Mixing lot numbers of powder (same type)

[BlackdogGS]

Let's say you just loaded a bunch of 223 and you're cleaning up your powder scale. You find you have about 2 tablespoons of powder left. Since this is all that's left from a 1 pound jug should you put it back in the original jug or pour it into a new unopened jug? That way you could discard the old jug. I know some are picky about mixing lot numbers. Powder is XBR8208. Thanks

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[Local Loader]

Medicine bottle or a small travel bottle and label it, done.

 

[ma96782]

Same powders. But, different lot #. Speaking of such a small amount (two tablespoons). If it were ME......I'd throw the small amount into the large amount, mix. And go from there.

Aloha, Mark

PS....if someone were really that anal about it. They could just throw it on the lawn and consider it as an offering to Mother Nature. But then, I'm NOT judging.

 

[Pepe-lepew]

On my bench, it would get poured in the next jug. My wind call has more of a effect on accuracy than mixing ammo from different lots of powder on the same target. Also, diluting a fraction of an oz of one lot in a lb of powder of another lot probably has no measurable change.

 

[Koda]

Would you do anything different if you happened to use the last granule evenly and had to open a new lot container?

Ive heard caution on mixing lots but have never heard of any issues when switching to a new supply.... anyone?

 

[JO JO]

I would pour it in the fresh bottle , thats a small amount to mix in

 

[P7M13]

Relive your teen prankster years. Take a few kernels and stuff them in a buddy's cigarette.

 

[TTSX]

Everyone knows if you mix even one grain from a bottle into a different bottle of the same type, it magically becomes bullseye and will blow up your rifle

 

[Yarome]

A little sprinkle on your oatmeal each morning is a well known cure all and secret to longer life.



It also makes an unforgettable remembrance after you pass... if you elect for cremation. Who doesn't want to go out with a bang!

 

[Nosferatu]

Snort it.

 

[TTSX]

Snort it.

 

[Catfishmoon]

I would have no problem mixing the two together.

 

[nammac]

That small amount, toss it out on the lawn, your lawn will appreciate it…

Or amaze the kids with a nice flash pile…

 

[gmerkt]

diluting a fraction of an oz of one lot in a lb of powder of another lot probably has no measurable change.

I will put one pound bottles back on the shelf with relatively small amounts of powder in them. But the two tablespoons described in the OP I'd probably mix into the next container, depending upon my mood. If you put that tiny amount of powder into another full bottle and shake it around, as a practical matter you will never notice any difference. That is, so long as it's the same type powder!

Would you do anything different if you happened to use the last granule evenly and had to open a new lot container?

Ive heard caution on mixing lots but have never heard of any issues when switching to a new supply.... anyone?

This is the bigger issue when you're using one pound bottles vice eight pound jugs. That is, when you use up a bottle, there is a changeover. If you are using a powder thrower ("measure"), you don't really want to run it dry down to the last throw. Quantities of powder weighed by volume tend to change a bit when the weight in the top of the column gets low. In my own experience, anyway. And, if you are weighing every single charge, when you run out of a bottle, you very well may be in the middle of a run or lot of cartridges. Say, a box of 50. Part of the box may have come from one bottle, the remaining the next bottle. If you're that into detail, this might be unsettling.

Lot variation, the only time I ever noticed a significant difference in weight was with some bottles of IMR 4064. But I'm not a long range nor bench rest shooter, my shooting is more of the "service grade" variety so I never noticed a difference in practice.

For hobby reloaders, it's very difficult to wind up with even lots of cartridges cleaving to segregation by lot numbers of powders in one pound bottles. Example: 41.5 gr. IMR 4895 in .308 Win, 168 gr. bullet, 7,000 gr. (in a pound), yields 168.67 loads. If you load in 20 round lots, yes you can get eight even lots but at the end, you are still going to have a ragged residual number. Some purists might just throw that odd amount away; I won't do it.

 

[Xmark1]

Are my load recipes gonna change if I change lot numbers on the same powders?

Looks like I'm gonna have to start a library of reloading books with a dewy decimal card system for different lot numbers of the same powder.

 

[NeoBlackdog]

Load up a couple more rounds.
Oh, you're out of primers/projectiles?
Didn't plan that out very good, did ya?

 

[gmerkt]

Load up a couple more rounds.
Oh, you're out of primers/projectiles?
Didn't plan that out very good, did ya?

Oh yeah, that stuff drives me nuts. In hobby reloading, bullets are usually packed 100 or 50 to the box. Primers typically 100 to the sleeve (with Fiocchi being the outlier with 150 - what's up with that?). So if you screw up / drop and lose either a bullet or a primer, you're off. Or if you run out of powder along the way, you can wind up with odd lots of bullets / primers. Not even taking into account the cartridge brass; you may not start with an even number if they are on their second (or beyond) firing. Because cases can get damaged, dropped and lost, etc.

 

[gmerkt]

Would you do anything different if you happened to use the last granule evenly and had to open a new lot container?

Ive heard caution on mixing lots but have never heard of any issues when switching to a new supply.... anyone?

I should expand on my post #14, above, re. different lots of powder.

There are a couple of ways powder can vary from lot to lot.

1. Weight variation. I guess because some lots can contain slightly more moisture than others. This was the issue I had with one lot of IMR 4064. Which I noticed when I used up one bottle and opened the next having a different lot number. At that time, I was using a beam scale. Right away, I could see I needed to adjust the scale with the new batch. I don't recall the exact discrepancy; but if I had to pull a number out of the air, it was approx. a difference of 1.5 grains in charges set for 47.5 gr. I would've caught this on the little digital scale I use now. BUT: Had I been using an electronic scale that meters the powder, I don't think it would've been noticed. Because the electronic metering scale is just going to dispense a quantity by weight. 47.5 gr. of a lighter or heavier charge is still 47.5 gr.

2. The other difference that might occur from lot to lot is chemical composition. Meaning, the two powders were supposed to be made to the same formula, but for one reason or another, there was some deviation in how the chemicals were mixed. In the absence of a corresponding weight variation, this might never be noticed with a small deviation. Even firing a good many loads across a chronograph, the variations of the instrument might be enough to mask a variation in the powder. The firms that make powder may have an acceptable standard of deviation if it is slight enough.

 

[Koda]

@gmerkt
I see the chemical composition but lost on the weight variation.....
So 2 lot samples of the same weight are the same weight.

Do meters weigh and then dispence?

 

[Longwalkhome]

Let's say you just loaded a bunch of 223 and you're cleaning up your powder scale. You find you have about 2 tablespoons of powder left. Since this is all that's left from a 1 pound jug should you put it back in the original jug or pour it into a new unopened jug? That way you could discard the old jug. I know some are picky about mixing lot numbers. Powder is XBR8208. Thanks

Two tablespoons, I would put them on the house plants. The nitrogen would help them grow well.