AA 1680 dirty and hard to clean?

5mmgunguy

I was thinking of getting some AA 1680. Guy at the range told me don't. Said it burns very dirty and is hard to clean out of the barrel. True?

Ray B

Generally, any powder that is burnt outside of its optimum performance pressures is going to be dirty, and if you let it set the residue tends to solidify. The powders that utilize deterent coatings tend to have the most residue.

Mobuck

The only ammo I load with AA1680 is 7.62x39. That is the recommended use for this powder and I don't notice excessive fouling or buildup.

MIKE WISKEY

it works well in small, relatively high pressure cases. .22 hornet is another

mrbruce

I burn up a lot of it in a 221 Fireball, and never noticed it burnt dirty..
I do stand on it pretty hard tho....

nononsense

5mmgunguy,

Like every other topic, your friend at the range is entitled to his opinion. But in this case, he is misleading you with poor quality information.

I can name a dozen powders that will burn 'dirty' and leave fouling in a barrel when loaded improperly in a particular bullet/case combination. Most of the time this is a result of low pressure. Many will comment that a smoked neck is also an indicator as well.

I happen to like Accurate 1680 for a few uses and I haven't had the poor experiences that your friend has, either.

Best.

5mmgunguy

Thanks gentlemen!

sandwarrior

5mmgunguy,

I have found AA1680 to be 'clean enough for Gov't work' when loading the .223 Rem and .222 Rem that I use it in. I preclude 5.56 as I don't use it for those pressure loads. It's a little fast for standard 5.56 pressure ammo. I tend to go one notch slower and use AA2015 (XBR) for 5.56 loads. Accuracy loads anyhow, with lighter bullets.

tsr1965

I cannot see that information being very true, about it being dirty. it is THE leading powder of choice for the 17 & 22 CCM(Cooper Centerfire Magnum) rounds, Which are centerfire/reloadable versions of the 17 HMR, and the 22 WMR.

Best

35 Whelen

quote:Originally posted by 5mmgunguy
I was thinking of getting some AA 1680. Guy at the range told me don't. Said it burns very dirty and is hard to clean out of the barrel. True?



Sounds to me like that guy needs to spend some time actually using 1680. Between Norinco SKSs, and an Interarms Mini Mark X, 7.62x39 of course, I've burned up probably 10 pounds of that powder. It didn't burn any dirtier, and I never saw an excess of fouling. 1680 was designed specifically for the 7.62x39.