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Old-Win
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Smokeless powder burn rates
Sep 19th, 2025 at 9:22am
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I'm finally getting around to developing a load for the 25-20 WCF and look back at a past post which has me thinking about different powders and their burn rates. I have Accurate Arms number 9 and it compares to Accurate Arms 4100 on the burn rate chart. I also have 300 MP and 4227. Both the Accurate Arms are next to one another on a burn rate chart and the 300 MP and 4227 are next to one another on the burn rate chart. Can one of these powders cause problems more than the other when they are right next to each other on the burn rate chart? Can pressures develop quicker with Accurate Arms number 9 than 4100?
  
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Dellet
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Re: Smokeless powder burn rates
Reply #1 - Sep 19th, 2025 at 12:19pm
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The powder burn rate chart can be tricky. Two powders like #9 and 4100 made by the same company will always show up in the same order, they were developed to be different.

Other powders like 4227 and mp300 can be confusing. You can often look at different charts by different manufacturers and the positions will be swapped. Not uncommon that the same manufacturer or publisher will still swap positions over the years. My opinion from use is that MP300 is closer to 296/H110 than 4227.

Good examples are 296/H110 or 231/HP38 that are exactly the same powder. They often swap positions or have other powders in between. Some of that has stopped now that Hodgdon owns everything, but the charts aren’t any more reliable.

Balance what’s in manuals against what people report as good working loads. It’s always a crapshoot.
  
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rgchristensen
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Re: Smokeless powder burn rates
Reply #2 - Sep 19th, 2025 at 2:01pm
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Relative "Burn Rates” are not very useful in this instance , as they change at different rates depending on the combustion pressure.

CHRIS
  
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Duck_Rider
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Re: Smokeless powder burn rates
Reply #3 - Sep 19th, 2025 at 4:00pm
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The burn rates change due to case capacity also & sometimes quite substantially. I have verified this by pressure testing.
  
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Old-Win
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Re: Smokeless powder burn rates
Reply #4 - Sep 19th, 2025 at 10:43pm
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So, I bought some AA 4100 today and I'm going to start developing a load soon. I have AA #9 as well and they're next to each other on the burn rate chart but from what I'm understanding from a previous thread, # 9 could hit a pressure spike quicker than 4100.  I am using the 120 grain Mos bullet so what would be a couple good starting points and how much of a grain increment can I move up as I develop a load. I've never loaded these small cases before with heavy bullets so I'm just getting all my ducks in a row before I do something I'm going to regret. Cheesy
« Last Edit: Sep 19th, 2025 at 10:51pm by Old-Win »  
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