Ok to mix same powder - different lot numbers?

That Redding profile crimp die you are using should take alot of the worry of over crimping and buckling the case away..

That's fine for the .44's.
I'm working on .357's right now.

Any time you wanna buy that Redding die in .357 and loan it to me, let me know. :p :D :D
 
Been loading since the seventies mostly for very long range high accuracy. I have had times when I needed 10-15 lbs of powder to do all my loads for being out on missions for extended amounts of time.

I have at times actually would up with 5-7 different lots of same make and type of powder. I proceeded to mix all 10-15 lbs in a large glass vat and put back into original 1lb containers.

The neat thing is for what I did during that time period I had to work up the load anyway to achieve the best accuracy possible at long ranges.

Since you are working up the load anyway, you now have 15 lbs of the same lot.

I have never had an issue. Just start with 10-15 % of the difference of min/max load added to min and go from there.

The below is only an example and does not represent any powder on the market.

Ex. Min is 32.5 gr. max is 36.5 gr. so difference is 4.0 gr and 10% of 4.0 is .4 gr SO

Start load would be 32.5 + .4 or. 32.9 and work from there.

I don't recommend this as a practice, just stating what one soldier did when he needed to.
 
Stirring the pot

I bought 15 pounds of Accurate Arms #2 powder, because I couldn't get two 8# jugs. Got Momma's BIG stainless steel mixing bowl (she was at work), opened up all 8 containers (seven 1# and one 8#), and started mixing with a whisk. There were 4 different lot numbers, 4 different colors, but granules looked the same.

Filled the 8# jug full along with three 1# bottles. Still shooting that blended powder without any problems. My "hot loads" are mid-range according to the AA load data. I have no need for maximum target loads -- just brisk enough to cycle the gun every time and eject empty cases about 2+ feet. :D
 
That's fine for the .44's.
I'm working on .357's right now.

Any time you wanna buy that Redding die in .357 and loan it to me, let me know. :p :D :D


Yep, my mistake... I was confusing this thread with your other one concerning COL with your 44's..... ;)

Gotta get a few other dies before the taper/profile crimp for 357... Need my 375 WCF dies including a Lee FCD, and a neck sizer for the 338! :D

Speaking of 357 though.... I just realized I am stupidly low on boolits!!! :eek:
 
Been reloading since the 1960's. Never have done it and never will. The reason is that some companies that make powders give a warning every now and then that says something like this.

"This is not the same powder as we produced years ago but has the same name and number designation "


I understand that Unique of old has a different burning rate than the new and so does 2400.
 
Been reloading since the 1960's. Never have done it and never will. The reason is that some companies that make powders give a warning every now and then that says something like this.

"This is not the same powder as we produced years ago but has the same name and number designation "


I understand that Unique of old has a different burning rate than the new and so does 2400.

That's a really stupid move on their part. Just rename the new product. In any event, that's more of an argument for buying up to date manuals or checking the website than it is for avoiding the mixing of lot numbers.
 
Been reloading since the 1960's. Never have done it and never will. The reason is that some companies that make powders give a warning every now and then that says something like this.

"This is not the same powder as we produced years ago but has the same name and number designation "


I understand that Unique of old has a different burning rate than the new and so does 2400.

Hi, X Ring.

When I first got down here 24 years ago, I started looking for local components to reload with when I got my gun permits. I didn't know any of the multitude of individuals who "bring stuff" from across the line and they would not have trusted me anyway. I got myself an old square can of Hercules 2400 made way-back-when. I still have a bit of it.

I can tell you for certain that 13.5 grains of 2400 from the square can -- which is probably a 1950's era can or maybe 1960's (someone will chime in that this post means nothing without photos but I have the can in my off-site loading room and could photograph it later if need-be) -- and 13.5 grains of 2400 from a modern Alliant container with a 170 grain 358429 bullet out of a .38 Special case gives the same velocity from either a 4-inch Heavy Duty or a 6-inch Model 28. Extraction is equal with both loads -- one-thumb extraction -- and although I have no pressure-testing equipment the primers look the same.

