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ball flake or stick
woodchuckjohn
Member Posts: 207 ✭✭✭
I have begun loading 204 Ruger. Win 748 flows like salt, but the stick powders, like IMR 4064 clog the funnel and make a mess of things. Is there anyway to tell which type of powder, be it ball, flake or stick and group them in a category. I am inclined to stay with the ball powders since the 204 has such a small opening in the cartridge case.
Comments
Hodgdon XMR and IMR are extruded.
No Alliant rifle powder is ball process, nor Vihtavuori.
Ramshot and Accurate sell both, you would have to do something radical like read their catalogs.
You might be shortchanging yourself, there are some fine grained extruded powders that meter well and would probably slide down the funnel into your sub-small bore. H322 for example.
Well, if it says Winchester Ball or Hodgdon Spherical, that is a definite clue.
Hodgdon XMR and IMR are extruded.
No Alliant rifle powder is ball process, nor Vihtavuori.
Ramshot and Accurate sell both, you would have to do something radical like read their catalogs.
You might be shortchanging yourself, there are some fine grained extruded powders that meter well and would probably slide down the funnel into your sub-small bore. H322 for example.
Why such a smart * answer to the guys question? Maybe he's just starting out and does not have all the nomenclature down.
If I think there is some hope for him, I will provide what you consider a smart * (but accurate) reply.
http://www.ilrc.ucf.edu/powders/sample_detail.php?powder_id=454Link shows Photos, measurement of powder. Ball powder lists -
I was just loading 45 ACP with Winchester AA Super Handicap. I don't care what the data sheet says. It ain't ball powder. Tiny flakes. it measures OK so far. Long as the powder hopper is full. I wouldn't trust it with a 2/3 empty powder hopper, though.
Ball powder, like the Accurate Arms AA 2 that I have used for years. Is completely different physically, and a pleasure to use.
A lot of different grades of Ball powder have been rolled flat to adjust the burn rate; probably more than are left round. Which causes them to be mistaken for flake powder.
Win 231 is rolled pretty flat, but I read that it was brought out to give better metering than 230.
Some of the early commercial Ball powders were very odd, AA12S and AA20S granules are little clumps and clusters of round balls stuck together.
Forensic Analysis: quote:The manufacture of smokeless ball powder requires a more specialized procedure (National Research Council 1998). Nitrocellulose, stabilizers, and solvents are blended into a dough, then extruded through a pelletizing plate and formed into spheres. The solvent is removed from the granules, and nitroglycerine is impregnated into the granules. The spheres are then coated with deterrents and flattened with rollers. Finally, an additional coating with graphite and flash suppressants is applied, and the batch is mixed to ensure samegeneity.