Thinking about getting Quickload

[cryogenic419]

Kind of on the fence about it. From the distance it seems like it would be fun to toy around with but is it practical?

[NWPilgrim]

If you load a lot of different calibers and components combinations, or want to be able to do so, it is very practical. If you are looking for just a couple of good loads and then stick with them it may be overkill compared to a couple of manuals.

It is calculated load data versus pressure tested data so always sanity check against published tested data.

I use it first to explore a new cartridge or powder or bullet weight for good candidate combinations to test. Then if I have a combination that isn't listed in published tables I work up a test plan with QL and doublecheck with most similar published data I can find.

When component selection is sparse I have had to work up many alternate test loads depending on which bullets and powders I could find or had on hand. For me, QL has been very worthwhile investment.

[Unclenick]

Where it shines is relative performance. It has a feature that will show the velocities produced by every powder in the database without exceeding your specified maximum pressure or compression level. It's very useful for selecting appropriate powders in that way. You can also experiment with the effect of changes in case volume or bullet weight, calculate recoil energy, recoil experienced by a rifle scope and a number of other details.

I also find the 3 DOF exterior ballistics program that comes with it, QuickLOAD Unlimited, very useful. You basically provide a very detailed set of zeroing conditions, including not only atmospheric conditions, but longitude and latitude and firing direction (to correct for Coriolis effect), and a very detailed set of firing conditions and it works everything out to compensate inbetween. In addition to the usual G#n BRL drag functions, it includes individual drag functions for a number of popular bullets and the Lapua line of bullets, for which Lapua has made Doppler RADAR drag measurements.

It's a program for those interested in the details and in having a way to see how much effect changing them actually has.

[Clark]

I bought Quickload over 12 years ago:
http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...ight=quickload

If I had to pay that much, it would be worth >$2000 / year to me. I handload over 60 different cartridges, mostly just doing handloading experiments.

Last year I bought Quickload and put it on my brother's computer. He has not figured out how to use it. He has other people do his reloading for him.

So it all depends on what kind of reloading you do.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Worth every penny and 3x more.

Caveat on UncleNick's point about being detail oriented and inquisitive. If you're content with published data and never using other combinations, QuickLoad will serve no purpose. However, if you want to know what powder is best for any given combination, QuickLoad is nearly magical.

[Peter M. Eick]

I have to agree with Brian. Quickload (used in context of its capabilities) is truly magical. I love the program and use it a lot.

[reynolds357]

I have been thinking about purchasing it as well. My main use would be wildcat development. Can you enter cartridge dimensions, or manipulate the volume of the parent case by a certain percentage, or something like that? Do you strictly have to work with cartridges that it has listed in the program?

[Brian Pfleuger]

Yes, you can enter any cartridge dimensions you'd like.

I'd used it to develop the (still in concept only) .243Pfleuger

I will get it made some day.

[Unclenick]

Also, there's a companion program available called QuickDESIGN that is specifically for wildcatters. It will let you choose a parent case to work from or start a case from scratch. It will estimate case capacity and ballistic coefficients for your own bullet designs, should you chose to go that route (wildcat your case and wildcat a custom bullet mold). When your design is completed, the program will generate cartridge drawings and also generates chamber reamer drawings for it. It will also export the design to QuickLOAD for load development preliminaries.

[reynolds357]

I think I will order quick load in the next few days. Sound like what I need. Might get the design software as well. I thought I had finished wildcatting, then the bug bit me again.

[cryogenic419]

So some people are using the data provided by the program instead of published manuals without issue?

[Brian Pfleuger]

QuickLoad specifically tells you that it is not a substitute for official data. However, it is remarkably accurate, within the confines of the system, with properly adjusted variables and according to the user's own competence. It's known to be less accurate with straight-walled (or nearly so) cartridges than with traditional bottle-neck rifles cartridges.

As with so many things in reloading, it seems to be part art, part science and part voodoo magic but it sure is awesome.

I have no qualms about working up to what it says is a max load once I've made the necessary adjustments, watching for pressure signs and checking that velocity is consistent.

[pathdoc]

I bought it to play with and it's fun for that alone. I'd never trust it without at least a ballpark load in a manual or manufacturer's website to back it up, but the QuickTarget program it comes with is good for a basic ballistic solution, and I do have an earlier iteration of QuickDESIGN that was even more fun to play with.

Get quickLOAD and QuickDESIGN together and you won't regret it. If you're going to spend the money on the one, might as well go the extra distance.

[cryogenic419]

OK, so Quickload arrived yesterday, got it installed and played around with it for a little bit. It is actually leaving me a little puzzled.

I load .223 in LC brass with CCI400, 22.9 of XBR-8208, 77gr SMK to 2.26 in.

Hodgdon shows 23.2 as max load with with 55,000 PSI pressure.
Quickload shows what I am loading as having 62,402 PSI which is over max.

I know they use test barrels and all that in a lab but that seems like a pretty big jump in pressure, and I am a bit under what Hodgdon shows as being the max load at that. I have chronoed these loads and they average about come in about 2650-2675, Quickload shows them as 2785. I watch these brass like a hawk and have not seen any pressure signs.

