Unbelievable! -How Humidity Affects Load Development

[@allenbournes4697]

Bolt Action Reloader- this is a brilliant study. I salute your dedication to the sport!!

[@BoltActionReloading]

Glad you appreciate it.

[@matthewspeller]

I live on an island in Canada where it's typically 100% humidity for a lot of the year. You've just found why I have to cram so much "extra" powder into a case to get anywhere near a published velocity. Dude. Thank you.

[@demitrisolvinski]

A week? It's been 4 months and this video still haunts me. Working up a sub-zero hunting round when it's 90 and humid ain't easy. This information gives me power. You're awesome!

[@sf2189]

Great video, My main takeaway is that it’s probably worth the effort to keep the reloading room’s environment as stable as possible through out the year. Especially if you live somewhere with wild swings - I myself am in a nose bleeds in the winter, cant breath humid in the summer. Definitely will pay more attention. Quickload is amazing - its great developing hot loads until you enter what happens if its 105 degrees outside (which it gets to on some occasions here) and how you are at kill yourself pressures (or at best damage your gun). I now look for stable lower velocity nodes (to an extent) - longer barrel life and less to worry about in different climates. Really is a very good piece of software to run what ifs.

[@balazra]

I reload on hot dry days. 35+c or 95+f. Humidity below 30%. I reload max length, and then adjust to correct seating depth prior to shooting. I’ve kept a sd of 9 and ed of 12 for the last 2years with all check tests I’ve done. I once reloaded in winter when it was 10c and 60% humidity and had an sd of 26 and ed of 34 for the exact same load powder weight, primer, case and projectile lot. Now I pretty much load everything for the year in the 2-3 months that is optimal to reload in my area.

[@Dwayne7834]

Thanks for sharing. I never thought about this change in the weight due to humidity. But have wondered quite a bit about humidity affect on my reloads.

[@danieldillon6005]

This explains a lot with my reloads seeing as I live next to a river

[@bmstylee]

Is it in a van down by the river?

[@danieldillon6005]

@@bmstylee gotta save for components m9

[@bmstylee]

@John Doe it's hard to tell which is worse. The Simpsons or SNL. Both are awful.

[@TubeDobs]

"I got my standard eye roll" said so seriously, this is hilarious!

[@TheOutdoorGeneralist]

Great, we needed another variable to worry about. Thanks a lot. 😂 For real though, great info. I believe you just sold me a hygrometer to keep in my powder closet.

[@BoltActionReloading]

That is exactly how I felt. I am not going to start loosing my mind over it, but I am going to lay attention and see what happens.

[@savagereloader6699]

This is actually quite reasonably explains why the load I developed in the summer suddenly had a velocity jump of 70 fps in winter from the fact of the furnace running all the time in -30

[@ewetho]

MoparMadman just WOW! Keep up the great work Bolt Action Reloading!!! That is mind blowing!!!

[@reaford2004]

Agreed. Very good

[@BoltActionReloading]

Thanks Big E! Yeah I couldn't believe it changes this much. I was thinking I've got me some temp insensitive powder, nothing to worry. Turns out I need to add another entry to my reloading manual.

[@AgileK9TopDog]

I thought you were going to check effect of ambient humidity. This is even more interesting. Great video!

[@BoltActionReloading]

I couldn't think of a better way to illustrate the subject with the thumbnail. My guess is most people think that it can't change this much. Turns out we don't know what we don't know. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@johanloock9690]

Great content! Wow!!! Thanks for your effort and for sharing.

[@1973ajohn]

I got the exact same results over the last few weeks. 80-100 FPS with the same charge. 2888 FPS one day and 2950 the next. Then 2810 the next. Thought humidity was the answer. Hodgedon told me I was crazy and the charge was too high. 41.3 H4350 - 41.8 H4350. Thanks for the video. Superior AZ. 15%-30% RH. pressure about 30. Temps from 51-70 degrees.

[@stubs80x11]

What the f...! Nice video! Would be interested to see if any difference in ammo with some age. Does it stay as loaded, does it get more or less extreme. Are primers affected, or affected differently? Soo many questions! Lol. Good work!

[@BoltActionReloading]

Hi Adam, I have these same questions. I need to find some well aged test subjects and think up a plan maybe.

[@paulnelson7384]

Storage of your powder and primers is a question that reloaders have been asking for years. I use 30mm and 40 mm ammo cans to store powder and primers. People question storage as it is un-safe due to not meeting SAMMI recommendations. I have seen powders that have changed enough to lock up a bolt gun during a prairie dog hunt. Case was ruined and bolt needed a block of wood and hammer to open. Think of how you store your powder and primers.

