I started a thread in the reloading section about this "new-to-the-U.S." line of powders.
One of the online retailers (where I invest my $ on occasion) had a promotion recently to stimulate sales of this new line of powders.
Being a curious sort, always willing to try something new in the hope it will be worth the effort,
(as well as a certified good-deal shopper/ C.O.B.) I decided to give this line of powders a try.
I chose 3 pistol specific powders -Auto Pistol, Ultimate Pistol, & Clean Shot, +1 rifle powder..
Blackout..a powder specifically designed for the 7.62X39 (& Blackout) round.
When I began searching for load data for this powder, ran into some problems..
The Shooters World site leaves a LOT to be desired in their load data.
First powder tried was their Clean Shot.. selected for some 9mm Luger loads I wanted to try.
here's their description of Clean Shot powder..
Clean Shot
A fast burning, low density, double base, spherical
propellant. Application similar to 231, HP-38, Clays,
Titegroup, Bullseye, and Accurate No 2. It works
well in almost all handgun cartridges with cast or
jacketed projectiles, especially where low residue
is desirable. Achieves standard velocity in .45 Auto,
.40 S&W, and 9mm. Good for reduced loads in
magnum cartridges.
When you look @ their provided load data , there is NO cast bullet data.
same for 40 S&W.
according to their chart, their Ultimate pistol, & Auto pistol, as well as Major pistol powders are all suitable for the 10mm cartridge.
There is no load data @ all for 10mm in the Ultimate & Auto pistol data,
and their is no load data @ all for any caliber, listed for their Major pistol powder.
Major pistol powder isn't even listed in their load data charts.(!)
Several emails sent to the Shooters World website went unanswered for a month,
eventually found a specific woman's name as a "reply to" , so sent the same email sent , several times earlier.
Still no response, then a name I should send question to, for clarification.
Below is the response I received , from Ken @ Shooters World, re: data for using their Blackout powder in loading for my Ruger Mini 30..
"I understand your concern regarding Shooters World not being willing to publish data derived from a .308 diameter groove, with a 7.62x39 chamber.
Were someone to utilize a .311 diameter projectile in a .308 diameter grooved barrel with such data as developed with a .308 diameter bullet and .308 diameter groove, the resultant ballistic output would not fall in line with laboratory-tested and confirmed pressure and velocity. This 308 diameter groove in a 7.62x39 chamber does NOT follow SAAMI convention, and therefore is not commonly tested by SAAMI laboratories.
However, I am quite willing to test these various combinations. I recently acquired the minimum spec SAAMI Test Barrel Reamer, and .311 bore diameter test barrels. I am also looking for feedback from Ruger, regarding the SPECIFIC bore, groove and cross section utilized in their mini-30. It is this specific data I need, in order to run scientific tests.
I am quite aware of the Mini-30, as well the several members of SAAMI within the Joint Technical Committee. I am also aware of the conventions utilized by SAAMI to keep everyone safe. And I am especially diligent in researching any potential unsafe combination of arms and ammunition. That said, I'm sure you can fully appreciate my concern in validating, to my own edification, a .308 grooved 7.62x39. There is far more to this equation than a simple groove dimension.
We also appreciate your feedback regarding load data. Shooters World being the new kid on the block, with Western Powders, Alliant, and Hodgdon having been in operation for decades. They have quite a jump on us in the data department. The precise nature of ballistic testing requires us to "do it right, rather than do it fast". That said, we work diligently to constantly update our data sets. Should you have any recommendations, we'd greatly appreciate your input.
Best regards,"
So, it seems Shooters World is trying to expand their load data.
My suggestion , in making a decision on whether to try this line of powders,
is to FIRST look @ the load data for the load application you want to try, & if they have data for that caliber,
with bullet weight you are going to use. Give it a try.. my mistake was taking a quick look @ the
stated comparisons to similar powders I use & believing I'd find usable data @ the Shooters World website.
They're working on it.. but not there yet.