JB,
Very good points and I am glad you chimed in here.
To answer a couple of your queries, my .338 is Weatherby Mark V with 24 inch barrel. My comparisons against my loads in the .340 were done using another Mark V with 26 inch barrel where I stopped at 3050fps with good accuracy.
The mention of the 225gn Speer BT is very interesting, as I did a lot of tests with that bullet 20 years or so back and yes indeed, it did get 100fps more than anything else so it is not the R 17 necessarily that is achieving that. Without that prior experience, it could be assumed the powder is developing these increased velocities.
In fact, that bullet was out of "whack" with every other 225gn I tried at that time because of its very short bearing surface so the charges I developed for it in reviews, were not interchangeable at all with other bullets of the same weight.
Rel 17 is interesting to be because I cannot trust my own assessment any more where as I still know what my rifles will do and how they will behave with other powders and bullets.
In the end, my continued use would rely on more proven criteria such as:
1. Will if generate factory spec's for the preferred bullet weight?
2. Does is have acceptable accuracy?
3. Does it give uniform performance in the temperature ranges I will hunt and with consistent reliability?
4. Is the above supported with 7-10 plus reloads in the cases at a minimum.
Sounds simple enough but also realistic with almost any powder that is considered useable or ideal for any cartridge.
I suppose this has all made the 4350's what they are and have been for so long now as they cover a lot of brass sizes and shapes and have a predictability we have all come to take for granted.
If a cartridge that utilizes a 4350 well is supplemented with any similar burning powder, it isn't necessarily a better powder, it may be just be confirming the aforementioned 4350's are still the go to powders we all thought they were.
In the end, I am glad I tried it but not necessarily convinced I would include it in my regular inventory. Like Varget and Rel 15 is has a place, but that is up to the given rifle and user. It works well and is a viable substitute, that is about all we can expect.
John
