Thieme und Schlegelmilch

[Diz]

Firpo,

I ran that load at 28 grains of H-4895 with a Lyman/Hobson 181 grain cast bullet and it came out at 1,565 fps and 11,626 psi predicted. This is a tad slower and a good bit lower on pressure than what you are showing. That powder can go a lot higher before it gets close to Pmax. As for “recoil”, the physics of it is as Mike explained, the total weight of the ejecta times the velocity. The “felt recoil” is more subjective and while physics are still the law, I believe that the RATE of acceleration has a lot to do with it along with other factors such as the shape of the stock and weight of the gun. Slow powders generally have a longer period of acceleration because the burning curve is longer but you usually need more powder to get the same velocity as a faster burning powder, so there is more “ejecta” and more recoil. However, for me, I feel the recoil as more of a push than a sharp jab and think the recoil as being “softer” than with faster burning powders. This idea usually generates a lot of comment because it is completely subjective and not backed up by any real science.

Thanks, Diz

[Firpo]

Thanks for the explanation guys. That really makes sense now. And for the calculation a big thanks Diz. With everything being a bit of a WAG (aka wild guess) it’s nice to get some verification I’m not pushing the old girl too hard. I really can’t wait to take it out to a 100 yard range to see how it performs. I suppose there wouldn’t be any harm in developing two different loads, one for 50 yards which I think I’ve got figured out and another’s for 100 yards +. A rediculous picture comes to mind of me hunting, out in the field with bandoleers of various types of ammunition strapped all over making me look like some crazy version of Poncho Villa.

[Diz]

Poncho, on the contrary I have seen multiple loads used especially for different stages of long range shooting. I have also seen fellows that used different loads in their left and right barrels of their double rifles as well. Talk about bandoleers of ammo, I have seen it color coded too. It isn't as crazy an idea as it may seem right now. I think that once you shoot at 100 yards the rifle will tell you what it wants and the computer says you have room to maneuver safely. You are doing great so far, best of luck for the future. Diz

[Firpo]

Thanks for all the encouragement

[Firpo]

“All dressed up and no place to go.”

Loaded myself a box of 20 cartridges with 8 grains of Unique (that produced the best group a couple weeks back) thinking I’d swing by the range this week and see if it was a fluke or if I’ve really stumbled upon the load this rifle likes at 50 yard. Of course, today and tomorrow are supposed to be rainy so I’ll have to bump things back to next week. Hopefully things will clear up and allow a shoot tomorrow but I’m not holding my breath.