180gr FMJ and Plated FN with Sport Pistol, IMR Target, 244 and 572

[RDub01]

I started out with two goals here.  One..  test a new bullet I haven't tried, that being the HSM plated 180gr FN.. , and second, at the same time test these new powders; Sport Pistol, 244, IMR Target, and 572. This will be the first time shooting these powders in 10mm.
I did a .38 Special trial with these new powders, and there I posted some pics of what the powders look like close up.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/574534-38-spcl-158gr-lrn-some-new-powders.html

Shooting was done at 25 yards. Velocity data taken with a Oehler Mod 33 chronograph. Skyscreens centered 10' from muzzle.
Weather on the cool side. Not a cloud in the sky.





Well as you can see, even with the KKM barrel, and keeping velocities below 1100 fps, groups were mediocre on the good side to dismal..  But, the ballistic data is useful..
Here is a graph of what I have so far;



244, Sport Pistol and IMR Target burn rates are very close to each other.  572 is down there with Unique and Herco.

So..  With that I loaded up some more test rounds, this time using a real 180gr FMJ bullet. 
Much better..



First thing to note, with the exception of Sport Pistol, the groups tightened up as the charges increased.
6.3 Sport Pistol and 6.3 244 shot identical velocities. 6.3 Bullseye right in there, only 4 fps behind.
Sport Pistol turned some tight SD's. But one of the tightest groups and tightest SD goes to 6.6 grs. IMR Target.

Some chrono issues caused me to stop for the day. The late afternoon sun was doing something weird to the Skyscreens I believe.  Anyway, the 7.0 grn. 572 (#10) I only got one reading that made sense, and that was 1030 fps.  Was not able to get any good data on 7.5 grs UNIQUE. But you can see what 7.5grs Unique did on the HSM target.

The next day I finished up, the chrono was working great.. Who knows..

Bottom right target is some Armscor 180gr FMJ factory loads.

Here is a graph for the 180 FMJ target;



Some may recall, awhile back I did a little Fast Burners study with 180gr FMJ bullets ;
http://10mm-firearms.com/reloading-10mm-ammo/where-i'm-at-part-3-the-fast-burners/

Well, I wish I would have held off until I could shoot these new ones at the same time. But, what I did was take the graph from that study and insert the new data on it.

I took some case expansion measurements from the highest charges;
180 gr. FMJ

SPORT PISTOL
6.6 grs                        .4332, .4332, .4334, .4334, .4333"

IMR TARGET
6.6 grs.                         .4325, .4330, .4330, .4329, .4322"

244
6,9 grs.                          .4337, .4338, .4337, .4339, .4333"

572
8.0 grs.                         .4335, .4333, .4335, .4330, .4336"

IMR BLUE was looked at here;
https://www.glocktalk.com/threads/blue-dot-vs-imr-blue-180gr-fmj.1720190/

Sport Pistol;  might be able to bump it up another 0.3 grains.
IMR Target;  Could cautiously work it up some more.
244;  6.9 grs. Is about it.  Wouldn't push it anymore. 
572;  Same as Sport Pistol.  Another 0.3 grs.

Well, that's the first go-round with these new kids on the block. Hopefully this should shed some light on where they fit in and what to expect from them.

[The_Shadow]

Great report RDub.  These newer powders not the barn burners but still useful powders!   

[RDub01]

Thanks Shadow
It has always amazed me how many factory loads are, what I would call mid-range, that is, just a little over a .40, yet not even close to full power.
These loads would nicely duplicate this ammo if one desired that power level.
Going to do some more ladders with these and see where the thresholds really are.

[The_Shadow]

Looking forward to the results of your testing, be safe!