RAMSHOT LRT POWDER

[Tom Erickson]

I've only been reloading for just over a year.last year i was having problems shooting barns lrx 168 gr .
I dropped down to 150 gr was able to get them to shoot.
This year I put a limb saver to the barrel and bought a new break . Could not get any H1000 so switched to LRT now I'm able to get the 168 lrx to shoot well here's my question I'm shooting a 28 nosler dropping 90.5 grains of lrt getting 3255 . So far no signs of over pressure . I think I'm getting close so should I keep going until I find pressure signs or just tweak the load I have ? Ps my new break has a tuner on it and have not played with that yet.

 

[Pdvdh]

Find pressure and then back off that with load development to find good precision at a lower, safe operating pressure level.

 

[Veteran]

RL 33	0.267​
US869	0.2735​
N570	0.277​
RSLRT	0.285​
IMR 8133	0.3​
N565	0.319​
ACC MagPro	0.3342​
RETUMBO	0.337​
RL26	0.3397​
RSMag	0.345​
H1000	0.366​

Above I have posted what Ramshot LRT looks like relative to other popular slow burning powders on a numbers basis
H1000 being the Fastest and RL 33 being the Slowest. In this thread several pages above, Steve from Hammer bullets says in their experience that he would say LRT is somewhere between US869 and RL-33. Its supposed to be a little faster by the numbers, but
batch to batch it could be as Steve said.

I have 3 rules I hate to break.....1) If it aint Broke Don't Fix IT 2) Whatever works works. 3) Stay Safe

I have to ask at 90.5 grains LRT are you shooting a compressed load already in your cases? It has to be pretty close. And you are already at 3,255 fps velocity. Your top 5-6 velocity powders for this bullet in this caliber by modeling are in order

N570
RE 33
Retumbo
RS LRT
N568
IMR 8133


They all have a little NEAR MAX warning on them.

Even with a 26 inch barrel its only giving about 3116 velocity prediction using the 168 Gr. LRX.

The most shown in my models for a 26 inch barrel is about 3244 for 150 gr. Scenars. using N570.

So you may be already close to 60,000-65000 psi. ?

I was a little fuzzy on whether you said you were shooting the 150 gr, or the 168 gr bullets with LRT getting 3255. It sounded like
in the end you ended up using the 168s again and they were being shot at 3255?

If so, I would be very very cautious about increasing that load any. Ideally I would be personally more comfortable shooting the 150 gr. bullet with 90.5 gr LRT or else maybe dropping velocity to 3100's with the 168 gr. bullet and a lower charge.

Whatever you decide to do on your loads with bullets and charge weights, I'd just find what works best with a zero setting on your barrel tuner with your new muzzle brake on the rifle, ie, the whole new setup, and then at the end use the tuner to tighten up the groups from there.

Also, if you ever changed LOTS of LRT, ie next jug, and got a hotter one---they can vary by 10% on burn rate--- and if you are already on the ragged edge of MAX LOAD, and its compressed, etc. you could then easily exceed MAX PRESS and hurt yourself. Stay Safe.

 

[Tom Erickson]

I'm close to a compressed load I can shake it and there's just a little movement my overall length is 3.485 so you think I should bake it down a touch

 

[whirlwindjml]

The lrt burns nice and consistent with fuller case fill. If you have no pressure and your accuracy is acceptable I'd stay where your at if your happy. If you plan on longer ranges then you need to see if your extreme spread is acceptable as well. The big noslers in my opinion have to short of a barrel life to fix things if they're not really needing fixing.

 

[Veteran]

I'm close to a compressed load I can shake it and there's just a little movement my overall length is 3.485 so you think I should bake it down a touch

Which bullet are you shooting at 3255 fps, the 150's or 168's? What is your barrel length?

 

[Veteran]

Does the particular brass you use have more volume than 97 gr. H2O by weight? Ie, if you take a fired case before decapping the primer and weigh it dry, then weigh it full of water, what is the difference, the water weight in grains of H2O? If you have some brass that is over 97 gr. by volume, then maybe its not as hot then, it all depends on the details.....And I wouldn't know what any brand of 28 Nosler brass will be other than its in the ball park of 97 gr. give or take, but it makes a big difference on your specific pressure and velocity with a given load what the volume of the brass is that you are using.