What am I missing here?

[steve4102]

Originally Posted by cryogenic419

What am I missing here?

Most likely Case Capacity in grains of H20.

My version of QL default case capacity is 28.80gr of H20.

My LC fired brass has an average case capacity of 30.3gr H20.
Plugging that into QL I get the following.

  Cartridge          : .223 Rem.
Bullet             : .224, 77, Sierra HPBT MatchK 9377
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 2.260 inch or 57.40 mm
Barrel Length      : 24.0 inch or 609.6 mm
Powder             : IMR 8208 XBR

Predicted data by increasing and decreasing the given charge,
incremented in steps of 2.0% of nominal charge.
CAUTION: Figures exceed maximum and minimum recommended loads !

Step    Fill. Charge   Vel.  Energy   Pmax   Pmuz  Prop.Burnt B_Time
 %       %    Grains   fps   ft.lbs    psi    psi      %        ms

-20.0   79    18.56   2329     928   30920   5625     92.0    1.467
-18.0   81    19.02   2382     971   32890   5783     93.0    1.429
-16.0   83    19.49   2435    1014   34982   5936     94.0    1.392
-14.0   85    19.95   2488    1059   37203   6082     94.9    1.356
-12.0   87    20.42   2541    1104   39562   6222     95.7    1.319
-10.0   89    20.88   2593    1150   42068   6354     96.5    1.282
-08.0   91    21.34   2645    1196   44730   6479     97.2    1.248
-06.0   93    21.81   2697    1243   47558   6596     97.8    1.214
-04.0   95    22.27   2748    1291   50565   6705     98.3    1.182
-02.0   97    22.74   2799    1340   53763   6805     98.8    1.151  ! Near Maximum !
+00.0   98    23.20   2850    1389   57166   6896     99.2    1.121  ! Near Maximum !
+02.0  100    23.66   2900    1438   60790   6977     99.5    1.093  ! Near Maximum !
+04.0  102    24.13   2951    1489   64652   7049     99.7    1.065  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+06.0  104    24.59   3000    1539   68771   7110     99.9    1.038  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+08.0  106    25.06   3049    1590   73168   7160    100.0    1.012  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+10.0  108    25.52   3098    1641   77868   7200    100.0    0.987  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!

Results caused by ± 10% powder lot-to-lot burning rate variation using nominal charge
Data for burning rate increased by 10% relative to nominal value:
+Ba     98    23.20   2958    1496   67318   6664    100.0    1.050  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
Data for burning rate decreased by 10% relative to nominal value:
-Ba     98    23.20   2699    1246   47287   6826     94.7    1.215

[Brian Pfleuger]

I have found QuickLoad's default case capacity to be low by 2-5% in most cases. Also, the bullet lengths are not always accurate. I've seen bullet lengths off by as much as 0.10.

Accurate output requires accurate input. You must adjust the variables. Case capacity, bullet length, case length, etc.

[steve4102]

Thanks Brian, for as long as I have had QL, I have never check actual bullet length. I will check my bullets against QL from now on.

[mehavey]

The beauty of QuickLoad is that you can calibrate/set ALL of the parameters to match
your particular problem -- and save those default settings for each instance where
you will re-use similar components for different performance.

I would not be without it.

[GJSchulze]

Once I added in all the values for my gun and cases Quickload calculated a speed that was within the variation of my chrono. This was for 9mm.

[cryogenic419]

I was wondering if the H20 part was a big factor in that. I am still reading though the manual so please bear with me. You take a fired case, fill it with water, then weigh just the water to get the case capacity?

I was also going through and did not see a section where you can identify/adjust primers. Is that in there somewhere or is the program just assuming you are using the standard primer for that caliber?

[Brian Pfleuger]

For high-pressure cartridges (over about 30,000psi) you use a fired UNSIZED case. Weigh the case and zero your scale. Use approximately room temperature water and add a tiny, tiny drop of dish soap (no suds, just enough to break the surface tension). Fill the case up to the neck and then tap the sides solidly to get any air bubbles off the insides. Fill the case the rest of the way, flat to the top of the mouth, no meniscus ("bump" up or down) on the water. Weigh the filled case. That's your water capacity.

You can also go to the menu "Data: Add, Change, Load, Save" and choose "Case/Caliber Data" and then choose "Change Data Records in Active File" and then Click the "Case Capacity Overflow (Cal c)" Button and carefully take and enter the case measurements. QuickLoad will calculate the case capacity, very accurately in most instances.

[mehavey]

...carefully take and enter the case measurements...

Oooh, oooh,... give a convenient water tap any day.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Water is quicker and easier for sure but I've found the calculation to be so remarkably close to my averages that I actually trust QuickLoad's calculation more than any single water sample I take.

[cryogenic419]

Interesting....very interesting. Once I got some H20 numbers and bullet length numbers and plugged them in, pretty much showed the velocity numbers to my loads.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Neat how that works, eh?

QuickLoad predicts my .204Ruger within about 25fps of reality, at over 4,000fps and the .22-250 I load for within about 50fps at over 4,435fps. That's an error of about 0.62%