[@benjones5799]

yep, this makes perfect sense. I measured the velocity of the factory ammo I had and it was getting around 3050fps, and with an equivalent charge/weight, was getting around 2900fps. I live in a very humid area (60-80%). The longer I leave the powder, the lower the speed I get out of the same load. Thanks for the vid. Time to figure out how to mitigate this!

[@unclenick222]

BAR, If you pick up a copy of Norma's 2013 hardbound manual, vol.2 (vol.1 was their 2004 manual), pages 112 through 121 detail first the RH vs moisture content in a chart on p. 113, then the following pages have velocity and pressure change due to RH plotted for every rifle powder in their line. An additional piece of information in that manual that people would not expect to be true is that even the moisture content of powder inside loaded cartridges will equilibrate to match the RH of the storage RH over a period of about a year. Water molecules are about as small as molecules get, so a surface that looks highly polished to the naked eye can still have scuffs and scratches that look like valleys to water molecules. Water vapor transmission rates of polymers and tar are finite, so even sealed cartridges will do this, but it will take a little longer. How much longer, I can't say, but from having worked with material with these properties, I can tell you it will be a lot less difference than folks might suppose. The sealant will keep liquid water out because of its surface tension, but water vapor still gets through over time. Because of the above, the common practice for folks with emergency ammo of keeping it in a sealed container with a desiccant is a really bad idea. If the ammo is at all warm, to begin with, as some military 7.62 I've purchased in the past has been, it could easily get to primer-blowing, head-expanding, and sticky-bolt-lift-causing pressures if stored that way. The bottom line for controlling humidity influence is to load and store your ammo in fairly constant RH conditions at home. Don't store it in a different RH somewhere else or it will change. When you take it out of the controlled environment, put your leftover rounds back into that environment as soon as practical. You'll be ok taking it out for a month for travel, but if you need to haul the ammo around for longer than that, a sealant is a little protection, but an ammo box with an intact seal and some humidity controlling materials like your cigar humidifiers inside with it would be a good idea. Incidentally, load data for manuals are developed with the powder from factory storage conditions. Norma says they ship powder that has been kept in 50-60% RH, so that's what their load data will correspond to. Hodgdon told me their storage humidity long ago, and IIRC, it was 70%, but call them to ask in case I've forgotten. My humidity conditions at home are usually in the 60-70% range, and rather than compensate in QL, I usually figure my storage is not different enough to exceed normal lot-to-lot burn rate variation and that I'm going to have to work the load up anyway, so I do that either at home or outdoors when the humidity is in the right range. I have been known to do range workup using a precision powder measure (the JDS QuickMeasure in my case) as that's easier than setting up a wind shielding box for a portable scale. Aftward, at home, I find out what charge weight I ended up with.

[@jeffhuntley2921]

I keep a little desiccant packet in my mtm boxes. I’m not sure its still a good idea but so far everything has still gone bang. Good info!

[@brutalbob3982]

In the 70's-90's I hunted Africa a number of times. I usually loaded my ammunition the preceding summer at the hottest time I could as winter loaded ammunition could end up with sticky bolts and pierced primers at times. I learned then what this video is about now. Great food for thought. Keep the videos coming.

[@mgrenell]

I would imagine humidity affects primers as well!

[@allenshepard7992]

Interesting question. If so, do primers and powder have a preferred humidity?

[@novicereloader]

As a beginner to reloading in an arid environment, I think it will be a while before I get to a point where I can split hairs this much, but this was very interesting.

[@CanadianRedneck15]

Interesting test, thanks for taking the time. BTW, I get that "standard eyeroll" frequently too. :)

[@duggydo]

I think you should take some from normal to HH and then to LH to see what happens. If going through the full cycle brings it back to the original LH velocities or has it been chemically altered would be good to know.

[@BoltActionReloading]

There are some forums where "supposedly" they have some unique (the name of the pistol powder) that the store in water and fry out a sample every now and then. I don't advocate for this, but who knows.

[@paulh32042]

Yeah, would be nice to know if this was a chronic degradation problem or an acute moisture content variable. Would definitely contribute to my storage practices and ordering volumes.