 

[Veteran]

If you can still shake your case and hear shaking inside it, with 90.5 Gr LRT, your cases must be more than 97 GR. Your specific cases would have to be approaching 105 grains by weight H20 or in that neighborhood to not be compressed and you can hear the powder shaking.

 

[Tom Erickson]

I'm shooting the 168 lrx

 

[Veteran]

Here's what Western Powder says in their handloads for Accurate LRT and 28 Nosler for 168 gr. Matchkings.

168 SIERRA HPBT MK Min load 80.7 gr. 2,780 fps Max load 89.7 gr. 3,119 fps 64,178 pressure 3.340 COAL

This isn't your barnes 168 gr. bullet, but its in the ballpark. This was for a 24 inch barrel. So at 90.6 grains shooting 3255 fps
you are pretty much at MAX LOAD already and your pressure has to already be up around 64-65,000 psig.

So, yes, really the only factor we don't know is the volume of the specific brass you are using, and it may or maynot give you
any little leeway. My advice is be careful. You are pretty close to Max. already.

 

[Veteran]

Oh, and since you are in Minnesota, you may experience really wild velocity and pressure if you take that 90.6 gr load somewhere like Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, or Colorado on a 90 degree day. I just had a recent experience with near max loads on a .338 Lapua down in Texas where it was in excess of 95 to 103 degrees. I was using N560 and RL-26, and was getting some scary velocities, I had
never seen before, which means the pressures were too. So a Max load in Minnesota may cause you lots of issues somewhere hot.
I believe LRT is so new, and not so many people have used it yet to know how temp sensitive it could be. I don't believe Accurate makes any claim about it being suitable for extreme conditions. So, a safer all temp powder when and if its available may be Retumbo an extreme powder or Enduron IMR 8133 which is supposed to be temp insensitive. I know exactly why you are using LRT
and it seems to be a great choice for where you are, if you don't go anywhere really hot. Hope you shoot small groups with that new brake and tuner.

 

[whirlwindjml]

Here's what Western Powder says in their handloads for Accurate LRT and 28 Nosler for 168 gr. Matchkings.

168 SIERRA HPBT MK Min load 80.7 gr. 2,780 fps Max load 89.7 gr. 3,119 fps 64,178 pressure 3.340 COAL

This isn't your barnes 168 gr. bullet, but its in the ballpark. This was for a 24 inch barrel. So at 90.6 grains shooting 3255 fps
you are pretty much at MAX LOAD already and your pressure has to already be up around 64-65,000 psig.

So, yes, really the only factor we don't know is the volume of the specific brass you are using, and it may or maynot give you
any little leeway. My advice is be careful. You are pretty close to Max. already.

Multiple people have found the max to be quite a bit higher than published for the LRT. I'm over the book max and running safe even at 90 degrees. Just a note

 

[Tom Erickson]

Oh, and since you are in Minnesota, you may experience really wild velocity and pressure if you take that 90.6 gr load somewhere like Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, or Colorado on a 90 degree day. I just had a recent experience with near max loads on a .338 Lapua down in Texas where it was in excess of 95 to 103 degrees. I was using N560 and RL-26, and was getting some scary velocities, I had
never seen before, which means the pressures were too. So a Max load in Minnesota may cause you lots of issues somewhere hot.
I believe LRT is so new, and not so many people have used it yet to know how temp sensitive it could be. I don't believe Accurate makes any claim about it being suitable for extreme conditions. So, a safer all temp powder when and if its available may be Retumbo an extreme powder or Enduron IMR 8133 which is supposed to be temp insensitive. I know exactly why you are using LRT
and it seems to be a great choice for where you are, if you don't go anywhere really hot. Hope you shoot small groups with that new brake and tuner.

Thanks for the help I appreciate your input my next good group was at 3145 fps I'll drop down to that and see if I can tweak that load

 

[Mike Matteson]

I just was able to get 2 lbs of Ramshot LRT powder. Don't know anything about the powder. Looking to use it possible in a 6mm/280AI case. So the rifle is an overbore for sure.
My concerns are temperature extreme. I generally use H type powder to stay away for temp insensitive powders.