does mixing powder make sense?

Was at the range and a guy(in his 40's) came up to me asking where I buy my reloading powder. He said he likes buying all the same lot. when he cant find the same powder from all the same lot he said buys what he can and mixes it all up?? Is this even right?

Sure as long as the type of powder is all the same.

So if you had six one pounders of H-Varget, but there were two or three lot numbers you could mix them all in a tub then put them back in their cans. Now you have consistent powder in one custom made lot. As soon as you run out and go to a new lot, you'll have to tweak the load starting under your original powder charge and work back up to it. Making sure the new lot isnt running hotter.

ok cool learn something new every day

That is what I had to do. I found five pounds of H4350 a while back and they were all different lots so I mixed them all and haven't had a problem yet.

Walter

I'll be honest, I've done it also. When I have a small amount of the same powder in multiple pounds, I'll add them together, label the jug as "mixed" and use it later. I won't do this for my match ammo or ammo I would be using for competition. I stick to one lot.

I mix different lots of the same powder also. That way I can work up a load and not have to diddle with it again so soon.

I was shooting with a benchrester one day who told me he adjusts the burn rate of some of his powders by mixing in another number. As an example he might want to slow down the burn rate of the H4350, so he'd mix a little H4831 in it. I think that would be okay because the chemistry of the two powders is similar. I personally would NOT do that nor recommend it, but I think someone who really knows about powder chemistry and manufacture could do it safely. I don't pretend to know that much. I do know that you would never blend a single-base powder with a double-base powder and I can't imagine why anyone would blend H4198 with Retumbo.

Same number but just different lots? As long as one of them's not so old that the chemistry may have been changed, no sweat.

Yup.

Been doing it for years. Glad I'm not the only one.

It really doesn't make that much sense. Cannister grade powder is tested and blended at the factory to be within a 3% burn rate from one lot to the next. I suppose you could run into a case where you had a high and low end lot and have a spread of about 6% (max) burn rate, but that would be extremely unlikely.

Your rifle and groups aren't going to notice, even at range, a difference of 1%-2% burn rate between lots of powder. You'll get that much spread just from the same cannister.

Now, if you have a jug of a type of powder (say Varget, for example) that has a half pound left and you dump it into an 8 lb keg that has 6 lbs and give it a good shake or two, are you going to hurt anything at all? Nope, not in the slightest.

Depends on the rifle and the shooter. Hunting rifle for 100 yards, maybe not. But I have several rifles that a change in lot number have and will change up my group sizes, and for sure change up my speeds. And that will certainly change up my trajectory and accuracy at longer ranges. So yes, a change in powder lot numbers will effect your groups and speeds.

You are an exception then, but to each his own.

Bottom line is that it doesn't hurt, but really doesn't make much of a difference either. The big thing is to make darn sure you are mixing the exact same powder from the exact same manufacturer.

Count me as an exception too. I had a gun that was hammering, ran out of Varget went to the next lot and matched velocity by making a very small adjustment and the gun wouldn't shoot it. I went to a different lot and it started hammering again.

I don't know what it was about that one lot but it was weird in that particular barrel. Funny thing is I'm using that powder I couldn't get to shoot in another gun and it's now driving tacks and the best shooting gun I have right now. Things go as planned I'll run out of that powder this season right about the time that barrel needs setback or pulled.

So I defintely say to mix them and create one big lot that you can base the load off of and keep through the life of the barrel, rather than taking the chance the lot will make a difference.

Depends on the type of shooting you do like chad mentioned. On my match rifle changing from lot to lot does has some variances in it. Which makes me go back and re work the load.

Walter

I have a 7lb just of retumbo 1 lot number
And 5 1lb just 2 are one lot and 3 are one lot..should I mix it all

I would...mix it real thoroughly so you have one big new lot.

will get right on that! thanks for help !

Incorrect. Not an exeception

It doesn't hurt but does make a difference.

I've seen a 300 Win Mag switch lots and the new lot started cratering primers. Had a client last week that got ammo from a new lot, for a 243 and the new lot made 120 fps more than the last lot. Those are two examples of big swings in burn rate and velocity. The 300 Win could be called unsafe using the same powder charge but with a new lot.

That's what I would do too.

The big ammo manufacturers do the same thing, only they mix railroad cars full of powder instead of 1 lb cans. With their testing equipment for measuring pressure curves, burn rate, etc, they will blend different powders until they get just the performance they're wanting. Then they load millions of rounds of ammo.

I've always been a hoarder. I try to buy new powder long before I run out of the old. Then, I mix new and old together, so instead of having Lot A and Lot B, I now have 100% Lot AB. And, unless the amount of powder from the new lot is a bunch more than the old, I don't bother re-working my loads.

Just make sure to not mix it in a metal bowel. Use plastic and mix carefully so you do not break it up.

Walter

will do. thanks for heads up

Walter, what is the concern with mixing in a metal bowl? How about glass rather than plastic? Just wondering...

Bet glass is fine. Bet Walter is trying to avoid static electricity that causes powder to stick.

I'd like to know what's wrong with the metal bowl myself---I'm about to recycle a bunch of pull-down H335 and homogenize about 15 pounds of the stuff. That's a lot of powder to have in the wrong kind of container.

Prolly nothing. Wouldn't surprise me if Fitz has a big ole glass bowl he wants to use.

That or, because he has a dergee in physics, he's prodding Walter.

Last I mixed was from 3 lots of Hodgdon 50BMG in a large stainless mixing bowl, no issues.

Not prodding Walter at all, just wondering the reason. A stainless steel bowl, being conductive, actually helps reduce the probability of static discharge with most plastic being worse. That is why I was asking as I have about 15 lbs of H4350 to mix and don't want to screw it up. I need to googlefoo it...

It seems I recall using a large glass bowl once, and there was a hint of static charge on that. On a stainless bowl, never.

Sorry didn't see that. I went through the same thing when I had to mix five pounds of 4350 and was told by several people not to use metal. I believe it is from the static but not sure the exact reason. But the info came from a very knowledgable person with many years of experience so I took his word for it... I used a big plastic bowel and poured a little out of each container at a time until they were all empty then kinda swirled the bowel around to mix it up. One of the hardest parts is trying not to crunch or break the powder up into small pieces.

Walter

Of metal, glass, and plastic, you're going to see more static buildup with plastic for sure (except the plastic they're using for powder containers these day, obviously). Maybe someone was mixed up, or maybe thinking about the requirement that that you use brass equipment for handling black powder.

No biggie.

I would bet that the adversity to metallic bowls is to eliminate any chance of a spark developing. I know when fireworks manufacturers mix their recipes for artillery fireworks, they use plastic bowls and either plastic or wood instruments.

RE: Mixing - how do you determine you have a good homogenous mixture between the two lots, and not a case where you have pockets of one lot here and there in your mix? Granted, with pouring back into the container and then pouring into your powder drop you probably have minimized this probability, but seems to me there is no good way to verify that you have an even distribution throughout the mix, and therefore can't guarantee you have a consistent burn rate from round to round. As I said earlier, I'd never notice with my shooting and equipment, but if some of you can notice from one lot to the next, seems you are exascerbating a problem to me.