[@planeurable]

thanks , very interesting. Wish i could experiment and document more in my benchrest practice sessions : i preload vials in my - more or less- humidity stable workshop : i preload several charge weights for my ppc inN133 . I suspect my vials are not airtight , and anyway , droping the vial in a pan and then in the funnel with a long drop tube probably allows powder to match local air humidity. in some ranges the reloading area is a small open barn on the slope of a wood/grass area , on other ranges we reload in a huge concrete bunker where the air characteristics evolve much less over the day , but generally we start damp in the morning and dryer in the afternoon and sometimes endup very dry before damping again on ten latches day . My vials were weighed to 2/100 grn in a stable environment. I compete with most shooter who now use Chargemaster that have a .20 grn weight amplitude ( they dont acurately weigh , trickle or substract) , in a constantly evolving air . I wish i could read flags better .

[@mikew2024]

Excellent work! Very valuable info for the precision shooting community... the powder manufacturers have somewhat addressed the temperature sensitivity problem... now they should address the humidity sensitivity problem as well.

[@BoltActionReloading]

Thanks Mike, I hope some find it valuable. Certainly something to consider and keep track of.

[@michaelhoughtaling9889]

Interesting, to say the least, but a lot to digest in one video. I need to watch this one a few times to get a grasp on all the information presented...lol. Funny you brought this topic up as I have been wondering about some of the same things myself. I have been stocking up on powder, primers, etc. and looking into how to best store them for long term use. I'm interested in how humidity can effect primers. I reached out to both Hodgdon and Federal asking for advise and got pretty generic answers...both said store away from direct UV light and in controlled environments with regard to temperature and humidity. Please keep up the research on the topic...love what you do! 👍

[@blindboyjonny]

So this is where all the primers and powder are going… LOL

[@BoltActionReloading]

Hi Mike, there is a lot to unpack. I struggle when I make videos like this cause I don't want to loose the audience, but also want to give the needed background to understand the concept. So far the average viewer only watched 56% of it so its not my best work, but I am sure that some are interested in the information.

[@thetexasrat]

@@BoltActionReloading I watch a lot of your videos all the way through, being they are packed with such great information, but being they are done in a faceless monotone way they can be really hard to sit through. Add a face, and liven it up a little (perhaps shoot a few watermelons) and you'll find more people hanging in for the duration. A good example would be Demolition Ranch. But for sure, you being you is better than nothing at all for sure, as you are one of the few that really gets to the nitty gritty of reloading 101. And so I'd like to thank you for all have and will do!

[@wildcat_reloading]

Also speaking as a geologist now and not a reloader, water tend to have a radical influence on most systems especially when we are are looking at thermodynamic properties and reactions

[@blckandwhtknight]

Lol at the eye roll remark. Been there

[@tarded400]

I switched to small primer brass and shot some loads but saw a 100 fps drop so I added another grain of powder to get it back. Those rounds sat for several months before I sent them. When I did I was popping primers and velocity jumped up way over the original load. Good to know I wasn't crazy. You should do this same test with loaded, unsealed rounds

[@steffen707-]

Does the humidity inside a seated cartridge also change when it's shot in a hotter/colder climate?

[@vinconco]

Great video at exactly the right time for me. I just experienced a drop from 2750 fps to 2618 fps all things being equal except the humidity in my NON climate controlled reloading room. I suspected this was the cause but in 50 years I never heard it discussed one time. My next question is how did KZbin know to plant this vid in my feed......?

[@worksonjunk]

As always great work. Be interesting to see if this gets better with higher temps or worse. I wont be sleeping for a week after this one

[@BoltActionReloading]

Hi Matt, I'm not really sure that temp is playing much of a factor, but I really didn't test that. This is certainly going to stay in the back of my mind for a little while.

[@mattfleming86]

WOW. My degree is chemistry, so this does not surprise me- however I not once accounted for this in practice and the effects are even more than I wouldnhave imagined. I only remove powder from cans when it is time to charge and immediately put it back. This data alone tells me to watch for spikes/drops in RH and maybe I should just avoid loading on those days. It might also be time to move my powder stash to a more humidity controlled area. At least that way I can know -about- where it was when dispensed. Any way to examine a few different new/unopened bottles of powder to see what the internal humidity at room temp is "as packaged"? That would be a great benchmark to use in order to figure out which days should be reserved for case prep. I also imagine flake/ball powder would be MUCH more susceptible to moisture content changes. Also does anyone have any information about the powder itself as far as how hygroscopic it is relatively?

[@BoltActionReloading]

Hi Matt, I largely feel the same way, lots of questions. This was only intended to be a crude test, and I feel it answered the question that I wanted to. Can't say I like the answer.

