A Look at Gordon's Reloading Tool

Modeling software to experiment with cartridge, powder and bullet combinations during reloading isn't cheap -- and for good reason. There's a lot of work necessary to gather data and then accurately model the results. That said, there is a free option available to reloaders: Gordon's Reloading Tool, a community effort to replicate pricey reloading software like QuickLoad and provide results as reliable. Today the Redneck Preppy takes a quick look at GRT and decides whether it's of use to the average reloader.
Gordon's Reloading Tool - grtools.de/
The Redneck Preppy can also be found on Odysee: odysee.com/@TheRedneckPreppy
#reloading #gordonsreloadingtool #reloadingbench

[@TheRedneckPreppy]

Sad news for the reloading community. Gordon, of Gordon's Reloading Tool (GRT), passed away recently. My condolences to his family. He contributed a lot to the reloading community by shepherding an open-source reloading/modelling application that everyone could use and contribute to. You may wish to download the application in case it does disappear. You can find it at grtools.de/doku.php. No word on whether the project will continue under the hand of another person or team.

[@tgaylord2]

Thank you for a very good overview video of GRT! I’ll be downloading it today. Your video was just what I was looking for to get started.

[@TheRedneckPreppy]

Glad I could help!

[@Jeff_Seely]

Thanks for this video!

[@TheRedneckPreppy]

Glad it was helpful!

[@groggchetmiller4196]

Holy Cow!! You hit one outta the park with this one Mate! I've been looking at there site and I've downloaded the APP to my tablet so far and when I get over to the gun room I'll put it on the computer. I've looked at the Quick Load and just couldn't justify the cost, this however is definitely the ticket. Thanks brother great job as always. (BTW hit it out of the park is a baseball expression, not sure if you have that sport in Canada 😂)

[@TheRedneckPreppy]

Is baseball that game with the seed shaped football? I think we played it once in Downtown Canada :-) Thank you sir, very kind of you!

[@groggchetmiller4196]

@@TheRedneckPreppy no sir baseball is the game with two rackets and the little yellow fuzzy ball you hit back and forth... smart aleck lmbo 😂

[@Reset_Robot]

RIP Gordon :-(

[@TheRedneckPreppy]

How sad, I am sorry to hear that he's died. My condolences to his family.

[@Nachtjagerz]

Hello! I'm not sure if you can lend me a hand. I'm kind of new to handloading and started a couple of months ago. Due to a powder shortage, I've only recently been able to handload rifle ammo. I started with handguns, and everything went fine. Last weekend, I made some ammo for my .300 Win Mag using a 200gr bullet and IMR4350. I followed the recipe from Hodgdon Reloading, using 65 grains, which is the minimum charge. Everything went pretty well; I actually achieved a .400 group at 150 meters (I couldn't believe it). Upon inspecting the brass afterward, I noticed that the neck was kind of dirty, which I supposed is due to low pressure since I'm using the minimum charge. The thing is, I just downloaded this application. I'm now able to use the same 200gr bullet I actually have and not the generic one from Hodgdon Reloading. As soon as I enter the amount of powder, boom, I get the overpressure warning. Max pressure is set at 64,000 psi (the max pressure for .300 Win Mag). I'm kind of scared right now, not sure if I'm doing something wrong or if actually 65gr was too much. The thing is that Hodgdon Reloading goes up to 69gr. I'm getting a chronograph to start measuring the velocity. Using 65 gr, I should theoretically expect 2,700 fps and 53,900 PSI.

[@TheRedneckPreppy]

There is a lot to unpack in your comment and I'm not sure I can address all of it. Remember that Hodgdon's bullet isn't generic -- they're basing their results on the Nosler Partition. They also have a test set up based on a rifle with a specific barrel length. That said, I would personally doubt that would explain the discrepancy between the load data that Hodgdon is presenting and what GRT is telling you. I would caution you to remember, though, that GRT at the end of the day is modelling software and the results you're going to get is based on the quality of information you provide it, and the quality of the modeling of those components together. Tell you what, email me at [e-mail] and we can discuss this a bit further and perhaps figure out what's going on.

[@piwa1909]

Hello, take a look at GRT OBT and QL on Barrel Time😉

[@coreymerrill3257]

With the load variance , is the barrel length considered and is it the same as in the loading Manuel?

[@TheRedneckPreppy]

To be honest, I don't know if I checked against any manuals, but the algorithms it uses seem to take barrel length into account. At any rate, I change the barrel length in GRT for each firearm I load for so I haven't noticed any issues.

[@bretthl1]

I am using the Linux version on Ubuntu 20.04 without issues.

[@andreasgauckler3152]

You have to be careful, Gordon calculations not necessarily match QLoad calculations. E.g. a load with Win 748 in a 9.3x62 which would be totally safe with QLoad is already dangerously high with GRT. As mentioned in the video, some powder properties are not established as accurately. However, GRT also provides Gordon Trace which is supposed to work with RSI.

[@TheRedneckPreppy]

Exactly, why I always urge caution with modelling software!

[@plrodrig123]

Are the North American powders remodeled better in QuickLoad?.... meaning Hodgdon is willing to share its info with QuickLoad

[@TheRedneckPreppy]

To be honest I don't know. GRT was a relatively open book with how powders were modelled but QL doesn't say much about how its powders are modelled. That's not to say QL is bad, just that they don't talk about how their backend works.

[@Jeff_Seely]

I am really looking forward to getting my feet wet with this app. Thanks for the video upload!!! RIP Gordon🥹. May God bless your family and friends. Thank you for the legacy that you left behind here...

[@carlolgren3135]

Love the shirt

[@TheRedneckPreppy]

I think I've owned that one since 1993 :-)