Weird H335 Powder

DeadEyeDeadly

DeadEyeDeadly

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Had some over pressure indications when loading my 22 ARC with H335, so I pulled the bullets to reduce the load. What I found was strange. I weighed the powder as I emptied the cases, and found the grain weight was lower than what was originally loaded. I banged the cases on the bench surface, and was able to dislodge the remaining powder stuck to the bottom of the cases. I was surprised that the powder had swollen in granular size and had turned a brownish color. Also, the weight originally loaded had increased to an average of ⁓ 0.3 grains for each round. Some rounds had gained less weight, and the amount of powder transformed to enlarged/brownish state was visibly less.
The Starline cases I loaded were brand new right from the bag – not sized or cleaned in my vibrator – just checked for neck size. They were primed with standard Winchester small rifle primers. Anyone have any guesses as to what occurred, or have had a similar experience?
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Must have been some oil or lubricant in the brass from Starline, I would call them and find out their process. If you have any left I would weigh each one and bang them on the bench to see if I could get anything out of them.

I load a lot with 335 and never had a problem with it.
 
Crud in new cases. Have had it happen (clumping) with damp brass. Haven't used 335 in years, don't remember what it looks like but that stuff looks weird. I'd dump them all and clean the cases.
 
Luckily I had only loaded 25 rounds out of the100 that I'd purchased. From now on I'll not be so complacent, and clean all future new cases with walnut media for at least 30 minutes. Reminds me of some Nosler 6.5 Grendel brass I bought a while back.
From their advertisement:

Nosler Custom 6.5 Grendel Brass Box of 50

Nosler Custom Brass was developed to complement their line of custom bullets. Each lot is weight-sorted to provide consistent measurements and capacities for accurate loads and features a Nosler head-stamp. Before shipment, Nosler chamfers and deburrs the case mouths and deburrs the flash hole. Fully prepped and ready to load upon receipt, each piece of brass offers consistency in trimmed length and neck wall thickness. This brass is new and unprimed. This is not loaded ammunition.
Made In United States of America
I found that when I inserted a bullet into the case mouths, the bullet would be swallowed fully into the case - neck opening was too large of a diameter. I had to neck size those cases to load them properly. Another lesson learned. Thanks for the responses!
 
That is strange! Especially the over pressure issue. Did you burn any of that stuff? Open burn it in a container, not in a case Does it even burn? If that odd looking stuff doesn’t burn, the over pressure has me wondering. It sure doesn’t look like powder contaminated or otherwise.

I use a lot of H335 as it’s my best performing powder for both my bolt and AR 204’s and 223’s and I’ve never seen anything like that.

Obviously you didn’t see it when you loaded the rounds so I’m going with contaminated cases also. But who knows how that could possibly happen. Especially Starline, they’re usually pretty good.
 
Don_P said:
It sure doesn’t look like powder contaminated or otherwise.

I use a lot of H335 as it’s my best performing powder for both my bolt and AR 204’s and 223’s and I’ve never seen anything like that.
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Agree w/Don.
I'd pull bullets and gently dump out the powder, weigh it and then bang the cases to see if you get any brown stuff out and try to burn it.
I, to have burned a lot of H335 in .223's w/excellent results and that brown crud doesn't resemble H335.
Eagerly standing by to see your results. :unsure:
 
That stuff looks like foreign material. The shapes are different than the H335 which is a flattened spherical grain. I suspect it is polishing media that got stuck on the walls of the brass at the factory and affected your ammo.
 
Too late for any suggestions. I only had 238 grains of H335 left in that bottle, and I poured the pulled powder back in - shook it up - and reloaded it as 2 grains less than the original loading - then fired those while sighting-in after reattaching my Element scope after installing a new muzzle brake.

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I had an additional 50 new Starline cases that I dumped into my Hornady Vibrator. I loaded a video on youtube, not sure if the link will work as it may have to be approved @youtube?

 
Those contaminates look to me like case tumbler media. My guess is some got lodged in there. I often mix a little bit of turtle wax into my corn cob media to give extra shine to the cases. The turtle wax will sometimes form lumps that get stuck in cases like that.
 
I bought an 8 lb jug of H-335 a few months ago, and both loads I've tried - one in .223 and one in .30-30- have run unexpectedly hot. Both were middle-of-the-range loads from a reliable printed guide. My chrono told the story quickly - 3300+ with 64 grain bullets in the .223 and 2400+ with 150 grain in the .30-30. Primers were cratered although actions both opened easily. I pulled the remaining bullets from both lots and haven't gotten back to working further with it. I just chalked it up to a hotter than usual batch of powder and was resigned to having to start really low and work up loads carefully with this lot of powder. Doesn't sound like the same problem as the OPs, just same powder.
 
More Weird Powder
RifleShooter Magazine Article (2015)
IMR 4007 SSC Powder Recall
IMR Powder Company released a product safety warning and recall notice today concerning their IMR 4007 SSC sold in 1-pound and 8-pound containers.
Certain batches of this powder may have become unstable due to possible rapid deterioration.The use of these deteriorated batches may result in the spontaneous combustion of the powder, leading to fire damage and possible serious injury.
The deteriorated lot numbers are as follows: 10130139, 10131139, 10429139, 10430139, 80425139 and 80426139.
To safely dispose of the powder, fill the container with water, which will render the powder inert and allow for safe disposal.
IMR will send a replacement choice of any other IMR powder product to those affected by the recall. To get a replacement, mail, email or fax a copy of your powder label showing the lot number, along with your name, address, phone and email.
I followed these instructions, and IMR sent me 3 lbs. of IMR 4451, no charge - no shipping cost.
The sad part of this tale is that IMR 4007 was my most accurate powder used in loading my 6.5 CM. IMR discontinued producing 4007 powder, possibly due to this recall.

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Contaminated IMR 4007 Sized.jpg
Sierra 120 IMR 4007 42.3 grs..jpg
 
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