When I first started hunting with a smokepole over 20 years ago we were told by the gun manufacturers, powder manufacturers, etc. that loads were to be measured by volume and not weight.
It seemed to me at the time that taking a load measured by volume and then weighing it to establish the equivalent load by weight would be the way to go to get consistent loads as opposed to pouring the powder into a powder measure and then striking off the top.
I then read a book on the subject that stated that blackpowder and blackpowder substitutes were inherently inefficient and due to this the slight variations in powder were of no concern and weighing the charges was therefore of no benefit. This was written before the advancement in powders (i.e. 777 & then Blackhorn 209) I believe.
So to this day based on what I read I am still just using a powder measure, tapping 10 times, and then striking off the top to obtain (hopefully) consistent loads.
Has anyone done a comparison between loads measured by volume and those measured by weight and obtained any empirical data via chronograph, group size, etc.?
Loads by volume have worked well for me over the years but it seems like a lot of guys on here are weighing their loads so it has sparked my curiosity on maybe rethinking my procedures…
Thanks,
Horniac