IMR 4896, or interesting post at CGN

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  • Last Post 06 March 2015
mckg posted this 06 March 2015

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/ganderite/RELOADING/IMG_1260.jpg>http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/ganderite/RELOADING/IMG1260.jpg

The poster, Ganderite, wrote:

"... It was a test batch of powder that I called 4896 because it was a variation of 4895.

The test was either a Short Cut experiment or a test where some moly was added to to the process when the graphite was added.

IMR powders were made by Expro, in Valleyfield, Quebec. Development was run by a brilliant Ph.D. chemist, who knew nothing about guns, loading or shooting.

When I tried to explain why I thought some powders should be made as Short Cut, the conversation bogged down when I mentioned the powder thrower. He had no idea what I was talking about. I asked to see the test lab where they made test ammo. They used a scales, a bowel of powder and a teaspoon. They didn't even have a powder trickler. They didn't have a loading block to hold the cases, either.

On my next visit I brought them a care package of loading equipment.

A test batch of powder was 800 to 2000 pounds. They would run a few tests on it and then I would use it for loading real ammo to see how it worked. Some of it got sold to the target rifle and benchrest crowd to try out.

The 4895SC worked well and was well received by shooters. Expro called it a total failure because so far as they could see, the results were identical to regular 4895. A well known American shooter wrote them a letter, begging them not to destroy the remaining powder. I had sent him a sample to try out, and he liked it. What Expro did not know was that the shooter's day job was a procurement officer for US Army ammunition.

When Hodgdon got involved with Expro, the first thing they did was start making short cut powder, about 15 years after I tried to get it going. ..."

So that's how they decide what's good for us, eh!

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oscarflytyer posted this 06 March 2015

Sounds like the government!

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