Another question for the Quickload gurus

[Mike402]

So with the limited availability of powder, I'm sure many of us have had to try other brands. After using up quite a bit of components to run OCW tests for both Varget & 4064 in my .308, I was wondering if there was an easier way.

Let's assume I have found an accurate stable load using Varget. Using Quickload, could I substitute another powder (keeping all other variables the same) and work up a load that would get me to the same pressure/velocity as the Varget load, and presumably, the same accuracy. I know it may not be exact, but I'm hoping it would get me within a grain or two, which would make the OCW tests much more manageable.

I now have three different powders that I have acquired (soley based on availability) to load for .223, and I'm not looking forward to running the full blown accuracy node testing for each one. Would like to nail down one, and then get the other two in the ballpark.

Does the program do that well, and does it translate into real world results? Looking for some opinions from people who have purchased it.

On a side note, I'm wondering how they came up with their pricing model. For cripes sake, you can buy operating system software for less money than they are asking. I understand they have a small market from which to recoup their investment, but I firmly believe if they were priced at $50-75, they'd have many more orders. I'm seriously considering buying the software, but that is a lot of moolah for ballistics software.

[J-cat]

Yes, you can input your data, see what barrel time it calculates, then substitute powders and mess with the charge weight to get to the same barrel time, not the velocity. Barrel time is what determines accuracy.

The price, I think, is well worth it in terms of the headache, time, and money spent on components, range time, and gas.

[longrange99]

I bought it and found it helpful. There isn't an attribute called "accuracy" but you can optimize on pressure, fill volume, burn rate etc. for what it is, I think it is very inexpensive.


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[Mike402]

Yes, you can input your data, see what barrel time it calculates, then substitute powders and mess with the charge weight to get to the same barrel time, not the velocity. Barrel time is what determines accuracy.

The price, I think, is well worth it in terms of the headache, time, and money spent on components, range time, and gas.

Yep you are absolutely right. I called the maker of Quickload and a had a conversation with him.

He pointed me to this website to read everything I ever wanted to know about optimal barrel time, how to tune Quickload for it, etc: http://the-long-family.com/

[longrange99]

I've been playing around with the information on the-long-family website.
I was previously modifying the case volume value and shot start initiation values to calibrate Quickload to match my measured velocities. (This is what I was told to do by the manufacturer)

However, the information the OBT guide indicates that the case volume should be left alone and Ba (or bullet weight) modified to match observed results. My velocities were taken close to "normal" temperatures (~73 degrees so I did not modify the temperature compensation adjustment). Leaving case volume "as measured" has a direct affect on estimated pressure and of course fill rate. I prefer to use the "as measured" value

When I modify Ba, I am able to get values that track closely to observed averages, maybe within 3-5 fps across multiple powder charges. I'll consider this dead on.

If I take that same Ba factor and move it to a different load my results are off substantially. The only change in my particular case is the bullet and powder quantity. For example, Rem 223 with a 55gr BTHP and CCI M41 primer has a Ba of .556. If I use a Nosler PSP 64gr bullet, Ba changes to .58 to match observed results. I am using the same lot of primers, all brass is Lake City with the same head stamp and sized identically (I measured) and powder is from the same 8lb bottle.

I am expecting Ba to be the same across all loads with the same lot of powder so I would not think it needs to be changed.

For the purposes of OBT, the difference in Ba between loads I do not think matters as we are trying to hit a specific dwell time for a given load which should be able to determined if Ba is consistent across different powder charges for a given set of components.

Am I thinking about this incorrectly? My engineer brain is hurting.

Thank you!!

[J-cat]

Are you using QL's dimensions for the Nosler 64 or are you measuring your own? I find bullets vary a lot from one box to the next and within the same box.

[longrange99]

Are you using QL's dimensions for the Nosler 64 or are you measuring your own? I find bullets vary a lot from one box to the next and within the same box.

J-cat - I did measure my bullets and adjusted accordingly. I have noticed that QL dimensions are incorrect, others are dead on. Nosler dimensions are generally pretty good. All bullets are the same lots.

QL Start Pressure calculation formula I used is (1420*bearing surface length) + 2860

(Add 600 for magnum primers. I did not add this 600 for CCI M41 primers)