Range Report 21SEP2024: Testing Hazard-Style Compressed Powder Cartridges

I took my shiny new Hazard compressed-powder cartridges to the range today intending to do a deep-dive analysis of their ballistics.  Unfortunately, a strong gust of wind lifted my chronograph off the ground and broke the tripod, so I couldn’t do much muzzle velocity testing.  I got five good readings before the tripod died, as shown below.  These are Hazard compressed-powder charges with .44-caliber Johnston & Dow bullets and varnished with two heavy coats of a 2:1 mixture of acetone and nitrocellulose glue.  They were made with 25 grains of Swiss 3F powder.  Compare this to my previous results with paper cartridges using a comparable load, which had an average MV of over 800 fps.

1. 499
2. 429
3. 440
4. 313
5. 477
Average: 2,158/5= 432 fps with a spread of 186 fps.

My current thinking is that the heavy layer of varnish may have slowed the combustion and thus reduced the MV, or else the compression of the powder means that the individual grains can’t deflagrate as fast as loose powder, again, thus reducing the MV.  I also made a batch using precisely the same load but varnished with two thinner layers of clear nail polish, which isn’t as thick as the nitrocellulose mixture, and had hoped to see if that made any difference in MV, but obviously the equipment prevented me from being able to determine that.  I shot those in Table of Fire Two.

Next time, I will take three sets, one with the nitrocellulose varnish, one with the clear nail polish, and one with no varnish at all.  By comparing them with a fresh batch of paper cartridges the answer should be clear.

Both batches shot fairly well given that the revolver is an Uberti Colt New Model Army, which is significantly less accurate than my Pietta Remington NMA, but I usually get a string test of around 2 to 2.5 in./rd. with a similar load in paper cartridges.  All rounds were shot standing offhand at 15 yards using a 6:00 hold.  There are only five shots in Table of Fire Two because one of the cartridges was damaged.  Note:  Ubertis suck.

The cartridges were a joy to load since they don’t put any material on the heel of the bullet and thus fit better into the chambers than paper cartridges which have a layer of paper on the heel.

Table of Fire One: Nitrocellulose Varnish
String: 13.25 in.
Rounds: 6
String Test: 2.21 in./rd.
(The blue tape marks hits from a range neighbor who wasn’t paying attention.)

Table of Fire Two: Clear Nail Polish
String: 15.5 in.
Rounds: 5
String Test: 3.1 in./rd.
(Note the red X—that was a burn mark from an unknown source, not a bullet hole.)

I also tested both .44- and .36-caliber skin cartridges, but honestly, they performed no differently from paper cartridges. I will write more about them when I can include MV results, but suffice it to say they are also very easy to load and fire.