Let me introduce myself....

sherwoods12 · November 11, 2015, 01:39 AM

Hi all,
My name is Doug, I am a bit of a science nerd who works for the federal government, training military personnel in the fine art of staying alive.
I love firearms and the science behind them.
That said, you will find me in the reloading forums or down range watching the Abrams lob rounds at old trucks.

Does anyone (besides me) mix different powders together?

Thanks for looking.

Jimro · November 11, 2015, 03:49 AM

I have the data for duplex charges, but so far haven't had any single application where a single powder wouldn't do the job.

I also bought a couple 8lb kegs of WC872 which is so slow you could almost use it as "filler" but most folks use it on top of a booster charge of pistol powder for cast bullet loads.

I know that duplexing is different than mixing. The closest I ever got to mixing is when I accidently poured some milsurp rifle flake powder into my 4064 can. All I did was dilute the contaminated stuff with more 4064 and then load up the 8x57 with a starting load. The flake powder didn't have any bad effects on pressure as it was not really present in sufficient quantities. Didn't do it on purpose, but was too cheap at the time to throw that powder out when I could use it for plinking loads. I'd make a different choice now.

Jimro

LE-28 · November 11, 2015, 06:22 AM

Are talking about duplex loads where the powder is kept separate in the case or actually blending powders?

I have used blended powders but only powders that were accidently dumped together and only when they were of close to the same burn rate.

I only used it at min to mid range loadings.

It's not my favorite thing to do.

As far as duplex loads, I've never tried them.

Jim243 · November 13, 2015, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Does anyone (besides me) mix different powders together?

Why would you need to do that?????

Jim

g.willikers · November 13, 2015, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Does anyone (besides me) mix different powders together?

No, I haven't and don't give me any ideas.

Oops, too late.

kilimanjaro · November 13, 2015, 02:38 PM

I do not blend powders, for the simple reason that I've never seen any published data on loads using blended powders, and the single-powder loads I'm making now seem to be perfectly good. No need to experiment with risky blends.

Idaho 45 Vaquero · November 13, 2015, 03:07 PM

I do, sorta. I've never mixed modern smokeless with smokeless.

I do shoot a lot of black powder cartridge guns, and will load a little bit of fast burning smokeless rifle powder (usually IMR 4759) next to the primer. Just a few grains is enough to very significantly reduce the bore fowling in black powder guns. It makes a cleaner burn. If you do this, reduce the black-powder charge accordingly. Contrary to popular belief, duplexing was done in the old days. (Ned Roberts 1880's wrote about it. )

Unrelated but,
Another little trick that I do with large case revolvers (45 LC, 44-40 win), in which the smokeless powder no where near fills the case: I take a tiny peice of dacron stuffing behind the bullet to help hold the powder even against the primer. I get much more uniform velocities that way, and better accuracy.

Howdy, from a fellow Idahoan.

November 11, 2015, 01:39 AM	#1
sherwoods12 Junior Member Join Date: November 11, 2015 Location: IDAHO Posts: 6	Let me introduce myself.... Hi all, My name is Doug, I am a bit of a science nerd who works for the federal government, training military personnel in the fine art of staying alive. I love firearms and the science behind them. That said, you will find me in the reloading forums or down range watching the Abrams lob rounds at old trucks. Does anyone (besides me) mix different powders together? Thanks for looking. __________________ "Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties." -Abraham Lincoln-

November 11, 2015, 03:49 AM	#2
Jimro Senior Member Join Date: October 18, 2006 Posts: 7,097	I have the data for duplex charges, but so far haven't had any single application where a single powder wouldn't do the job. I also bought a couple 8lb kegs of WC872 which is so slow you could almost use it as "filler" but most folks use it on top of a booster charge of pistol powder for cast bullet loads. I know that duplexing is different than mixing. The closest I ever got to mixing is when I accidently poured some milsurp rifle flake powder into my 4064 can. All I did was dilute the contaminated stuff with more 4064 and then load up the 8x57 with a starting load. The flake powder didn't have any bad effects on pressure as it was not really present in sufficient quantities. Didn't do it on purpose, but was too cheap at the time to throw that powder out when I could use it for plinking loads. I'd make a different choice now. Jimro __________________ Machine guns are awesome until you have to carry one.

November 11, 2015, 06:22 AM	#3
LE-28 Senior Member Join Date: September 24, 2012 Location: North Carolina Posts: 759	Are talking about duplex loads where the powder is kept separate in the case or actually blending powders? I have used blended powders but only powders that were accidently dumped together and only when they were of close to the same burn rate. I only used it at min to mid range loadings. It's not my favorite thing to do. As far as duplex loads, I've never tried them.

November 13, 2015, 02:38 PM	#6
kilimanjaro Senior Member Join Date: November 23, 2009 Posts: 3,963	I do not blend powders, for the simple reason that I've never seen any published data on loads using blended powders, and the single-powder loads I'm making now seem to be perfectly good. No need to experiment with risky blends.

November 13, 2015, 03:07 PM	#7
Idaho 45 Vaquero Member Join Date: March 15, 2015 Location: Idaho, nothing but sagebrush Posts: 96	I do, sorta. I've never mixed modern smokeless with smokeless. I do shoot a lot of black powder cartridge guns, and will load a little bit of fast burning smokeless rifle powder (usually IMR 4759) next to the primer. Just a few grains is enough to very significantly reduce the bore fowling in black powder guns. It makes a cleaner burn. If you do this, reduce the black-powder charge accordingly. Contrary to popular belief, duplexing was done in the old days. (Ned Roberts 1880's wrote about it. ) Unrelated but, Another little trick that I do with large case revolvers (45 LC, 44-40 win), in which the smokeless powder no where near fills the case: I take a tiny peice of dacron stuffing behind the bullet to help hold the powder even against the primer. I get much more uniform velocities that way, and better accuracy. Howdy, from a fellow Idahoan.