RAMSHOT LRT POWDER

[moxford]

>> What do y'all think? Should I run it?

Sure. It's cheap-ish, easy to find, and 50-100 fps doesn't really make a difference at either the range or in a hunting scenario. If nothing else, the easy availability makes it a win.

Are you compacting powder?

Depending on your brass prep regime, formed-vs-virgin may make a difference, and book-loads a known to be on the lawyer-safe-side-for-every-gun-made (and for good reason.) However, if you care more about velocity than barrel life you could push up with FF'd brass to pressure signs and see where you end up.

Cheers,
-mox

 

[Outlaw6.0]

If you don't mind losing a couple of pieces of brass keep running up a bit further IMO and find the real top.

But if you can find a something that groups that's slower, I'm also a fan of running big cases slow and not beating things up just trying to find speed. That's one reason I run the RUM and not a Win Mag - I can get Win Mag speeds with lazy loads and even Hornady brass holds up nicely.

At 100grns i'm pretty compressed even at CIP length. I thought about trying to get 101 in there... perhaps I'll give it a whirl & see what happens.



t

 

[moxford]

2800 vs 2900fps is <1 MOA at 600, < 2 MOA at 1k and ~7 at 2k ... what does that really mean? That you just dial a little more?

It's not nothing, but is it critical for your application? (Who knows, maybe you've got some King of 2 Miles meshed with PRS coming up and some unknown yardages where you're not allowed to range. Could happen.)

Your 338 with 285 ELDs, for comparison:

 

[Mike D Texas]

Lol, with one round each from 90.0 to 100.0 SD was 107fps, ES was 327fps with all rounds going into ~1.5" @ 100yds .

This was purely a pressure ladder, just to see if I could get enough LRT in the case to make it viable.



t

Well now I feel like an idiot. I guess I need to quit skim reading on my phone.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

Well now I feel like an idiot. I guess I need to quit skim reading on my phone.

It happens to the best of us Mike! No harm no foul, i'm going to try to get 101.0 in the case & seat a pew on top of it... let it sit for a few days & see if I have enough neck tension to keep OAL in check.


@moxford
I've been playing around with my ballistic calc as well. Thanks for the input, I appreciate it. A buddy of mine has been trying to get me to shoot the NightForce ELR match with him. I'm kinda loading with that in mind. Granted, SD & ES are far more important at 2200yds, but velocity definitely helps.




t

 

[Outlaw6.0]

Well, I was able to get 101grns into the RUM case without issue. I intend to do some accuracy testing @ 100grns & 101grns. Of course i'll have the MagnetoSpeed attached as well.



t

 

[moxford]

Shot some the other day, maybe 40, just FFing cases with LRT, some jam, and 212 ELD-X.
CCI grouped better at base book load, Fed were more spread out. No chrono as I am just FFing with jam and don't really care about collecting data yet.

Wasn't overly dirty when I cleaned it - no soaking or any fancy solvnts, just patching with #9 to get a baseline.

Will keep an eye at the higher charges for more unburnt signs, but seems okay-ish so far.

 

[idcwby]

Did anyone ever test how much temperature change affected velocity with this powder?

 

[Buska]

Has anyone had a chance to try this yet? It seems to be a high energy, high density powder that may have some good possibilities for the Sherman and other cases. I wonder how the temp stability is?....rich

I'm not sure about the temp stability but it's high energy for sure. I worked up a load for a 27 Nosler with it, no complaints here.

 

[Bghunter338]

I'm not sure about the temp stability but it's high energy for sure. I worked up a load for a 27 Nosler with it, no complaints here.

What bullet and velocity are you getting?

 

[Buska]

What bullet and velocity are you getting?

Played with a few. Barnes 129 LRX at 3600fps, Nosler ABLR 165 at 3180, Berger 170 EOL at 3120.

 

[Mike Matteson]

Ramshot powders are double base powders. So they are subject temp changes. Can be as much as 1+fps per degree. The real problem is depending on when you develop your load. If in cold weather and a hot load. It will become a hotter load in hot weather. I changed to H type powders. Lost a 100fps, but never had that problem again. I hunt in weather from 105+ to -20. So there can be swing of 120fps in velocity. 500yds or under probable won't be a big thing, but at extend range it will. I would rather know that my bullets is going where I placed it, and not wonder if I am going to be high or load.
It's to bad the there is a complete chart on how all the different powder and temp changes it. Hodgdon does have a limited chart on effects on temp, but it is limited, but it helps.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

Sorry everyone, for taking so stinking long to get this done.

I finally got out to shoot 100 & 101 grains of LRT in my 338RUM behind a 285grn ELD.

First Pic, velocity with 100grns. that 3rd shot really dropped in velocity. Perhaps I had an oops at the reloading bench, it's just too much velocity drop for me to pass up as a fluke.

Accuracy @ 100yds. I know I pulled that high shot, I take 100% blame for that. I do NOT like shooting from a bench lol & I cannot prone out at this particular range. Disregard that hole in the bullseye, I was checking zero on another rifle (you can see it's a much smaller caliber).

Velocity at 101.0 grains. SD looks much better than 100.0 but only picked up about ~40fps, i'd say i'm at the end of burn efficiency with this barrel length. Still zero pressure signs at 101.0 grains of powder.

Accuracy at 101.0 showed some potential. I really think that group would be tighter if I could prone out. I think I can finagle this charge to shoot how I want it to. Again, disregard the group at the bottom of this target. It's someone else's target that was left up, being the only one on the range I decided to recycle

In partial conclusion, I was surprised to reach the velocity I did. I expected to run out of powder capacity at 2850fps or so. Next, I need to play with 101grns again. Perhaps some seating adjustment or play with neck tension; & I would really like to prone out & test accuracy under optimal conditions (for me).

Ideally, I intend to figure out a solid & repeatable way to test how much temp deviation is present under large temperature variances. Here in Wyoming, we can and have seen some pretty wild weather; from snowball fights on the 4th of July to Christmas parties where nothing more than a light jacket was needed. I would like to know how "unstable" LRT is & of course to ensure i'm safe using this load when it's 90* out.







t

 

[Rum Man]

Thanks for posting this !
I have a bunch of LRT ready to test out !
How long is your barrel on the 338 Rum ?
Thanks

Rum Man