Speer Gold Dot 150 BLK

[Mort123]

Good info on this bullet gents! I have 4 boxes coming next week, free shipping from Midway. It sure seems to me that 1680 is the place to start, it has always provided great accuracy in subs and supers. CFE works fine, just haven't quite found it to be as versatile. Now, how does one make a 12" drop tube?

I made one with an old plastic powder funnel and epoxied a length of an aluminum arrow shaft into it. Works great!!! By the way, I contacted Speer and they told me that this bullet is designed to expand down to 1400 FPS. Should prove out to be a great hunting bullet, time will tell.

[dellet]

Blackpowder shooting supplies, 24"+

https://www.buffaloarms.com/powder-hand ... es-funnels

[Flatliner]

But I am not getting the joke or application...

[dellet]

But I am not getting the joke or application...

Drop tubes are used to get a better fill or settling of the powder, a bit of compaction. If you drop a powder charge just through a funnel there is always a bit of air, vibrate the case some and it will all settle and you have more space. For the most part the higher and slower you drop the powder the more even it settles in and fills the case, and the more powder you can fit.

Black powder cartridges take that to the extreme, so it's a long drop and quite often using a special powder compression plug or die to make sure you compress the same amount of powder into the same amount of space. So 36" and 42" drops are not all that uncommon.

Powders like 1680 and CFE that handle compression well and have relatively low pressure in the fill level of the Blackout cartridge can benefit. Might be able to get close to a full grain of extra powder in the case.

That's where my saying I start with .010" compression comes from. It's a 350 year old technique that still can apply.

Most powder funnels have or can have an extension of about 6".

[TRshootem]

Dellet: I was aware of the black powder drop tubes, dabbled in the smoke pole cartridges a bit. I guess I should have said what I was thinking...what to make a drop tube out of. The arrow shaft is a good idea, this got the brain munching on just what I may have handy. Hardware store trip is likely. Thanks all for the input, look forward to putting these bullets into a nice Whitetail or Mulie next month.

[10Driver]

Based on earlier discussions, I was still assuming that this bullet required around 1,700 FPS to perform.

How confident are we of this 1,400 FPS number?

[Flatliner]

Thanks for the explanation. Seems like a sound idea and easy to duplicate. I tried to order some bullets from Brownells today but they aren't stocking these unfortunately. Also, even more unfortunately they have failed to ship my lab radar so no new toy for the weekend and I travel for the next week and a half for work...

[Jcm800]

I made mine from a solar light tube from the wife's flower garden.

As to why.....like the old saying goes "trying to stuff 10lbs of shit in a 5lb sack"
Use a long tube all the time with varget in 6br / 223 with heavy bullets and 1680 in the BO.
Compacts the powder more evenly without crushing it with the bullet. More consistent burn, better accuracy.

I can easily fit 23gr of 1680 with the 150 GD. Fills Win case 3/4 up the neck with minimal compression.
2.220 oal, 2100fps, SD 3, and sub 1/2" groups. No pressure signs in my 700.....work up load in your rifle

I need to try some at 1400 to see if they expand.

[rebel]

I use a 5 inch tube for Varget in a BR, the same for 6ppc, 300 blk, and 6 x45. Probably would go 12 inches in the 6 c45 as they are always crunchy. Very consistent results with the tube.

[Jcm800]

I use a 5 inch tube for Varget in a BR, the same for 6ppc, 300 blk, and 6 x45. Probably would go 12 inches in the 6 c45 as they are always crunchy. Very consistent results with the tube.

Yep....varget / BR is a lot like 1680 in the BO. You can't hardly get enough in the case befor you run into pressure signs. I use very light neck tension in the BR. It won't tolerate any compression, just pushes the bullet out.

4064 will shoot small groups as well in the BR/223....at a little lower velocity. Kernels are slightly bigger than varget. Seems like the old stuff was the size of busted pencil lead.

H322 was my goto in the 6 ppc