Gordon's Reloading Tool Question

[Wenaha]

I have been shooting and reloading for quite a few years. I now have time to pursue my reloading interests and have expanded the number of calibers I shoot and reload for. In these days of uncertain powder availability I am considering using GRT. I do NOT have a PC (all MACs) and would buy a PC just for using GRT on my bench. I am wondering how much actual benefit I would get from making this investment in time and money vs. just relying on my collection of manuals? Any ideas on hardware to run GRT?

Thanks.

 

[hunter24605]

I like it. It’s usually pretty spot on with its models. If you fire a couple starting loads and use that data for calibration it’s pretty dead nuts. I bought a windows 10 laptop (refurbished) off eBay for $125 and that’s all it gets used for and does fine.

 

[Joec7651]

I use it as well. If you measure a fired case’s water capacity it will be dead on as said above. It’s been extremely close for me. It’s a great tool and not complicated to use.

 

[superdrupal]

I've been using it recently and it certainly gets you in the ballpark quicker when it comes to powder selection and charges. Apparently there is a new release named GRT NextGen which should have newer cartridges, bullets and powders. It is supposed to be released in 2025.

 

[gerry]

Heard good things about it. Great to hear there's a new version coming out.

 

[superdrupal]

Heard good things about it. Great to hear there's a new version coming out.

Yeah for sure. For the guys that don't run Windows or Linux I'd probably hold out buying a machine just for this pupose. The new release will support "Native MacOS, Android and iOS support along with Windows and a broader flavour of Linux".

 

[orchemo]

I started using it about 6 months ago. I have found it very accurate if I put good numbers in (water case capacity, coal, etc)

I have been shortening barrels for hunting with a suppressor and I find GRT very useful.

Example being, I have a M-48 in 280 AI that I had cut to 20 inch for hunting suppressed.

Nosler load data is all based upon a 26 inch barrel. When I use Gordon and put the barrel length at 20 inches, I can see my predicted powder burn percentages and velocity. The velocity has been very accurate. This also leads me to make better powder choices, to have a 95 + % burn and high fill choice, that better fit my rifle.

 

[azsixshooter]

I run Quickload in an Oracle Virtualbox VM with Windows 7 on it just for running QL (network turned off). I used to be able to use WINE on my Linux box to get QL working but for some reason I was not able to get it working again after reloading my workstation with a newer version of Linux Mint (22.1 XIA). Something like this might be an option for you, although the only time I've ever touched a MAC is at a library. I would hope Virtualbox or something similar is available free for MAC.

 

[Blkram]

I started using it about 6 months ago. I have found it very accurate if I put good numbers in (water case capacity, coal, etc)

I have been shortening barrels for hunting with a suppressor and I find GRT very useful.

Example being, I have a M-48 in 280 AI that I had cut to 20 inch for hunting suppressed.

Nosler load data is all based upon a 26 inch barrel. When I use Gordon and put the barrel length at 20 inches, I can see my predicted powder burn percentages and velocity. The velocity has been very accurate. This also leads me to make better powder choices, to have a 95 + % burn and high fill choice, that better fit my rifle.

Does it provide the option for a suppressed vs non-supressed barrel?
If so, what difference does it make?

 

[Wenaha]

I had a Windows emulator on a previous MACpro and it was faster that native Windows on the PCs I used at my company. I liked it but it never migrated when I upgraded platforms.