NEVER, NEVER, mix fast burning pistol powders like 2400 with large volume cases without some sort of overpowder wad, for if you do, you too could experience a debacle.I have not mentioned this for several years, although I'm away I have written about this strange and complicated phenomena.
Using very light powder charges in high-capacity cartridges may, under specific and bizarre circumstances, subject your firearm to a loud, disconcerting, and very expensive KaBOOM! moment.
Rather than to attempt to explain it, I direct your attention to the link at the top of this page.
(Essentially, instead of a steady burn as the ignition works its way through the powder column ... ALL of the powder charge ignites "all at once", which presents a dramatic pressure spike beyond the usual. Your firearms may very well not be sufficiently sturdy to resist this PRESSURE SPIKE!)
But don't take my word for it. Go, RTWT!
PS: Again, I highly recommend The Reloading Pages of M.D. Smith
1 comment:
This is always a good topic to bring up and inform new (or complacent)reloaders. I first read about this in American Handgunner about 40 years ago in Col. Jeff Cooper's article, "Blowing Up With 2.7." Shooters were having .38s blow up with small charges of Bullseye, and at the time the thought was that they were double charging. The Colonel recognized the danger of detonation, and that article has been my guide in choosing powders to load ever since. Use a bulky powder and the possibility of a double charge goes away, too.
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