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Alliant Power Pro Varmint powder

14K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  EWP 
#1 ·
Has anyone tried this powder in a 6.8? I've read on another forum that this is a SMP "high energy" powder like Accurate's new 2200 and Alliant's PP 2000 MR. As I understand it the "high energy" powders are supposed to be less temp. sensitive than standard ball powders and give better load densities. 2200 seems to be a solid powder choice for 95 grain plus bullets in 6.8 and the PP 2000 MR has been winning converts with its performance with heavier bullets in the .308.

Anyway, trying my best to determine its relative burn rate from available info, I'd say it is a bit faster than Accurate's new 2200. Just a guess since Alliant does not show load data in 6.8 for it. I have an email into Alliant to see if they will provide its relative burn rate and any 6.8 data they may have.

I've followed the 2200 thread and, since I believe PP Varmint to be a bit faster than 2200, was wondering if it would be a good powder choice for the lighter 6.8 bullets.
 
#2 ·
Good Question

244. I'm interested in what you discover. Please post as to your findings.

Daniel
 
#3 ·
I emailed Alliant a few months back asking about this powder. The response i got was pretty vague- Yes it has a proper burn rate for the 6.8 but we have no load data.

If I remember correctly, the tech toold me the burn rate was pretty close to the old RE-12.

That's about all the info I have on the powder. Please share if you get better info.
 
#4 ·
Yep the burn rate is similar to the old Re12 which is just a hair slower than 10X and 2200, I just received my first 1lb of Power Pro Varmint powder Monday(thanks Lane).

I do expect it to be slightly slower than 2200 but this may be a good thing, since 2200 is so fast it's easy to reach the point where it will not gain anymore velocity but a slightly slower powder can be loaded a little higher and possibly produce more velocity especially with the 95-115gr bullets.

I will try and get some test loads made for this weekend and will post results when finished testing.

I took some pic's of the new powder along with pic's of 2200 for everyone to see, I will try and get them up in a little bit.
 
#5 ·
It appears that EWP is correct (again) regarding the burn rate. After looking more closely at Alliant's complete on-line load guide, page 10 shows the relative burn rates of all their powders. Here is a portion of that list:

Power Pro® 300-MP Magnum Handgun Loads
Reloder® 7 Light Rifle Loads Silhouette Loads
Reloder 10X® Light Varmint/Light Bullet Loads Bench rest calibers; Light Bullet 308
Power Pro® Varmint Standard Varmint Medium Rifle Loads
Power Pro® 2000-MR Heavy 308
Reloder® 15 Medium Rifle Loads Silhouette Loads
Reloder® 17 Short Magnum Loads Medium Rifle Loads
Reloder® 19 Large Rifle Loads Target and hunting rifle loads

They do not have their "AR-COMP" powder listed, but I've also read that it is essentially Reloder 15 with some other additives and the same burn rate, FYI.

I'll let you all know what I hear back from Alliant regarding 6.8 load data and if they can give me any more info than they gave Dude-Sweet.
 
#6 ·
Ben Amonette from Alliant wrote back, but he had the same answer he gave to Dude: Approximately the same burn rate as their discontinued Reloder 12, but no data for it in the 6.8.

I'll post if I find anything else. I'm looking forward to EWP's test results and comparison to 2200.
 
#7 ·
Alliants new Power Pro Varmint powder has the same burn rate as AA2520 which is to slow for the 6.8, the velocities I got match what I predict using SSA brass capacity with AA2520 almost exactly.

Looks like it will be good in 5.56 with heavy bullets.

It's a fine ball powder so allot will fit into the case but even at 31gr's I only got 2443 fps from a 110gr BTHP from my 16" 6.8.

I will test it on up to 33gr's which will be a max compressed load that should be around 2600 fps but only because I have it to use.

It did group well and the velocity was very consistent, with four of the seven test groups having low single digit SD's and tight 3 shot groups(I didn't even shoot the 4th & 5th rounds).

I may also test it with the 130gr bullets since allot of powder will fit into the case, I may can get similar velocity as 2200 but with lower pressure using the short heavy bullets.
 
#8 ·
I am thinking that it must be about the same as Ramshot TAC as well. I just tried 29.0 grains of TAC with a 110 grain Accubond (SSA / CCI-41)
and I only obtained 2,577 fps from a 24 inch barrel.
But no pressure signs and lots of case room left...
TAC did work OK for 130 grain and 150 grain bullets.
 
#9 ·
QL shows TAC will produce ~80 fps more than PP varmint with the same charge.

QL shows 29gr of TAC producing 2571 fps @41K PSI from a 24" barrel(95.5% LD), step it up to 32.0gr for 2841 fps @ 57K PSI and 105.4% load density.

31gr PPV = 2675 fps & 31gr TAC = 2751 fps from a 24" barrel

The QL case capacity I had to use to make the charge weight and velocity work for AA2520 was exactly the same for making your TAC load work out, QL seems to be correct when setup correctly, you just have to use the case capacity that makes it work instead of what you think it should be.
 
#10 ·
I have stayed away from using Quick Load ever since I goofed on some data input and almost blast one of my eyes into mush. So these days I just work up, cross check and record.
Since I had the chronograph just over 20 feet away today, in theory my actual muzzle velocity would probably be at least 15 fps faster. But heck fire, I own two chronographs which are sometimes 15 FPS apart from each other.
I also tried some 110gr TTSX bullets today with the same load as the 110gr accubonds. They were about 20 fps slower. and had a horrible group the size of Rhode Island.
 
#11 · (Edited)
You cant use QL predictions without accurate testing data to work from, if you have the actual velocity for a load combo so you can adjust the program to match the results then the pressure predictions are accurate but using it blindly to make predictions for max loads doesn't work(not for me anyway).

I used QL's data for the 6x45 loads I loaded last week, I loaded them using the programs settings from max charge down 2gr's and tested them on Sunday, now that I have actual chrono data to adjust the program I can get accurate predictions.

I tested several different powders so I could compare the results from the same day with the only difference being the powder used.

QL used a case capacity of 31.5gr's but my testing shows LC 11 brass to have a 32.5gr capacity, once I made this adjustment for the first(H322) loads I changed powder to AA2200 and the predictions for those loads were exactly right(1 fps off) based on my chrono results. So now I have the correct input data to make correct predictions for loads used in that brass, I'll have to do the same thing with my Hornady(tested one load in Hornady brass and it works with 33.5gr case cap but need more data for better accuracy) and Lapua 6x45 brass before the predictions are correct but with some real testing data QL can be a very useful tool.
 
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