Looking for clean burning powder?

[Jay]

Hi, I've been loading for the 300 and have used the following powers, 1680, lil gun, blue dot, 2400, H110, vith110. My AR has a 16" barrel and this what I have found out so far.

blue dot...to fast won't cycle bolt... burns clean
2400 ...to fast won't cycle bolt... burns clean
lil gun works...concerned about throat wear in rapid fire shooting..clean burning
H110...won't use ever again...blew up in gun (pressure spike, others on the forum have had same thing happen... no double or reduced charge..just boom!)
1680 works great with reduced loads + standard loads but really dirty.
vith110 won't cycle action yet... experimenting.

I am looking for a powder that works for subsonic +sonic loads that is CLEAN. There are several powders that I havn't tried and I am looking at imr 4227. Is this powder clean burning and does it work with all bullet weights in an AR.
Any powder suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

[TCCrewchief76]

What is your gas port size and location?

[Hoser]

N-110 is the cleanest I have found.

[Spook]

Originally Posted by Hoser

N-110 is the cleanest I have found.

Listen to Hoser.

[Dacapster]

I must be to busy shooting to worry about "dirty " powder, Is it that big of deal? You stilll clean your guns every time you shoot yes?

[Trikstr]

also some of the others that I've posted and some of my other posts.
I have some supersonic loaded with Lil gun and N110 waiting to be shot next days off.
At this point I've mostly been trying to figure out subs.
As to your question about Lil gun being hard on throats here is what I found in my book propellant profiles.Accurate 5744 has shown the most consistent velocities and smallest standard deviations out of all the powders I have tried, but it has been kind of sooty with incomplete combustion(unburned granules). Fouling has been easier to remove from outside of barrel under suppressor than the fouling from IMR 4227.

All of the ball powders are touted as being easier on barrels than extruded powders. I have yet to prove it either way, but the broader my knowledge of propellants becomes, the more I question and seriously doubt that any extension of barrel life, if such does indeed exist, is a result of the so-called coolness of ball powders. The burning temps of stick(extruded) powders by DuPont and Norma of similar burning rate were 2500-3000 deg. Kelvin, while BL-C(2) was 2815 deg K. I believe that if ball powder are easier on throats it was probably due to them being less abrasive when being forced through the barrels throat that is heated to an almost molten state

.
Rapid(auto)fire?
There was nothing in the write up on Lil Gun, but I think it would be similar in qualities to BL-C(2).

[Hoser]

Originally Posted by Dacapster

I must be to busy shooting to worry about "dirty " powder, Is it that big of deal? You stilll clean your guns every time you shoot yes?

When shooting with a can, yes.

Without a can only when I feel like it or when the gun stops running.

[N310toN170]

There are two factors for how 'dirty' a powder is:

1) % of burn completed during bullet travel, this would cause unburned powder to deposit residue

2) carbon and copper fouling, carbon fouling is primarily based on the gases and particulates solidifying onto surfaces as the fired gases cool, copper fouling is based on the machining quality of the rifle, bullet jacket or plating and the velocity of the round

All of these factors make for an interesting balancing act when it comes to reloading, especially for sub-sonic.

The faster a powder's burn rate tends to quickly expanding gases and very effective use of a suppressor, at the cost of volatility in high pressure curves and most will not cycle an autoloading design.

The slower the powder's burn rate tends to continue to burn propellent into the gas systems where the gases then begin to cool and harden, as well into and thru the suppressor, if used.

Many on this forum can attest to the ultimate in quiet use, you would have to go bolt action and keep to the faster end of the spectrum in powder, at the cost of rate of fire. For rate of fire, the inverse is true.

I would have to whole-heartedly agree, in my experience, that for accuracy, cleanliness and cyclical dependency...VihtN110 is best, if you're willing to find the right combination of components for both reloading (bullet, case, primers, powder weight/velocity, etc) and shooting (buffer, buffer spring, barrel length, gas port position, etc).

If you're more into volume shooting move to AA1680 or IMR4227 for dependency and allocate at least a bit more of your shooting time to cleaning.

[Jay]

I shoot a lot and use 1680 and my brass and rifle are REALLY dirty. Feeding and extraction become harder the more I shoot, the mags and brass are just a mess. I do clean my rifles after every shoot but I have to scrub it after using 1680.
I just hate the clean up.

I shot Viht 110 today using 16 to 16.5 grains of powder per Sierra reloading data and my rifle functioned but would not lock the bolt to the rear using 125gr speer TNTs. Accuracy was good but not great yet. I still have some room to play. Rifle, bolt, and brass...a lot cleaner..

My gas block is full length, standard gas tube with adjustable set screw full open. May try 4227 just for General purpose, just didn't want to spend funds on it if it's dirty like 1680. Thanks to everyone that responed...!!!

[Retooferab]

The gas port location is why you are having to use 1680 to get the bolt to cycle reliably. I use N110 but I have a 10.5" barrel with the gas port in the pistol position. I think most folks on here have their gas port in the pistol position.