Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Current Burn Rate Chart?

Anybody else hoping to see one in the not so distant future?

Hodgdon has a good one that was new back in 1988....

Sure wish somebody would update that thing with all the new cool schidt.

how about this one from 2017?

https://www.hodgdon.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/burn-rate-color.pdf

The problem with any burn-rate chart is the burn-rate of any powder varies depending on other factors, including cartridge, bullet weight and primer. Then there's the normal 2% (at the very least) in powder burn-rate from lot-to-lot. So anybody who depends on them as The Answer is in for some surprises. Whereupon they usually complain about the chart.

I asked Alliant a few weeks back. Referred me to page 11 of their 2018 guide. Got all excited until I realized it only compared Alliant with Alliaint.

I’ve found burn rate doesn’t seem to translate to actual energy delivered by a powder. Two similar burn rate powders, as shown on ththe chart, can have have very different velocity potential.

I do still like them as a reference when looking for alternatives. A place to start I suppose.

1988, like I said....

I just like to glance at them and get a bit of an idea where stuff sits.

I have Hodgdon's burn rate chart from last year and it does not have CFE BLK on it. So you have the newest one I know of.

kwg

I've found Ramshot's to be relatively current

it has IMR 4451 and IMR4955

I think it might be a little newer than you think it is.....

More guideline than rule.

I like burn rate charts primarily for a starting point on odd cartridges that powder companies don’t do have test data.

It’s sort of like getting a recommended load that the author doesn’t show either: primer, case manufacturer, or bullet specifics.

In other words, a general idea where the anticipated load might go.

I like to mess with cartridges that little development has been done in the recent past such as a 45-90 or some wildcat cartridge.

Part of the problem is all the new powders. I’d like to switch to cleaner burning powders with less copper and a more level pressure curve.

One powder, for instance I’ve used for most of my life is Unique. I decided to do a test and loaded a cast load about mid-point between 44 Mag and 44 Special in my 629 S&W.

I tried to shoot 500 rounds without cleaning. Towards the end of the test, the revolver was so dirty it barely functioned. I’m down to the last couple of lb’s of Unique. What powders would be a good substitute?

A powder burn chart would be one place to start, I know -use a cartridge with similar case capacity and there’s other ways to go about it, but I find a chart to be one tool to use.

I’d not recommend going to/from say IMR4350 to WW760 using the chart to start out maximum loads.

But as the Op was indicating, where do the new powders fit?

10-4 +

I think page 10 gives the suggested case charging chant: ...there IS NO powder but Alliant...there IS NO powder but Alliant...there IS NOpowder but Alliant..."

I like the layout of Ramshot's (Western Powders') the best as it helps identify what powders might be comparable across different manufacturers. it's the one I reference most often, but last I checked it doesn't have most of the new powders on it either. For example, CFE223, Lever, and of course the really new IMR powders are all missing. I'm hoping they update it soon and keep the chart in the same format.

As MD says, no burn rate chart is completely accurate, but something like the Ramshot chart is a good place to start, especially when working with wildcat cartridges with no data.

I have a newer canister of Unique and it says, right on the bottle, "cleaner burning". Apparently Alliant has reformulated it to some degree. Don't really know how much cleaner burning, but the older stuff was pretty dirty.

Quickload which I don't own has one of the more current burn rate charts. It includes several ofl the international powders too which is useful for their American equivalents.

As all burn rate comparisons there are discrepancies, R-26 comes to mind as they list it slower than R-25 which hasn't been my experience at least not in cases smaller than the 300 Win. Mag.

That's good news! Thanks. Back when I started loading 357 and 45 Auto, I had bought large containers of Bulls-Eye, Unique and 2400. I knew very little about other pistol powders. The 2400 didn't last that long - the 357 and later the 44 liked that powder a lot. The Unique is about out and Bulls eye will go to my eldest son. It's hard to burn a canister of Bulls-Eye if a fellow doesn't shoot indoor pistol.

Bugger - Hodgdon's Universal (or "Universal Clays") is a great substitute for Unique that has served me well. Performance is very similar, and it's considerably cleaner than even the new Unique, and meters better. Winchester WSF is another good substitute, that's not necessarily any cleaner than new Unique but meters really consistently; only thing it gives up is availability of load data, but in 45 Auto it seems to provide almost identical velocity for equal charge weights with Unique.

Clays is a good substitute for Bullseye for the same reasons as Universal is for Unique, although there's less of a difference IMO. I still have plenty of all the powders mentioned, but end up using lots of Clays while the Bullseye just sits on the shelf lately. (I do shoot indoor pistol, and go through a pound of Clays every couple months.)

Power Pistol is another useful one for in that general burn range. I started using it a few years back when there was no Universal to be found.

I feel like such a dinosaur because I've not tried anything remotely new. Just stuck in my ways, I guess. But thanks for posting that Hodgdon link; I even printed it out just so I can peruse it at my leisure and someday I may even experiment with some of those new powders when I come across load data for them.