H1000 alternative?

[ruger7717]

Evening guys

With H1000 no longer being available which I use in my 6mm for the 115DTACS.(straight .243win)....what's the best alternative?  

[Danpd]

From Reload Swiss RS70 would be the closest match to H1000.

In Vhitavuori N165 or N170

 

[ruger7717]

Thank you Paddy!

[Laurie]

It depends on why you use H1000. If it is obtain a good performance level in the cartridge allied to a relatively cool burning and very temperature stable single-based propellant -  a common reason for choosing this powder in US F-Class and similar with 284 Win and 7mm magnums in order to maximise barrel life - the answers are different from looking just for performance.

The European equivalent to the cool and slow burning single-based requirement is Viht N165.

In terms of burning rate / performance, there are a few possible alternatives:

the aforementioned Reload Swiss RS70 will likely give  amongst the highest MVs

IMR-7977 looks very well suited - Hodgdon lists loads for 105 and 107gn bullets on its online facility, the heaviest models it shows. It also lists loads for the new IMR-8133 magnum powder just launched in the USA at SHOT . Both are 'Enduron' grades and are / will be Reach-compliant.

Ramshot Magnum looks a good fit in QuickLOAD.

Of the various Swedish Bofors powders, Alliant Re22 and 25 will both work as will the just introduced to the UK market Norma MRP and MRP-2.

Viht N560 and (maybe) the newly announced N565 'high-energy' powders will probably work well with high MVs.

However, all of these possible alternatives to H1000 and Viht N165 share a common factor - use of nitroglycerin in their mix making them hotter burning, from a potential little to in some cases a potential lot so. It seems a feature of nearly all recently introduced grades that they need this ingredient, partly to satisfy customers wanting ever higher velocities, but also to meet other requirements that they are 'double-based', or start as single-based but have nitroglycerin then infused into the kernels ('high-energy'). For instance all of the five IMR 'Enduron' rifle powders  are so treated. Amounts are modest, single figures in % terms, but it still worries some. (All Norma / Alliant are the same.)

[DaveT]

I use H4831sc  in my 6mm SLR so have the same issue when my stock is used up.

Is there a recognised direct Viht or RS equivalent?

[Laurie]

Hodgdon touts IMR-4955 as a close alternative to the 4831s, but if you look at the company's data for 243 Win, in terms of maximum charge weight and MVs, the faster burning IMR-4451 Enduron is a lot closer. In this application IMR-4955 seems to be considerably slower burning and the maximum loads for 105/107gn bullets are a not inconsiderable 4.5gn higher and give ~100 fps higher MVs.

Generally as the SLR is in internal ballistics terms not a lot different from its parent 243 Win, any of the list in my previous post will potentially suit it - what works best is another matter completely of course!

Viht N160 which I've not mentioned as it's a bit too fast burning for the 243 with 115s  is shown in most burning rate charts on the same line as IMR-4831, therefore marginally faster burning than the Hodgdon/ADI version. However, if you look at real world maximum recommended loads / pressures / MVs in most suitable cartridges, it usually falls between the 4350s and 4831s, and is sometimes much more equivalent to H4350 than H4831. However, depending on your bullet weight, it may be an alternative too to H4831 in the SLR albeit at the expense of some velocity before pressure issues kick in.

Last I heard, we still hadn't received IMR-4955 here, but I would expect it to be available sometime this year. (But who knows with Hodgdon / IMR products as everything seems to be a bit in the air right now, even for Reach compliant products?)

[ruger7717]

Laurie

Thanks for taking the time to give such an in depth reply!...When I had the rifle built about 3 years ago by Neil Mckillop, we spoke at length about the best powder to use, in regard to throat erosion and barrel wear. After some research we found that the F-class lads in the US used H1000 for these exact reasons, as you so righty stated.

Personally I'm running the naked 115s at a pedestrian 2940fps  

46.6gns H1000

CCI BR2 

Lapua brass

COAL 2.880

[DaveT]

Laurie

 

My thanks added to those of Ruger7717.

Looks like plenty of powder options ...if we can get them!

[Laurie]

Playing around in QuickLOAD with the 115 Berger VLD at 2.880 and 53gn water capacity (a conservative figure given your Lapua brass), Alliant Re22 and Viht N165 both look good matches in internal ballistic terms.

With a 28-inch barrel, the program calculates slightly higher MVs than you're actually getting with 46.6gn H1000 at ~58,000 psi PMax.

44.0gn of Re22 and Viht N165 are calculated to produce around the same pressures as H1000, but the program reckons you'd lose maybe 50 fps velocity from the lower energy N165 and gain a similar figure from the 'high-energy' Re22. The same (44gn) weight of Viht N560 is modelled at 3,000 fps with slightly lower pressures and 42.0 gn Reload Swiss RS70 is expected to give you your existing performance with yet another pressure reduction. (The usual caveats about QuickLOAD modelling and starting 10-15% down and working up apply, of course.)

So, you have plenty of choice ........... or you can advertise for H1000 on UKV and other forums and maybe find enough to see your barrel out. I'd do the latter most likely in your shoes rather than work another load up. We're going to have a lot of people with half a tin of this non complaint grade or a couple of tins of the other who will be happy to offload it until things settle down again. (After all, 1lb battleship grey painted steel cans of ICI Nobel powders from a generation ago still turn up regularly in pristine condition, and I for one have no qualms in using such old powder if the tin is sealed and the contents in good condition!)

 

[DaveT]

Must admit that I am tempted to give N560 a go as I already use this in 260 rem loads.

[No i deer]

I tested H1000 in my 7mm saum recently and it definitely does give me near 100 fps over N165 using the same bullet.I could get more but never tried but 65grs of H1000  pushed a 180gr hybrid 2970fps.ive not tried going past 60.5grs of N165 with the hybrids as they shot surperb unlike the H1000 load. Accuracy comes first