[@toddb930]

I've suspected humidity might have an affect on my loads for the same reason you mentioned. My thought was that humidity affected the weight of the powder and therefore when the powder was weighed for each cartridge the actual amount of powder could be different. Are these statements correct? 1. You measured out the same powder charge for all cartridges and put the powder in the case and seated the bullet. 2. You put one third of these cartridges in a double zip-loc with dehumidifier. 3. You put one third of these cartridges in a double zip-loc with humidity capsules. 4. The remaining one third of the cartridges were exposed to room conditions. 5. The cartridges were left this way for four days 6. One of the cartridges from each group was disassembled and the powder charge was weighed. 7. The remaining cartridges were fired for grouping and velocity.

[@JacksonMalcolm]

I believe litz and Amil talked about this a little on the Modern day sniper podcast. It's well worth considering and thank you for doing some of the foot work!

[@JacksonMalcolm]

Also they talk about the primer not being a perfect seal.

[@raymondmichael3077]

Important info, especially for pistol ammo where you reload just for fun up close blasting ammo and might have the powder sitting in the hopper for long low humidity winter months, especially if you were near max to begin with; or up close rifle blasting ammo for that matter.

[@tucobenedicto1780]

So THAT'S how I'm gonna conserve powder during this crisis. Dry it out. So I can use less grains...

[@chris3383]

great info !! i wonder if humidity does the simular effects to primers ???

[@BoltActionReloading]

Thanks Chris, glad you enjoyed it. My gut tells me yes but maybe not as drastic? Not really sure.

[@michaelajero2409]

I also think that humidity levels at the time of reloading or how the powder is stored does create another factor to consider. I’ve seen wild swings in velocity during the summer humid months where I live and I was confused why. I think that if your powder storage is consistent and the temp of the room is considered in the data, you will have a better idea of performance. But that is going beyond what I can deal with. My reloading room is very hot and humid in the summer and dry in the winter. So best I can do is load only when in somewhat similar conditions during a season. I can’t take time to control the environment where I reload so I am at the mercy of it. Best one can do is keep data on how a high humid load performs vs low humid load and maybe use that. But controlling powder density just seems way beyond what I am willing to do. I am wondering if the people that measure by volume are keeping data of how much that charge weighs at and if they see the fluctuations. If so, then can they just say that load is on the high or low side of their measured load

[@BoltActionReloading]

HI Mike, I am not as much suggesting that you must control the humidity level in your reloading area as being aware of it. For now its another entry in my reloading log to keep track of. My SD/ES were still acceptable with low and room levels, just wondering if the SDs go to crap with the "wet" levels or just a bad spit when the load shifted so drastically.

[@ron4hunting]

i always thought this myself . i did find out tempeture and altitude affect loads . and one load very badly ! that load was safe in the middle of a michigan winter . moved to tennessee and just over a yr latter i used the same load , same jug of powder , same batch of primers ect . in a hot tennessee summer i got suck cases bigtime !had to beat them out of the same gun ! a s&w 629 .

[@conservativesniperhunter7439]

I like to store my powders in an old chest freezer that no longer works rather than in a cupboard or ammo box . It’s a so a good idea to put the lid back on your powder container as soon as you pour out the amount of powder you need .

[@brian5397]

I've been told powder should be stored in something wooden and not air tight so it burns instead of exploding if you have a house fire. Not sure but something you might want to think about?

[@conservativesniperhunter7439]

@@brian5397 Copy that . I don’t keep the chest freezer locked 🔐 up for that very reason. I once saw a thick walled safe stored with smokeless powder bow out during a house fire . Luckily it didn’t blow the door right off and injure anyone.

[@tyler6147]

Emil Praslick and Bryan Litz discussed this on the Everyday Sniper Podcast. It's quite interesting.

[@AlecksACe]

How can I find the link?

[@tyler6147]

@@AlecksACe The powers that be at YT won't let me post a link. Google The Everyday Sniper.

[@ebenfourie9057]

Tyler, which episode of the podcast pls ?

[@AlecksACe]

@@ebenfourie9057 I've started listening from the first one :)))))

[@martingagnon4547]

That was in the No BS BC series of podcast from Berger, presented by Everyday sniper podcast. You'll have to look for there, can't remember the exact one. It was discussed but not presented like this... Mind blowing!

