RL powders

I have used RL powders, and yes they are temp sensitive, and looking forward to use the newer RL 16, 23 and 26 soon. My question if using RL 16, do i substitute it for the RL 15 or the 17? The 16 sits in between 15 and 17.

Has anyone had any temp sensitive issues with 16, 23 and 26? I like to push my bullets a little faster than those Hodgdon powders. I don't like temp swings.


Cheers

16 is more like 17 than 15 Mark. I’ve used a good bunch of 16 in various cartridges and with my current lot it’s very similar to H4350 but a little faster in FPS. I like the stuff a bunch.

Now, 26... almost no reason for 23 with 26 fitting in the case like 22 and giving me the speed of 25.

SJB358":934qg951 said:

Now, 26... almost no reason for 23 with 26 fitting in the case like 22 and giving me the speed of 25.

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If you can find it.


P

It's going to be a while for RL 26 and retumbo availability. I was told the factory that produced them in Australia burnt down

I haven't had any problems with RL15 even at 4 above. According to what's written on the RL 17 can, and I quote, "Consistent max velocity in extreme weather conditions." I do all my load work ups in the heat of summer and lately have only hunted elk in New Mexico in the months of December and January where it's been anywhere from 40* late afternoon to 4 above early morning. I haven't had a chance to use RL 17 on a hunt as I just started working with it but I've had no problems with RL 15 in my 35 Whelen when I checked out the sights at the Whittington Center at Raton. I left the rifle and ammo in the truck overnight and checked the sights fairly early in the morning. I've done this with RL 15in the .35 Whelen, W760 in a 30-06, and WMR in the .270, 280 Rem. and .300 Win. Mag. with no apparent change in point of impact on paper out to 200 yards. Dunno if temp sensitivity is overblown or maybe I've just been lucky. Maybe I just squeezed off the shot at the right point in my shivering. :lol:
Paul B.

FOTIS":c0i4iatf said:

It's going to be a while for RL 26 and retumbo availability. I was told the factory that produced them in Australia burnt down

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Powder Valley had 244 lbs of RE26 yesterday when I ordered 6lbs along with a few other powders that I needed. No 8lb jugs were available.

Would the RL16 work well with the .308 and 6.5 Creedmoor? I currently am using Varget for the .308 and H4350 for the Creed, and its hard to beat.

TackDriver284":1upg7bwq said:

Would the RL16 work well with the .308 and 6.5 Creedmoor? I currently am using Varget for the .308 and H4350 for the Creed, and its hard to beat.

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Yes RL16, RL17 and H4350 all work just about the same for accuracy. Currently using H4350 but RL16 works great in 6.5CM




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I ran into sticky bolt lift with R26 up around 85 deg up here. If I am going to be shooting stuff in the summer, it gets a summer worked up load. I also like to workup loads in summertime as ours rarely gets super hot. Then, in late winter I like to chronograph a cold rifle/ammo ( I leave them in garage overnight and out on the bench while setting up) The colder the better. I hunt late season antlerless more than anything else these days.

TackDriver284":p1pp1sne said:

Would the RL16 work well with the .308 and 6.5 Creedmoor? I currently am using Varget for the .308 and H4350 for the Creed, and its hard to beat.

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RL16 has been my go too powder for the 6.5 CM. I pretty much pushed H4350 to the side and use it for other cartridges now.

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Whatever you do if you use RL 26 buy a bunch of the same lot---if you can find it. Worked up a load fro my 6.5 PRC and the next lot blew a primer and rocketed the 143 ELDX at 3170 fps!!!! The previous lot was giving me 3030 fps and under 1/2" at 100 yards. Lot to lot variation is terrible at least in my experience. I went back to RL 25.

I have used Reloder 16, 23, & 26. I really like the R-16 & R-23 a lot. I used the R-16 in 30-06 and 300 WSM. I used the R-23 with heavy bullets in 270 Win and 7mm Rem Mag. In my experience both are extremely temperature stable and I have measured no velocity differences from winter to summer shooting with either powder.

If you look at the Alliant load data for the 7mm RM you will see little gain on using the R-26 over the R-23 but get better case fill with the R-23. With smaller case cartridges like the 300 WSM, I agree with Scotty that you can get more powder in the case and more velocity with R-26.

I haven't used the R-26 enough to form an opinion on it other than it sure does give speed (and resulting recoil). It also heats up the barrel faster than loads with the R-16 but then again you are burning significantly more powder so I would expect that.

In my opinion these three powders are worth trying.

Dan

FOTIS":2ifbxg6k said:

Whatever you do if you use RL 26 buy a bunch of the same lot---if you can find it. Worked up a load fro my 6.5 PRC and the next lot blew a primer and rocketed the 143 ELDX at 3170 fps!!!! The previous lot was giving me 3030 fps and under 1/2" at 100 yards. Lot to lot variation is terrible at least in my experience. I went back to RL 25.

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Wow that's crazy. What kind of velocity are you getting with RL15? I'm going to be getting a 6.5 PRC soon.

Corey