on January 28, 2010 2:01 PM
As I mentioned previously, I am working up a new .45ACP load.
One of the things I am really leery of is powders that don't fill up a case very much. It's easy to overcharge or double charge a case that way.
So, if you're putting a load together and looking to do it with a powder you haven't used before, how can you determine the volume of the charge to know how well it fills the case? Sure you can ask around on various boards, or ask more experienced reloaders, but not everyone has tried every powder in every caliber.
I found that Lee has some charts listing the volume of one grain of powder. If you're lucky, like I was, they will have a powder you are familiar with as well the new powder(s) you are interested in.
Using the data from Lee, it turns out that a load of 4.9 grains of WST has the same volume as my current load of 8.3 grains of HS6, and that load fills up the case nicely. I don't think it's quite over 50% of the volume, but a double charge would be very noticeable nonetheless.
The calculations is in one of the pdfs, but it is pretty simple.
Take the given volume, multiply it by the number of grains you are dispensing and that gives you the volume in cubic centimeters.
My HS6 load: 0.0712 x 8.3 = .59096
Max WST load: 0.1205 x 4.9 = .59045
Pretty damned close, identical to the eye for sure.
Here are the links:
Perfect Powder Measure Instructions (go to page 3 for the volume calculation)
Powder VMD's
One of the things I am really leery of is powders that don't fill up a case very much. It's easy to overcharge or double charge a case that way.
So, if you're putting a load together and looking to do it with a powder you haven't used before, how can you determine the volume of the charge to know how well it fills the case? Sure you can ask around on various boards, or ask more experienced reloaders, but not everyone has tried every powder in every caliber.
I found that Lee has some charts listing the volume of one grain of powder. If you're lucky, like I was, they will have a powder you are familiar with as well the new powder(s) you are interested in.
Using the data from Lee, it turns out that a load of 4.9 grains of WST has the same volume as my current load of 8.3 grains of HS6, and that load fills up the case nicely. I don't think it's quite over 50% of the volume, but a double charge would be very noticeable nonetheless.
The calculations is in one of the pdfs, but it is pretty simple.
Take the given volume, multiply it by the number of grains you are dispensing and that gives you the volume in cubic centimeters.
My HS6 load: 0.0712 x 8.3 = .59096
Max WST load: 0.1205 x 4.9 = .59045
Pretty damned close, identical to the eye for sure.
Here are the links:
Perfect Powder Measure Instructions (go to page 3 for the volume calculation)
Powder VMD's
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