RL-17 worth it or not?

[jimbires]

I have a question on this keeping ammo cold in a cooler method . does this act the same as actually shooting in cold temps ? my thoughts are you have cold ammo , warm rifle and warm outside air temps . what I thought of doing is letting the rifle and ammo in the truck overnight then run some past the chrony . do this during the cold weather , then do the same thing in the warmer summer weather . your thoughts on this ?

 

[memtb]

jimbires, I agree that both rifle and ammo should be cooled or heated for the test. Granted.... I am "blessed" with sub-zero winter days for the cold tests! memtb

 

[RockyMtnMT]

I have not had the chance to try RL-16 yet. Has anyone tried it in place of RL-17? Results?

Steve

 

[dwm]

RL-23 is supposed to be rock solid over temperature and may be a good choice for a WSM case capacity and burn rate..

 

[DartonJager]

Well went to the range today, beautiful day, but a moderately strong tail wind going slightly to my left.

Unfortunately my Chronrgraphs battery died after only 4 shots over it, so the only data I got was for the best load of the day using IMR-4831.

The RL-17 gave decent accuracy but flat primers and moderate stiff bolt lift. I doubt I will pursue RL-17 farther as the IMR-4831 gave steller accuracy and very good MV at 2980fps average for four shots before my battery died. Got at the range at about sun up and shot the RL-17 first while it was still in the mid 40*'s so I doubt ambient temp was a factor in the pressure issue with it. I was below book max from two different manuals, and still got pressure signs.

Also tried IMR-4451 but accuracy was not nearly as good as the Federal Power Shock factory ammo I also shot today. The Fed Power Shock surprised the crapola out of me not a single 100 yard group over 1.1" pretty good for non-premium factory ammo.

Going to start fine tuning for IMR-4831 am very interested in seeing how well this Tikka can shoot.

Thanks to all who helped me with their knowledge.
DJager/Art

 

[Double Dropper]

I like to shoot all year round, I have worked up loads with RL-22 and RL-17, claimed to be powders that are temperature sensitive, however as soon as the temperature drops ( Alberta ) I have been double checking the zero with a cold rifle and ammo, not enough to worry about, in fact Iam not even sure there was a change worth noting! I guess maybe if you're going to shoot 700 yards there could have been a POI change, but lets face it, temperature, humidity, elevation, wind can all affect POI from being at the range in the summer to hunting elk in the foothills. If I were a long range target shooter, it could be different. Regardless, when the weather cools off always double check to be 2.5" high @ 100, zero at 250 etc. gun)

 

[Shane Lindsey]

I did the cooler test with my 30-06. Used Berger 185 HVLDs and 210 HVLDs and RE-17.

The 185s: 70 degrees 2718 FPS. 55 degrees 2679 FPS. 39 FPS over 15 degrees.
210s: 70 degrees 2579 FPS. 55 degrees 2564 FPS. 15 FPS over 15 degrees.

Not overly conclusive but something to consider. The lighter 185s gave up more velocity with the cooler rounds than the 210s did. About 2 FPS/degree for the 185 to about 1 FPS/degree for the 210. I think it liked the heavier bullet better. Maybe something with the design of the short mags the powder was designed for.

Will do some more eventually but want to get the temps down closer to below freezing.

 

[gohring3006]

I did the cooler test with my 30-06. Used Berger 185 HVLDs and 210 HVLDs and RE-17.

The 185s: 70 degrees 2718 FPS. 55 degrees 2679 FPS. 39 FPS over 15 degrees.
210s: 70 degrees 2579 FPS. 55 degrees 2564 FPS. 15 FPS over 15 degrees.

Not overly conclusive but something to consider. The lighter 185s gave up more velocity with the cooler rounds than the 210s did. About 2 FPS/degree for the 185 to about 1 FPS/degree for the 210. I think it liked the heavier bullet better. Maybe something with the design of the short mags the powder was designed for.

Will do some more eventually but want to get the temps down closer to below freezing.

Interesting, I use it exclusively with 208 ELDs in 30-06. I haven't tried anything lighter.

 

[Double Dropper]

For the most part, it doesn't affect 99% of shooters, as the weather cools off, I always shoot my guns and double check, plenty of parameters to worry about but 39 fps......not enough to care about unless I was shooting 1000 yard matches. Its very consistent and its the most accurate powder in my 06.

 

[Shane Lindsey]

Forgot to add that my ES and SD both went up as the temp cooled.
It definitely like the warmer air.

If the math continues though say down to 30 degrees you loose a little over ten inches at about 600 yards. That is significant if not accounted for.

 

[Double Dropper]

Absolutely if not accounted for and if your math continues lolgun)

 

[Graymun]

I have been reloading rl17 since it was in the teens Fahrenheit and on warmer days had my best groups (30s). Since it has warmed up to the 60s I'm not shooting so hot. I thought I shot poorly because I was uncomfortable cold. It's funny because the reason I was using 17 was because the container States "consistent max velocity in extreme weather conditions "