*TESTED* Powder type and charge vs felt recoil

After I was done I fired another control with my 250 savage and a load with H4350 that Ive shot for years, it averaged 2815 which is in its normal range.

The logical best step for the scientist in me is to first load a ladder of Ramshot Magnum n 1 LRT.

Then take one of each top load and
shoot each back to back.
And then take the hardest kicker of those and shoot it back to back with a LRT load.

I dont know that I will right away.

What this mini test may be showing is purely charge weight affecting recoil. All loads are near max pressure for this combo.

The hardest kicking load is pretty much the slowest and the least efficient by a ton!

The smallest charge, H4831 is faster or the same (for 1 shot) than a powder charge 15.5 grains heavier!

Factoring in temp stability it and Imr7977 make the most sense to pursue. Ive read Magnum is also noteworthy so keeping it in mind.

But yes. Any thots?

Wilderness Blacktail said:

After I was done I fired another control with my 250 savage and a load with H4350 that Ive shot for years, it averaged 2815 which is in its normal range.

The logical best step for the scientist in me is to first load a ladder of Ramshot Magnum n 1 LRT.

Then take one of each top load and
shoot each back to back.
And then take the hardest kicker of those and shoot it back to back with a LRT load.

I dont know that I will right away.

What this mini test may be showing is purely charge weight affecting recoil. All loads are near max pressure for this combo.

The hardest kicking load is pretty much the slowest and the least efficient by a ton!

The smallest charge, H4831 is faster or the same (for 1 shot) than a powder charge 15.5 grains heavier!

Factoring in temp stability it and Imr7977 make the most sense to pursue. Ive read Magnum is also noteworthy so keeping it in mind.

But yes. Any thots?

Click to expand...

On the ballistic sources that I use https://shooterscalculator.com/……powder charge weight is factored into the recoil force in ft/lbs, recoil velocity in fps, and recoil impulse in lbs/sec.

I'll go back through some of my previous load data, using the same bullet, at the same velocity, different powder charge weights. Hopefully, I can get some valid numbers for the comparison!

For my rifle/cartridge/bullet…..I generally just look at recoil in ft/lbs, though, all contribute to what the shooter feels! memtb

I don't know if shows anything or not. The heavier charge weight with the lower velocity was a "VERY" compressed charge. The powder was too slow, but was what I had at the time!

The second was still a slightly compressed charge, but a more suitable powder burn rate.

Had I been able to produce equal velocities…..it appears that the slower burning powder would have shown higher recoil factors….perhaps substantially so! memtb

there might not be as noticeable of a difference in a rifle as there is in a pistol, but you should be able to notice. forget pressure and think about volume exiting muzzle. exiting volume will come via powder type.

In

memtb said:

...
Had I been able to produce equal velocities…..it appears that the slower burning powder would have shown higher recoil factors….perhaps substantially so! memtb

Click to expand...

Interesting! Do they feel the same to you?

What caliber is this again? 35? 9.3?

ARlife4me said:

there might not be as noticeable of a difference in a rifle as there is in a pistol, but you should be able to notice. forget pressure and think about volume exiting muzzle. exiting volume will come via powder type.

Click to expand...

Pretty sure I get ur meaning but can u give an example.

And to clarify I only mention pressure as to say all loads were full pressure and that that shouldnt be why one recoils less or more.

Wilderness Blacktail said:

In

Interesting! Do they feel the same to you?

What caliber is this again? 35? 9.3?

Click to expand...

.375 AI, and I've never shot them back to back…..they all kick when fired from the bench! I don't think that the difference is significant enough to notice the small difference when dealing with that much recoil! memtb

Wilderness Blacktail said:

Pretty sure I get ur meaning but can u give an example.

And to clarify I only mention pressure as to say all loads were full pressure and that that shouldnt be why one recoils less or more.

Click to expand...

i do lots of pistol cartridge reloading in manners most don't and are safe. 2 different ways recoil on pistols are produced (by what i've tested)
1) powders that produce more gas volume (usually slower burning)
2) heavier slower bullets as gas volume builds more as it takes longer to exit the muzzle

for a person that has a 40s/w (i did this for a friend) with a compact (4") using 180gr factory ammo. i didn't chrono to get velocity of what the box stated it is, but going from muzzle energy alone i produced 100 rounds of 10 different combinations of bullet weights and powders. that person having the exact make and model of firearm let me test before handing the ammo to the person. bullets used were, sierra 135hp, nosler 135hp, sierra 150hp, hornady 155xtp, speer 155gdhp, speer 155tmj, speer 165gdhp, speer 165tmj, hornady 180fmj & speer 180cpfn. all were estimated the best i could w/o a chrono based on load data to meet same muzzle energy as the factory 180gr. the 180's i used had 2 different powders. test for this person went as follows

load 3 and shoot at a slow rate then take notes of each. load 3 more and shoot at a faster rate then take notes again. load 3 more, shoot 1, pause and then shoot the last 2 in quick succession followed by notes. the 135's were more controllable.

i don't know what pressures were to be able to verify that?

on rifle cartridges i haven't noticed what type of recoil was produced (sharp or push) with same bullet weight, style and brand, only faster, lighter bullets gave less felt recoil. then again most of my rifles are in an AR pattern where i can tune recoil out. i have a 5# 4oz 20" 308win w/o optic (5# 12oz with) to test against heavy stout loads (185-210gr) at max pressures based on brass identification.