To Drop Tube or Not to Drop Tube

Talk with other Shiloh Sharps shooters.

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Glen Ring
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To Drop Tube or Not to Drop Tube

Post by Glen Ring »

Wayne Mclerran

I value your objectivity when investigating a topic and last loading session with Jeanne, we tossed the idea back and forth about drop tubing.

I know the theory that drop tubing gets powder all in order, but then most compress it and that's what makes me curious.

I tap the loading block and the powder does settle before compression, but I'm wondering...Have you ever done chronograph testing of loads that were
Drop tubed vs non drop tubed?? I no longer have a chronograph, but it seems to me that clocking the speed of the Drop tubed vs Non-drop tubed loads
might be interesting.
There are those that talk, and those that act. Make a choice.
MikeT
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Re: To Drop Tube or Not to Drop Tube

Post by MikeT »

Glen,

I had that same question about 15 or 20 yrs ago. I used my Oehler chronograph. At the time I was shooting a 40-65 & a 40-82, so I do not know how it would have turned out with 45 calibers. The test was conducted using a 31 " drop-tube [my normal loading procedure] & a 12" dt; the powder was trickled slowly into the 31 " dt, but just dumped into the 12" dt. The 31" dt loads were the result of a long load development process. The same "good" loads were loaded with the 12" dt. The compression plug depth was not changed, but remained at the "good" load setting. I chrono graphed 10 loads of each loading in both calibers. I repeated the test once more.
I do not have the results of these tests, as I have gone through several computers and various forms of storage media since then.
The bottom line is; I still use the 31" drop tube.

Keep on hav'n fun!
MikeT
semtav
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Re: To Drop Tube or Not to Drop Tube

Post by semtav »

enter this in google

site:shilohrifle.com/forums drop tube

You may wind up as smart as you did at the end of the torque thread !!
DeadEye
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Re: To Drop Tube or Not to Drop Tube

Post by DeadEye »

Wayne,

Drop Tube use is for Black Powder. I do not believe it has any relation to Pyrodex and that is all Glen uses.

Paul
"My heroes have always been cowboys and they still are it seems."
semtav
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Re: To Drop Tube or Not to Drop Tube

Post by semtav »

:lol: :lol: :lol:
Good catch Paul !!!
Glen Ring
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Re: To Drop Tube or Not to Drop Tube

Post by Glen Ring »

Thanks Mike. We joke continually about the voodo, old, fat guys practice religiously..and when you ask for proof they get VERY defensive or say " that's the way we've always done things' . I appreciate your response.
There are those that talk, and those that act. Make a choice.
Glen Ring
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Re: To Drop Tube or Not to Drop Tube

Post by Glen Ring »

I thought so Chris...thanks for your response. Makes sense . No voodoo on your part, just objective pursuit .
There are those that talk, and those that act. Make a choice.
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Don McDowell
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Re: To Drop Tube or Not to Drop Tube

Post by Don McDowell »

There is a pretty good article in this last BPC news by Rick Moritz about accuracy between low ES loads and not. Well worth the read.
Let the target and the rifle tell you whether or not which combination of getting your final powder column height shoots the best.
AKA Donny Ray Rockslinger :?
Glen Ring
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Re: To Drop Tube or Not to Drop Tube

Post by Glen Ring »

Thanks Don.
I'll try to find a copy and read the article. I am only a AAA silhouette shooter on my good days, so I can't tell much of a difference when I experiment
with my 45-70. I think a chronograph is a must have item for that. I gave mine away when I stopped shooting run and gun pistol sports.
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Don McDowell
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Re: To Drop Tube or Not to Drop Tube

Post by Don McDowell »

Glenn, the only time I use a chronograph anymore is if I'm going to a match that has velocity requirements. The rest of the time I build and test my loads for the furthest distance I expect to shoot those loads. I look for low vertical spread on the target , preferring to keep to 2 minutes. Sometimes switching head/tail winds can bugger up what should of been a good load. Horizontal I don't worry a whole lot about so long as the vertical stays close enough. But if a given load combo doesn't show any sort of group possibility then it's back to the drawing board.
My home range spotter gets aggravated at me when a group starts to form and I don't do the recommended windage adjustments to get into the center. I have to keep reminding her we are simply testing to see if the load is going to group well, then we'll mess with having to paint the center. LOL
Following the lead from Dan T and Steve Rhodes a number of years ago, I use a 12 inch drop tube and a slow pour, then finish the powder column height up with the compression die.
AKA Donny Ray Rockslinger :?
Glen Ring
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Re: To Drop Tube or Not to Drop Tube

Post by Glen Ring »

I have been doing the same with load development. I never shoot beyond 500 meters, so my load tests are at that distance. I have finally wrapped my head around the loads that show little movement vertically but stay in a two or three minute group horizontally.
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Don McDowell
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Re: To Drop Tube or Not to Drop Tube

Post by Don McDowell »

That's the best way to do it I think.
But you need to test on a relatively calm day and then go see what happens to that load combo on a miserable windy day. Have had on several occasions a load that showed real promise on a good day fall clear apart on a windy day because the bullet did not like the wind affects.
AKA Donny Ray Rockslinger :?
Glen Ring
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Re: To Drop Tube or Not to Drop Tube

Post by Glen Ring »

Sounds reasonable.
There are those that talk, and those that act. Make a choice.
TexasMac
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Re: To Drop Tube or Not to Drop Tube

Post by TexasMac »

Glenn,

I don’t read every thread on this forum and didn’t realize your opening post was “addressed” to me until now. To answer your question, when I was using the older (denser) Swiss 1.5 powder I had proven to myself that using a drop tube vs. dumping in the powder and using vibration to settle the powder made no measurable difference in my resulting accuracy. But with the newer fluffier powder I’m back to using my semi-automatic powder measuring setup which uses a 27” drop tube. See the following article: http://www.texas-mac.com/Using-Vibratio ... owder.html

In either case I have not chronographed identical loads using vibration vs. drop tube. I normally do not use a chronograph for load development until after I’ve selected what I consider the best load combination for a given bullet based on accuracy testing. Once I’ve settled on a specific load I may measure the velocity for a couple of reasons. 1) The standard deviation is an indication of how well I’m controlling the loading process. 2) If I have to change powder lots I’m a firm believer that loading with the new lot to the same velocity results in the same accuracy assuming all the components are the same except the required powder amount.

Wayne
NRA Life (Benefactor & President's Council) Member, TSRA Life Member, NSSF Member, Author & Publisher of the Browning BPCR book
http://www.texas-mac.com
Glen Ring
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Re: To Drop Tube or Not to Drop Tube

Post by Glen Ring »

Thanks Wayne
I value and trust your posts.
There are those that talk, and those that act. Make a choice.
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