[@neilharris4462]

Amazing stuff.... I wonder now, though if you load all the ammo in one condition, will storing that ammo in different humidity before shooting has an effect. If not, it would be wise to find some way (dehumidifier) to set up a constant humidity for our reloading area.

[@hdmungeryt]

Doh...didn't see your comment before asking basically the same question...

[@tyler6147]

My hypothesis is going to be yes. It will depend on how you store it and for how long you store it. If I load up ammo and then move to Arizona performance will change based on environmental factors while actually shooting but also the underlying load will slightly change too. It will just take longer for it to happen. In that hypothetical situation if I loaded mine and moved to Arizona and set them on a shelf for six months it would change some I think. Ammo isn't sealed unless you actually seal it with something.

[@neilharris4462]

I'm not sure that humidity will effect the loaded ammo as its sealed. Humidity does effect performance AS you fire it though. But I think if you were to load the ammo all in one humidity level and then store it in the various conditions and fire them all on the same day it should all be equal. (At least I hope)

[@tyler6147]

@@neilharris4462 I disagree. Way back when someone in WW2 found out that we needed to seal ammo with a secondary glue to keep humidity out of it once it was in the South Pacific. If humidity can get in, it can get out.

[@tyler6147]

@@neilharris4462 That said ingress is a slow process. Same would be true for if you stored unsealed ammo in a really dry environment.

[@kingropplebopplesoppy2634]

Just a thought regarding humidity control in your reloading room. Although I can't really see much of your reloading room it appears that the back wall of your room is an unsealed concrete wall. If you have a lot of unsealed concrete in your room(walls and floors) it can vary in humidity pretty easily as concrete is very porous and will both take in and give off humidity fairly easy. Lot's of basement reloading rooms out there

[@neonjoe6180]

glad I load in a controlled environment, I still keep a temp/humidity meter in my line of site,I'm aware.keep em small 😊😊

[@blindboyjonny]

I am now wondering under what conditions the powder is placed into the containers. Obviously, we want to maintain some sort of stability while the powder is open and being dispensed. I think that the short term of the lid being off and a lid on the powder dump or powder make sure would have negligible affects. The other long-term effect is that there was typically an acetone chemical in the powders that will off gas if left exposed to standard humidity for some time. Great video, unfortunately it offers more questions than answers. Thanks for all you do.

[@BoltActionReloading]

I have seen where manufactures say between 40-50%RH. I assume this may be more for static electricity reasons than storage, but maybe both.

[@esw2348]

One big company (VV) recommends storing products at 68 degrees F and 55-65% RH

[@matts2581]

Excellent subject that has been on my mind. :D

[@ryanburnham1932]

From a safety aspect I would be interested to know humidity affects actual chamber pressure. I live in a low humidity area so if I load near max pressure based on the charts grain weight am I over-pressurizing my rifle and by how much.

[@houtzyboy2]

HOLY CRAP! I understand that these levels are at extremes, but like you said, 4350 is very stable. At these kind of extremes, especially with a less stable powder, if someone were to work up a load at higher humidity and the powder dries over time, or maybe they travel across the country for a competition. This has the possiblity for someone to put themselves into the forever sleep box!

[@30Huckleberry]

If powders have been in a humid environment (garage), do you think if they will improve if they are stored in an air tight container with a descant and the powder lid open?

[@BoltActionReloading]

I don't really have a recommendation yet. I think that if they are stored in a "40-50% humidify environment, they may stabilize back to where they were. I am not really sure how hard powder holds onto the moisture.

[@jimgilligan396]

Thanks so much! I have a new excuse. I’ve seen my velocity change 100fps and could only wonder why.

[@hdmungeryt]

My question from this is this: If you store your components is a room with a constant humidity and temperature, load your rounds in that same room, and then store the loaded rounds in the same room until you pack up to go to the range, how long of an exposure to a higher/lower humidity level FOR A LOADED ROUND is necessary to cause a change?

[@BoltActionReloading]

I think this is largely a factor of the moisture content of the powder when you get it, and what it hopefully stabilizes to. This test is crude to illustrate the point, but it may even vary bases on powder type etc. I just thought the data was crazy and some would enjoy the info.

[@hdmungeryt]

Something else that comes to mind, is the times I have wet tumbled my brass, drained it and then blew them out with air, before immediately loading them again. I probably should be more diligent about getting the cases good and dry before I prime and drop powder loads...I see a trip to HF/Amazon to get an inexpensive dehydrator in my future.

[@greendodge98]

I have always kept a descant packet in my powders when I open them.

