MOA recipe. I tested this new lot for speed, had to drop back to a LR primer from a Mag and 1.2 grains of powder to keep it in the same velocity range.

Most adjustment I’ve seen in new lots of powder.

 

[morgaj1]

Interesting. I've been loading RL23 in my 7mmRM for several years and never noticed a big difference between powder lots.

 

[mtmuley]

Interesting. I've been loading RL23 in my 7mmRM for several years and never noticed a big difference between powder lots.

I've burned a shitload of the notoriously sensitive RL-25. No issues. mtmuley

 

[Addicting]

Interesting. I've been loading RL23 in my 7mmRM for several years and never noticed a big difference between powder lots.

So had I, until this lot, I hadn’t seen an issue. It’s been 3 years since I bought the last batch. Finally burned thru it and I have been trying to use up some 22 I had on hand.

He still wanted 23 so he sourced some.
Something changed in the 23 recipe since then.

 

[ImBillT]

Friend payed a premium for some RL23 and I went to reload his known .5 MOA recipe. I tested this new lot for speed, had to drop back to a LR primer from a Mag and 1.2 grains of powder to keep it in the same velocity range.

Most adjustment I’ve seen in new lots of powder.

Alliant has a very broad range of burn rate and energy density that they will accept.

 

[Elkmagnet]

So had I, until this lot, I hadn’t seen an issue. It’s been 3 years since I bought the last batch. Finally burned thru it and I have been trying to use up some 22 I had on hand.

He still wanted 23 so he sourced some.
Something changed in the 23 recipe since then.

I'm always worried about buying powder from questionable sources. People could cut it like drugs and really screw you.

 

[Addicting]

I'm always worried about buying powder from questionable sources. People could cut it like drugs and really screw you.

It was a sealed bottle from a reputable store.

 

[Elkmagnet]

It was a sealed bottle from a reputable store.

The powder industry needs to adopt a safety seal like the food industry has to do.

 

[brockel]

Never been a fan of Alliant powders for that very reason. Seen it more than a couple times

 

[antelopedundee]

So had I, until this lot, I hadn’t seen an issue. It’s been 3 years since I bought the last batch. Finally burned thru it and I have been trying to use up some 22 I had on hand.

He still wanted 23 so he sourced some.
Something changed in the 23 recipe since then.

Contact the distributor and see if they will confirm that.

 

[MThuntr]

New lots of powder should always be checked that's Reloading 101. It's time to start buying powders that have matching lot numbers with minimum buy of 5lbs...buy once cry once.

FWIW, I've not had a lot of success with RL23 where I've tried it. For some reason it wants to pressure out early.

 

[Addicting]

New lots of powder should always be checked that's Reloading 101. It's time to start buying powders that have matching lot numbers with minimum buy of 5lbs...buy once cry once.

FWIW, I've not had a lot of success with RL23 where I've tried it. For some reason it wants to pressure out early.

That is normally what I do now as well. He is a buddy who I am helping out. I convinced him to buy two pounds same lot this time so we don’t get into this again. That two pounds will last him for 4-5 years.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

FWIW, I've not had a lot of success with RL23 where I've tried it. For some reason it wants to pressure out early.

Pressure out early compared to what? Published data or other powders?

I've not loaded it but seems like a good 4831 replacement that should get a little more velocity but not RL26 type velocity?

 

[Redman]

I would love to find some RL26 but it is as rare as a piebald sasquach.

 

[ImBillT]

So had I, until this lot, I hadn’t seen an issue. It’s been 3 years since I bought the last batch. Finally burned thru it and I have been trying to use up some 22 I had on hand.

He still wanted 23 so he sourced some.
Something changed in the 23 recipe since then.

No change in recipe. Powder manufacturers cannot produce consistent results. They produce a batch of “Powder XYZ” and when they’re done they test it. Ammunition manufacturers have pressure testing equipment and they adjust the load based on the powder they get. Reloaders can’t do that, so we need a tighter spec on burn rate and energy density than the powder manufacturers can produce. What we buy is called “canister grade”. The powder manufacturer tests the powder and if it’s burn rate and energy density falls within the specs of a canister grade that they have a customer for, they sell it to them at a higher price than the ammo manufacturers pay. So Alliant gives Bofors a spec for RL-23(I’m pretty sure Bofors makes RL-15, not as sure about RL-23), and when Bofors makes Powder XYZ, if it happens to land in the RL-23 spec, they sell it to Alliant, and Alliant labels it RL-23. If it falls outside that spec, Bofors also sells powder Norma, and Rottweil, as well as ammunition manufacturers.

Norma is considered to have some of the tightest specs in the industry and not many batches land within their specs. That’s one of the reasons they are so much more expensive than Alliant. Alliant seems to have pretty broad specs. On top of that, due to the component shortages, it’s possible that Alliant has broadened their spec to increase supply. I’m not saying they did. They have always had broad specs which can result is large lot to lot variation. Norma and Vihtavouri are both quite consistent lot to not, although even they do not have specs so narrow that each lot is perfectly the same. If they did, they would not have any powder to sell us. Even so, it’s impossible to have Norma level consistency at Alliant price and supply. You get to pick your poison.

Early Hodgdon powder was mil-surp DuPont from pulled down ammo. It was hundreds of lots of powder mixed together in a pile so the literally had a giant mountain of powder that was the average of all those lots. Once it was gone we really can’t get that consistency back because now we just get one lot at a time.

Hodgdon has changed manufacture, country of origin, recipe, the whole nine yards without changing the label or the data. Their MO is that if burn rate and energy density are in spec, they do not mind changing. That said, their specs must generally be narrower than Alliant as they do not usually get the level of complaints that Alliant does.

 

[elevatorman]

Really, if it's still under book max and no signs of over pressure I'd kept the load the same. Get it while it's hot. Free velocity is a good thing

 

[Don Fischer]

Once in a while I will load for someone else but I start from scratch with a powder I choose and primer's I choose. They don't like that I send them away. What the OP found was what would bother me. Sounds like the powder charge the guy might have been using, probably also loaded by someone else, just might have been to hot! You ain't getting me in that trap!

 

[ImBillT]

Friend payed a premium for some RL23 and I went to reload his known .5 MOA recipe. I tested this new lot for speed, had to drop back to a LR primer from a Mag and 1.2 grains of powder to keep it in the same velocity range.

Most adjustment I’ve seen in new lots of powder.

Have you actually seen increased velocity from magnum primers? If so, what brand? They generally are not “more powerful” primers.

 

[Addicting]

Have you actually seen increased velocity from magnum primers? If so, what brand? They generally are not “more powerful” primers.

Yes, with most 280 Ackley or larger cases. Anything smaller and it’s a waste of money. Once you get into the big cases it’s more prevalent. Where it’s most noticeable is at the end of powder burn rate for barrel lengths.

Mainly if the case has usable capacity left but the powder is not increasing speed. However, the fireball at the end of the barrel grows. The magnum primer will allow you to maximize the space you had left. It burns those grains inside the barrel increasing pressure/speed.


I use federal match primers.

 

[ImBillT]

Yes, with most 280 Ackley or larger cases. Anything smaller and it’s a waste of money. Once you get into the big cases it’s more prevalent. Where it’s most noticeable is at the end of powder burn rate for barrel lengths.

Mainly if the case has usable capacity left but the powder is not increasing speed. However, the fireball at the end of the barrel grows. The magnum primer will allow you to maximize the space you had left. It burns those grains inside the barrel increasing pressure/speed.


I use federal match primers.

Interesting if true.

Have you confirmed this with other brands?

Pressure signs?