powder burn temp?

fedaykin · May 17, 2001, 11:32 AM

hello,

a buddy of mine was giving me a line recently about how powder burn temperatures affect melting rate of the lead bullet.

he said the hotter the temp the powder burns at, the more leading you will have. he said it does not matter if the powder is slow, or fast, but how hot it burns...i always thought it was speed of the lead bullet going down the bore?

does anyone know how this can be measured and does anyone know how hot vihta vouri powders (n340) might burn?

i was going to switch to this powder as i now have a wholesaler down the road.

i am switching to lead to bring up the volume of shooting, so i am just trying to do some research here.

your knowledge is appreciated.

Hutch · May 17, 2001, 02:56 PM

I have an opinion, but I can't prove it conclusively. The flame temp of the burning powder is WAAAAAAY higher than the melting point of lead (or brass, or even steel), but because it burns for so brief a period of time, no significant heat of combustion is really transferred to the bullet. Bullet lead is deposited in the barrel due to the heat of friction. Lower speed (or smoother barrel), less heat, less leading.

Southla1 · May 17, 2001, 08:27 PM

Hutch has it right. Look at it this way......take a cast bullet of any alloy and shoot it without any lube. Presto instant barrel leading. Take the same alloy bullet and lube it with a quality lube and shoot it.......no leading. One of the old speer manuals (I think it was Speer) had a section on powder flame temperature. The core of the flame is extremely hot but the edges (that which touch the base of the bullet and the barrel is much cooler. One other thing ........if it was the heat that caused it then there would be leading with jacketed bullets that have an exposed lead base. This is not the case, so it can't be the flame temperature.

May 17, 2001, 11:32 AM	#1
fedaykin Member Join Date: September 10, 2000 Posts: 39	hello, a buddy of mine was giving me a line recently about how powder burn temperatures affect melting rate of the lead bullet. he said the hotter the temp the powder burns at, the more leading you will have. he said it does not matter if the powder is slow, or fast, but how hot it burns...i always thought it was speed of the lead bullet going down the bore? does anyone know how this can be measured and does anyone know how hot vihta vouri powders (n340) might burn? i was going to switch to this powder as i now have a wholesaler down the road. i am switching to lead to bring up the volume of shooting, so i am just trying to do some research here. your knowledge is appreciated.

May 17, 2001, 02:56 PM	#2
Hutch Senior Member Join Date: February 12, 2000 Location: Birmingham, AL Posts: 1,124	I have an opinion, but I can't prove it conclusively. The flame temp of the burning powder is WAAAAAAY higher than the melting point of lead (or brass, or even steel), but because it burns for so brief a period of time, no significant heat of combustion is really transferred to the bullet. Bullet lead is deposited in the barrel due to the heat of friction. Lower speed (or smoother barrel), less heat, less leading.

May 17, 2001, 08:27 PM	#3
Southla1 Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 19, 2000 Location: Jeanerette, La. Near the Posts: 1,999	Hutch has it right. Look at it this way......take a cast bullet of any alloy and shoot it without any lube. Presto instant barrel leading. Take the same alloy bullet and lube it with a quality lube and shoot it.......no leading. One of the old speer manuals (I think it was Speer) had a section on powder flame temperature. The core of the flame is extremely hot but the edges (that which touch the base of the bullet and the barrel is much cooler. One other thing ........if it was the heat that caused it then there would be leading with jacketed bullets that have an exposed lead base. This is not the case, so it can't be the flame temperature.