[@craigmyers5569]

Great idea and I may start after watching this. My reloading room is the garage so not great to start with.

[@Finnbearl61r]

You shouldn’t dry out your powder like that which this videos shows. Bare in mind that different powders would react very differently and it will increase your burn rate drastically. Instead you should control the environment the powder and reloaded rounds are stored in.

[@ronboe6325]

Now there will be a run on hollow base bullets with desiccant packs built in...... :^) On a serious note, water has a pretty high work function, so possibly the extra moisture is absorbing heat energy in the combustion process robbing it of energy that could be used to push the bullet. Just a WAG.

[@kassiemyburgh1864]

Man........for crying out loud........seems we should be investing more in humidity control measures than 0.1gr accuracy scales............appreciate the effort and sharing of your info. Thank you.

[@farklefuster6876]

I only load pistol rounds and weights each powder load to within plus or minus.1 grain. I have found that humidity does effect powder flow. Seems like higher humidity lets the powder flow more freely. I am constantly dumping heavier loads when the humidity is higher. Have no idea of velocity. I live within eighty miles of the gulf coast.

[@allenshepard7992]

Only three days for the change. Here on the east coast a thunderstorm can change the humidity for more than a day. I assume the humidity slows the powder burn. Question: would reducing the charge of low humidity powder bring velocity & barrel harmonics back to a small group ? Or do powders have a preferred humidity?

[@chuckfinley3152]

There is going to be a run on desiccant packs now that primers and powder are dropping again lol

[@tinncan]

I've thought about taping some desiccant packs to the lid of some of my powders... The little foam paper seals are pretty crap.

[@1917jmb]

I’ve actually been doing this for the last couple of years. Problem is, I’ve never actually measured what the humidity level is inside the containers before or after. I’m gonna have to check this :-)

[@Adcomb]

You don't want to dry your powders out either though, be careful with that

[@Thoseaboutto911]

Have you done a temperature change velocity video? Also would Weighting powder charges the day your shooting make more consistent??

[@tomspiridigliozzi239]

Wow I had a similar thought that humidity was a factor... so after seeing this I took steps to keep my powder and primers good and dry. I loaded up my usual fairly tame .308 load and all of a sudden I'm over pressured. So basically all my load data is out the window and I've got to start ladder testing to compensate for the dry components. Be careful folks

[@mmpiforall5913]

I was wondering about shooting thru humid air outside at long distances, there's gotta be something there too!

[@BoltActionReloading]

This is something that a ballistic solver will help you with. I was mostly trying to illustrate the affect on powder storage. Since it seems no one is paying attention to it, it can't make that much difference can it? Turns out it can.

[@wildcat_reloading]

Well im guessing it will affect the primers to 1 degree or another

[@joedrouin6957]

Good experiment .... I'd be curious to see if you if you dispensed a group of charges, allowed them to all be exposed to the high humidity and resulting weight increase ... if you could then take some and put them into an environment with the desiccant and reduce their relative humidity back to a dryer level and as a result increase their velocities over the wetter group. Basically rejuvenating the powder charges that had been allowed to become moist. Who knows, maybe we'll all be storing our powder in hermetically sealed humidity controlled cabinets from now on ....

[@knutpohl339]

I think the dessicated experiment already shows that the process is easily reversible and you can draw moisture out of powder

[@Thoseaboutto911]

What about use of products like MARKRON CUSTOM BULLET AND PRIMER SEALER? If you seal the cartridge , will it shoot the same year round?

[@mus1970]

@4:26 Hmm, so I'm not the only one on the receiving end of eye rolls when talking about Really Neccessary Stuff that should be getting delivered in the next few days :) Nice test though, thanks for sharing!

[@dsarcy]

It would be interesting to the effect on loaded ammo as well the powder being dispensed after being exposed given the change in weight.

[@savagereloader6699]

Just want to say: big thumbs up on this video!

[@rollinmckim4719]

You've just added ANOTHER variable to why my exciting day at the range with some new loads, bullets and seating depths was SUCH a bummer......thanks a lot. Seriously, I had not been behaving with my powder storage, my ES was pathetic, and now I have something new to try. My plan is to stick my powder in the oven for half an hour to dry it out good, before loading. Just kidding. But I DO wonder why my ES is so disparate if I load all my bullets with the same humidity powder at the same time???

[@BoltActionReloading]

What powder/ cartridge are you loading for?

