By Jim Waddell
They are being marketed as LT-32 and LT-30. These two powders were released to the public during the past two years and both have already won several benchrest matches proving they are performing exactly as planned.
Taking from Western’s website, they are described as a benchrest grade, Light Target, hence the LT designation. Both powders are double based, extruded and very fine grained so they will meter well in powder measures, similar to ball or spherical powders.
These numbers are made using a proprietary, two-step coating process. LT-32 came out first and was specifically targeted for the 6mm PPC benchrest crowd. Western claims it offers outstanding accuracy in varmint applications and tactical ones as well. In both the .223 Remington and the .308 Winchester, LT-32 has given excellent results.
World-class shooter, Lou Murdica shows off a bottle of LT-32, the powder he helped create.
LT-30 has a slightly faster burn rate than LT-32. While it was still being developed, LT-30 won several matches and has already set a world record with a group shot by Lou Murdica. This powder was designed with the .30 BR in mind but I can attest it has a broader application than just that caliber.
I put LT-32 through the paces several months ago. I started with a .222 Remington. Using Winchester once fired brass, I assembled a myriad of loads using CCI Benchrest and Remington 7 ½ primers. Bullets used were Hornady V-Max, Sierra Blitzking and Nosler, both the Ballistic Tip and the Varmageddon. All weighed 40 grains.
None of the loads tried were bad. I shot several 5 shot groups and even a few 10 shot groups starting at 20 grains and stopping at 22.5 grains. More often than not powder weights below maximum are more accurate and this theory held true in this test. All bullets shot very well and none of the 5 shot groups measured over ¾ inch.
Two loads stood out above the rest. The first was 21 grains of LT-32 behind the 40 grain Sierra Blitzking using the Remington primer. According to load data supplied by Western Powders, the muzzle velocity is approximately 3250 fps. This five-shot group measured .6 inch.
The second and best load was 21.5 grains with Nosler’s 40 grain Varmageddon and the CCI BR-4 primer. This load grouped .4 inch with five shots. As is usually the case with me, I wasn’t able to duplicate these groups exactly but using the same two loads and shooting several more groups, I kept them well under MOA.
The .222 rifle I used in this test and that with LT-30 has a Sako receiver. I had it re-barreled last year with a Pac-Nor custom stainless, sporter-weight, 26 inches long with a 1 in 12 twist.
I thought I should try LT-32 in the .221 Fireball. Results were okay but not great. This powder, although it will work in this caliber is probably a bit on the slow side. I did get a couple of five-shot groups under an inch but not consistently.
With a Savage Model 110 in .223 Remington, again I tried the aforementioned 40 grain bullets. This rifle has consistently shot 40 and 50 grain bullets equally well and LT-32 was up to the task, it shot really well with both weights.
Data shows the .204 Ruger should also do well with this powder. Having traded off the Ruger 77 I had in that caliber, I talked a buddy at the local gun club into trying some in his. After loading and shooting 20 rounds or so he said he didn’t like it. He couldn’t get any groups to shoot tighter than two inches. As our conversation progressed, he admitted he wasn’t getting any of his loads to shoot well. His rifle was a Remington 700 heavy barrel he bought used and has no idea how much it had been shot before he bought it. He also admitted that the last time it had a thorough barrel cleaning, Congress was functional.
Next it was time to try some LT-30. I obtained data for both the .221 Fireball and the .222 Remington. Starting with the deuce, I worked up 60 loads for testing, using the same 40 grain bullets I tested with LT-32.
Most all of the loads tested were satisfactory by my standards. By far most of them were right at MOA. A couple 5 shot groups exceeded that and were close to 1 ½ inches. That said, using CCI’s benchrest primer (CCI BR-4) and with the Sierra 40 grain Blitzking 20.5 grains produced a circular cluster measuring .6. Concerned this was another anomaly, I concocted 15 more of that loading and shot them into three more five-shot groups. They measured .8, .6 and .9 respectively. That load got entered into my permanent data file for this rifle.
Now it was time for LT-30 in the .221 Fireball. All things considered, expectations were high with this combination. I was not disappointed. My existing number one load for the Fireball is 19 grains of A1680 with the 40 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip. My concern for the past year was being able to find enough A1680 to last awhile in the varmint fields. In January I located an 8 lb jug at a gun show in Sacramento.
With LT-30, over half the loadings I tried in the fireball with several bullets, matched the performance of A1680, a few of them beat it in accuracy. In addition, LT-30 gets the nod for slightly higher velocity with the same weight bullet.
My Remington 700 with a fluted, sporter barrel seems to prefer Nosler’s Varmageddon bullet. I was getting consistent half-inch groups with the tipped, flat-based version, with several different charge weights of LT-30. A bonus is it doesn’t seem to care which primer I use. Remington 7 ½ and the CCI benchrest both worked very well and the point of aim didn’t change when I switched primers.
One particular 10 shot group measured .9 inch. There were two flyers in this group but 8 shots were in .4 inch. See photo.
My next experiment will be with the 6mm Remington and I anxiously anticipate favorable results as that rifle has proven to be a shooter also.
I’ll close by saying if these two powders were all I could lay my hands on for my .22 centerfires, I would not be one bit disappointed. As for all that extra 1680 on hand, well, that’s a good problem to have.
Jim Waddell is a retired law enforcement officer and graduate of the FBI National Academy. In his nearly 40 years of service he worked for two sheriff’s departments and was a chief of police. Jim is a firearms instructor and competed in many statewide pistol matches. He lives in central California where he grows almonds.