Oops - Page 2

mikld · March 31, 2015, 10:50 AM

Quote:

boondocker, how do you grind smokeless powder??

Vewy carefully...

skizzums · March 31, 2015, 10:59 AM

pestle and mortar. sounds like fun....

9mmSkeeter · March 31, 2015, 11:09 AM

I dont have flowers, I might just light it on fire.

ghbucky01 · March 31, 2015, 03:32 PM

To say that I am astonished to see people advocating actually using mixed powder on a reloading site is the understatement of the week.

Pathfinder45 · March 31, 2015, 03:57 PM

Of course, the correct answer, is to dispose of it properly, preferably as fertilizer. That being said, I discovered that a blend of W-231 and Unique, loaded to W-231 specs in 45 Colt with 255 grain cast bullets produced a very accurate and safe load, indeed. I cannot recommend such a practice. If you can get new powder, by all means do so, dispose of the mix, and don't let it happen again. Store your powders away from your reloading station. If you never allow but one powder at a time at the reloading bench and always empty your powder measure back into the original container, it won't happen again. Generally, it's not practical or possible to separate two different powders once mixed. An exception might be AA-9 mixed with H-4831, where a flour-sifter might do wonders.... An ounce of prevention can save you from many pounds of regret, remedy, and cure.
In times of dire shortage, I would think carefully about that mixed powder. If not 100% certain of the safety, even then it should be disposed of. Consider it contaminated. Consider it an educational expense and, "Don't cry over spilled milk.".

9MMand223only · March 31, 2015, 05:31 PM

This is pretty useless. If people want to mix, they mix, if you don't don't.

Just don't mix titegroup with rifle powders, ok boys?

Nick_C_S · April 1, 2015, 12:16 AM

Quote:

To say that I am astonished to see people advocating actually using mixed powder on a reloading site is the understatement of the week.

I was not among them (referring to post #9).

I've never mixed powders. And don't plan on it. I figured out decades ago to only have one powder on the bench at a time. And I didn't learn this the hard way. I mearly proactively thought it through, before I made a mistake.

LE-28 · April 1, 2015, 05:38 AM

9mmskeeter,
you haven't said what caliber you were thinking of using this for. I have also worked up loads for blended powders but there is a fine line to doing it safely.

IF YOUR THINKING OF USING THIS FOR 9MM, FORGET IT.
9MM is already a high pressure load to begin with and is the wrong caliber to experiment with.

I dumped a different powder into Unique one time by accident and it was during one of the powder shortages, I wasn't about to throw it away.

The two powders were kindred to each other and also beside each other on the burn rate chart.

I won't tell the proportions either because I won't be responsible for someone else trying this.

I've been hand loading for over 40 years and this isn't something for the more in experienced re-loader to play with.

I would never try this in a high pressure load of any kind.

Pathfinder is using low pressure loads as I did, You would be better off disposing of it, but don't dump it on a vegetable garden for fertilizer, there are other things in smokeless powder that will end up in the vegetables that you don't want to be eating.

9mmSkeeter · April 3, 2015, 03:46 PM

Call me a stickler for excitement. I did 4.0 of the mix and it shot fine, extracted, and was accurate. I don't know how much 231 was present, and I'm sure the results will vary each time. That still makes it a wild powder and it probably would be best used as fertilizer.

Nick_C_S · April 3, 2015, 05:07 PM

Quote:

I don't know how much 231 was present, and I'm sure the results will vary each time.

Why would the results vary? Didn't you mix it up? Should be evenly dispersed.

Like LE-28, I'm curious what caliber you're loading.

9mmSkeeter · April 4, 2015, 05:12 AM

9mm, 115 gn plated bullet.

Not advocating that anyone try this, by the way.

Oldman1151 · April 4, 2015, 07:34 AM

Any mixed powder should be disposed of (not by reloading and shooting). Reading of some people actually using it does not really surprise me but to talk about doing it on a forum is just not right. I think it may tend to make someone new to reloading be less cautious which is not a good thing. It does not matter how long anyone has been reloading, using mixed powder is just wrong. Reading of doing this makes me realize a forum may not be the best place to get advice on reloading.

Pathfinder45 · April 4, 2015, 08:26 PM

A forum like this one can be a very good place to extract useful knowledge from the experience of many others, including their mistakes. This isn't the gospel. But some people are given to careful experimentation that perhaps most others shouldn't attempt. Like P.O. Ackley, for example; many of his experiments produced results of little value while others were worthwhile. He did things that should not be done by most of us, as also Dick Casull, Elmer Keith, John Linebaugh, and many others have done. No, you shouldn't mix powders, and if by mistake you do, you should dispose of it. You could blow yourself up, and if you do, your blood will be on your own head. Perhaps the afore-mentioned personalities were thought to be reckless fools at one time. Now, they are quoted like the gospels. The hearsay on the internet, including this forum, should always be considered with a spoon of salt and compared with other sources of information before blindly rushing forward beyond the pale of conventional experience. If you think you want to try a load with a very high potential for disastrous failure, maybe you should strap the firearm securely in a thick iron box and pull the trigger remotely with a string as you crouch in a foxhole or bunker. People have done this. Some of us just have to find things out. Some of us find a way to do some things that we wouldn't recommend others do.