So if 2400 changed, it had to be waaaaaaaaaay back.


However: we have a large 8-pound container that is very old of Hercules Green Dot. This powder DOES produce a noticeable difference in loadings compared to newer Green Dot. Our "normal" Heavy Duty loading with Green Dot is a 160 grain Lee SWC and 7.2 grains of powder from a .38 Special case to give us about 1,180 - 1,220 fps from 6 inches with one-thumb extraction. The same charge using the "old" Green Dot gives us around 1,300 fps with sticky extraction and flattened primers. In one Model 27 (now 23) the cases must be almost pounded out. The owner of this revolver loads 6.8 grains of this particular lot of Green Dot to achieve about 1,180 with the Lee 160 SWC and normal one-thumb extraction.

Were the old powders a different mix? Or did some one accidently pour some old Bullseye into the 8-pound keg of years ago and then shake it up? I don't know, except that the owner of the 8-pound keg of Green Dot made so long ago we can only call it "really old" insists that it was still fully sealed when he got it. The Green Identifiers in the old can are a very pallid Green, hard to see and one has to look for them compared to the very obvious Green Identifiers in newer production. But again -- the owner insists that the can was sealed when he got it and I trust this person completely.

I can't tell you one way or another whether the powder formulas changed over the years. In my own case, if I'm mixing powders that are made new -- although perhaps from different lots -- I don't worry about it. If I come across something old laying around in some rancho out in the boonies I always assume it might not be what the container says it is and start loading as if it were Bullseye anyway. The exception, of course, is the Dot powders, which have the identifiers that make them so popular here. Powders come here (through a myriad of check-points that are looking precisely for reloading components) in a variety of ways that I will not go into but often are no longer in the factory containers upon arrival and the Dot powders are appreciated for this reason.

But in the case of our "old cannister" of Green Dot -- there is a difference we have noted although we cannot explain it.
 
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I keep hearing that Unique and 2400 is not what it once was. I have been using both since 1965 so I have gone through a bunch of lot #s and I haven't ever changed anything or noticed any difference. I also will mix lot #s of IMR 4895 and IMR4350.I can't tell any difference. Larry
 
I have also mixed the small leftovers from 1 lb into a full can of the same powder. That is one of the benefits of buying canister powders where the consistency from lot to lot is extremely close.

Tell the truth, how may of you who would not do that have actually opened a new can of powder and filled the hopper without emptying the leftovers from the old powder lot? Many of us have filled the hopper without checking of the lot numbers are the same and there is never a problem. (not advising anyone should, just mentioning it's been done)
 
Hercules 2400 vrs Alliant 2400

2400; Hercules vs Alliant

The bottom line is that the A2400 is 2% hotter than the H2400

So if you are an Elmer Keith fan and are loading your 44 mag or .357 mag using Keith's favorite loads you might be in for a surprise.
 
I have seen revolvers that were blown up. I have never seen a Colt DA but I have seen Colt SA's. I have seen a bunch of S&W revolvers. They were all using handloads. Every person who detonated the bomb in his hand swears he did not do anything wrong in rolling his own.

After I read the first thread, I went out to my shop and began looking thru my library of old and new handloading manuals.
They ranged from the 1950's to present.

Every one said " DO NOT MIX POWDERS"
Every one said " 'APPROACH MAXIMUM LOADS WITH CAUTION"

Also I re-read a current handloading manuals that said:

" Maximum loads are a folly and your gun is more accurate and will last longer if you back off the maximum load"

Yes I do think 2% can make a difference and you will think so too if it blows up in your hand.

Just my personal opinion and I still have all my hands, fingers, and eyeballs that I came with 74 years ago.
 
Well, for the first 30 years I would never mix lots. Folks told me not to. They I asked why and no one knew. I have been mixing ever since. Just today I topped off the hopper of the 550 with a new can. I try and only use W-231. The largest revolver I have is .357 and the groups are real uniform and close. I do not use 296, I have but did not like it.
 
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