[@donaldwallace5700]

maybe our wives are related. My wife calls my reloading equipment and supplies as "Bullet $hit", usually accompanied with an eye roll.

[@DTWCT]

lmao I get the same thing except it's "gun shit"

[@dinoc.5537]

Just wait, if they take any interest in shooting at all, their gear will be better than yours, and when their girlfriends jump in, you will now have to load for all of them too.... When the ball rolls forward, sometimes you have to factor for sons and daughters too... The best job you will ever have. Carpe Diem!

[@blackcreekoutlawspa344]

I live in se PA n in my reloading room I try an stay around 50%RH give or take 5 dehumidifier in summer an humidifier in winter. Powder tops cracked. It seems to help

[@cwm34]

What may be interesting would be groups of nine rounds fired from three rounds from each of the three different humidity levels. Would they result in a vertical string like you may expect? For those of us with less constant environments loading date may be a factor to keep tabs of.

[@moanamason2454]

This is a description of average humidity here in NZ. Humidity is commonly between 70 and 80 per cent in coastal areas and is about 10 per cent lower inland. It varies inversely as the temperature, falling to a minimum in the early afternoon when temperature is highest and frequently lying between 90 and 100 per cent during clear nights. Thanks for the video mate.

[@BoltActionReloading]

I feel for you guys that live in places that have crazy fluctuations. Not sure how to compensate for it or how long it takes to drift from one extreme or another. I mostly wanted to see if it was something that truly mattered. Personally I would have preferred another answer.

[@TexasTrained]

I understand all this and gave considered and checked it previously. But the big question for me us just how much does the bullets change sitting there loaded waiting to be shot for a North or more since most people dont load up the ammo the say they are going to shoot.Especially hunters. No target shooters may load them the day or night prior to going to the range. With that being said I've shoot 270 bullets I found in the garage thatvwas in a tool box when I unloaded my welding rig truck when I sold it after retiring and it shot great.Hit 1 inch BULLSEYE at 100 and 2 hundred yards.So with all this info it's hard to wrap my head around a solid answer as to how or if we can truly remede this problem. What do you think the answer is?

[@BoltActionReloading]

Hi trey, This is just a preliminary test. It will require some addition testing. At shorter distances you are not going to see the velocity variance as much as you would at much longer distances.

[@TexasTrained]

@@BoltActionReloading Oh.Okay.I was shooting at just two distances..100 yards and at 600 yarda. It is intersting though.Thank you

[@tjarmand]

i have wondered for years about this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@1917jmb]

And by the way, that was a great video! I’m gonna have to take a look at this

[@BoltActionReloading]

Hi Scott, Glad you enjoyed it. I am guessing this has played a role in many a reloader scratching their head to wonder what happened.

[@ls2005019227]

Excellent content/info! Great....so now, we discover that the consistency of our loads, is not merely about barrel/bullets/powder/primer/cases, but also relative to the environmental consistency of our homes [loading areas]. Since the relativity is much more important than the absolute values; maybe it's time to consider looking for a cave to move into-

[@tyler6147]

This is also another reason not to copy someone else's load data. Someone that lives in the mountains of Utah will get different results especially in comparison if you live in Florida.

[@BoltActionReloading]

Exactly. I wonder if a few peoples struggles with temp fluctuation has had a humidity variable that was not considered. WE can talk about only loading when the Humidity is correct, but if your gong to the range we are going to load it if we need it.

[@michaeldvorak5556]

I always assumed powder will absorb moisture, and this could affect both the measured weight and burn rate of your charges. So I would assume that maintaining a humidity level during your reloading, you will have a better result. I currently don't reload, but plan too. So, this is only my unsupported opinion.

[@geekay269]

the smartest talking hand i've ever watched :)

[@shawnpowell5499]

Holy crap!! Thank you !! My basement reloading room is getting a mini fridge and with a small dehumidifier. Wonder if this is the cause of lot to lot variances in powder. Are you in Ohio by chance?

[@BoltActionReloading]

Hi Shawn, glad you find the content useful. I am in Ohio.

[@shawnpowell5499]

@@BoltActionReloading in one of your vids, you stated reloading supplies were getting low and you showed a pic of empty store shelves, it looked like a pic of Fin Feather an Fur

[@alexreifschneider6709]

So after reloading with low humidity, how long will it take for the powder to absorb more moisture? Good for, a week a month, a year? I see more testing.