March 31, 2015, 10:59 AM	#27
skizzums Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2013 Location: Douglasville, Ga Posts: 4,615	pestle and mortar. sounds like fun.... __________________ My head is bloody, but unbowed

March 31, 2015, 11:09 AM	#28
9mmSkeeter Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2014 Location: South Dakota Posts: 205	I dont have flowers, I might just light it on fire. __________________ I kind of like weaponry.

March 31, 2015, 05:31 PM	#31
9MMand223only Senior Member Join Date: November 30, 2014 Posts: 283	This is pretty useless. If people want to mix, they mix, if you don't don't. Just don't mix titegroup with rifle powders, ok boys? Last edited by 9MMand223only; March 31, 2015 at 07:30 PM.

April 3, 2015, 03:46 PM	#34
9mmSkeeter Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2014 Location: South Dakota Posts: 205	Call me a stickler for excitement. I did 4.0 of the mix and it shot fine, extracted, and was accurate. I don't know how much 231 was present, and I'm sure the results will vary each time. That still makes it a wild powder and it probably would be best used as fertilizer. __________________ I kind of like weaponry.

April 4, 2015, 05:12 AM	#36
9mmSkeeter Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2014 Location: South Dakota Posts: 205	9mm, 115 gn plated bullet. Not advocating that anyone try this, by the way. __________________ I kind of like weaponry.

March 31, 2015, 03:32 PM	#29
ghbucky01 Senior Member Join Date: February 14, 2014 Location: Northern, KY Posts: 176	To say that I am astonished to see people advocating actually using mixed powder on a reloading site is the understatement of the week.

March 31, 2015, 03:57 PM	#30
Pathfinder45 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2008 Posts: 3,224	Of course, the correct answer, is to dispose of it properly, preferably as fertilizer. That being said, I discovered that a blend of W-231 and Unique, loaded to W-231 specs in 45 Colt with 255 grain cast bullets produced a very accurate and safe load, indeed. I cannot recommend such a practice. If you can get new powder, by all means do so, dispose of the mix, and don't let it happen again. Store your powders away from your reloading station. If you never allow but one powder at a time at the reloading bench and always empty your powder measure back into the original container, it won't happen again. Generally, it's not practical or possible to separate two different powders once mixed. An exception might be AA-9 mixed with H-4831, where a flour-sifter might do wonders.... An ounce of prevention can save you from many pounds of regret, remedy, and cure. In times of dire shortage, I would think carefully about that mixed powder. If not 100% certain of the safety, even then it should be disposed of. Consider it contaminated. Consider it an educational expense and, "Don't cry over spilled milk.".

April 1, 2015, 05:38 AM	#33
LE-28 Senior Member Join Date: September 24, 2012 Location: North Carolina Posts: 759	9mmskeeter, you haven't said what caliber you were thinking of using this for. I have also worked up loads for blended powders but there is a fine line to doing it safely. IF YOUR THINKING OF USING THIS FOR 9MM, FORGET IT. 9MM is already a high pressure load to begin with and is the wrong caliber to experiment with. I dumped a different powder into Unique one time by accident and it was during one of the powder shortages, I wasn't about to throw it away. The two powders were kindred to each other and also beside each other on the burn rate chart. I won't tell the proportions either because I won't be responsible for someone else trying this. I've been hand loading for over 40 years and this isn't something for the more in experienced re-loader to play with. I would never try this in a high pressure load of any kind. Pathfinder is using low pressure loads as I did, You would be better off disposing of it, but don't dump it on a vegetable garden for fertilizer, there are other things in smokeless powder that will end up in the vegetables that you don't want to be eating.

April 4, 2015, 07:34 AM	#37
Oldman1151 Junior Member Join Date: March 22, 2014 Posts: 12	Any mixed powder should be disposed of (not by reloading and shooting). Reading of some people actually using it does not really surprise me but to talk about doing it on a forum is just not right. I think it may tend to make someone new to reloading be less cautious which is not a good thing. It does not matter how long anyone has been reloading, using mixed powder is just wrong. Reading of doing this makes me realize a forum may not be the best place to get advice on reloading.

April 4, 2015, 08:26 PM	#38
Pathfinder45 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2008 Posts: 3,224	A forum like this one can be a very good place to extract useful knowledge from the experience of many others, including their mistakes. This isn't the gospel. But some people are given to careful experimentation that perhaps most others shouldn't attempt. Like P.O. Ackley, for example; many of his experiments produced results of little value while others were worthwhile. He did things that should not be done by most of us, as also Dick Casull, Elmer Keith, John Linebaugh, and many others have done. No, you shouldn't mix powders, and if by mistake you do, you should dispose of it. You could blow yourself up, and if you do, your blood will be on your own head. Perhaps the afore-mentioned personalities were thought to be reckless fools at one time. Now, they are quoted like the gospels. The hearsay on the internet, including this forum, should always be considered with a spoon of salt and compared with other sources of information before blindly rushing forward beyond the pale of conventional experience. If you think you want to try a load with a very high potential for disastrous failure, maybe you should strap the firearm securely in a thick iron box and pull the trigger remotely with a string as you crouch in a foxhole or bunker. People have done this. Some of us just have to find things out. Some of us find a way to do some things that we wouldn't recommend others do.