[@BoltActionReloading]

Hi Alex, This is basically scratching he surface. I really wanted to see if it matters at all, turns out it does. I was hoping for the opposite to be honest. I have seen plenty of posts that say it doesn't, turn out you can't believe everything you read on the internet. :)

[@mouaffacambriss1953]

excellent work

[@BoltActionReloading]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ncoonrod]

I asked Hodgdon if any of the chemicals added to control burn rate would likely be absorbed by silica gel. Still waiting for a reply. Have you tried "rehydrating" powder that has been dried out by the desiccant to see if it returns to normal pressures and velocity?

[@brian5397]

Makes you wonder what the humidity is like in the ammo factories throughout the year?🧐

[@failure2flinch876]

in regard to Volume and Humidity, just about everything grows in volume as it absorbs moisture. So humidity will effect those reloaders who use that method of powder measure also.

[@hdmungeryt]

If the volume of the powder does indeed grow as it absorbs humidity, then I would think that the volumetric method of powder throwing would be totally unsuitable. If the volume increases with humidity then it would throw an even less energetic charge due to reducing the amount of an already less energetic powder.

[@steffen707-]

With that much swing in pressure levels, I'm assuming your charge weight "node" is thrown out the window?

[@michaelsvadlenak7560]

Could vacuum storage be effective to mitigate humidity?

[@anthonykhalil70]

Very interesting. Great info thx.

[@BoltActionReloading]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@clarkrab2134]

Very Interesting data. Maybe I missed something, but it seems you didn’t include a control group that was composed of powder straight out of the bottle and immediately seating bullets. This assumes powder will be left in the hopper in your reloading room. What is your expected velocity of this load when not left out?

[@BoltActionReloading]

this is what the room units were. They were only exposed long enough to drop the powder charge. Now it was around 3 hours probably cause this is not the only loads I loaded this day, but this would have been my normal process. Fill chargemaster dispense everything then seat.

[@R1j0hn]

Any chance on a test covering HOW POWDER AGE AFFECTS LOAD DEVELOPMENT ❓ I have some IMR 4064 that was opened 4+ yrs ago / IMR 4350 opened 3+ yrs ago / Varget opened 3+ yrs ago, but all put away with the original seal under the lid... It was all stored in my reloading / computer room, which was always ~20 deg C (~70 F) and very dry (0-15 % Hum on average).

[@mikecollins8241]

I'm currently sitting on several dozen rounds, in various charge weights, for 4 different cartridges/ rifles, that I simply don't see the point in testing... the temperatures here (Nebraska) has been in the high 90's to 100+, and humidity levels between 50-99%. Not even close to what I'm expecting to see during hunting season, and I don't feel like wasting components!

[@falba1492]

For those of us that live in South Florida, we are fully aware of how humidity effects powder. Most of the year our humidity is at or near 100%. But…our homes are all air conditioned, and I’m the only idiot in my neighborhood that keeps the windows open in the winter. A/C is on for just about everyone else 24/7, no kidding. But when I reload on cooler days in the winter (72°F), I turn on the A/C to lower the humidity. I only add enough power to my RCBC ChargeMaster for what I’m loading, and never let the powder sit in the machine after I’m finished. The old timer benchrest guys in the 90’s would tell me to only reload in an air conditioned area, and not in the garage.

[@1917jmb]

One thing I wasn’t clear on, did you leave the loads in the baggies etc. with the bullets seated or not seated so the powder was exposed?

[@BoltActionReloading]

Powder was exposed. (except for the room units) I mention seating the projectiles the night before the test. They were in that condition for 4-5 days before seating.

[@1917jmb]

Thanks

[@wildcat_reloading]

I would like to help maby right this down as a full blown scientific article

[@Thoseaboutto911]

I would like to see the same test done with a Powder meter - if you have time?

[@alanlittle990]

I basically agree with what you are saying and I don't mean to be condescending, but Relative Humidity (RH) is basically a useless term, since it changes in relation to the air dry bulb temperature. With same amount moisture present, as the temperature (dry bulb) decreases the relative humidity increases and vice versa. With air at a wet bulb of 55 degrees and an air temperature (dry bulb) of 100, the relative humidity is 22.5%, but with the same amount of moisture present and with an air temperature (dry bulb) of 55, the relative humidity is 100%. The true indicators of how much moisture is present are related to wet bulb, dewpoint, grains of moisture/lb of dry air, etc.

[@daviddale3624]

Time for an air tight plexiglass cabinet where one can set the relative humidity and expose the powder appropriately to get the desired result.

[@BoltActionReloading]

I'm in for one, sign me up.