Alliant Reloder 17 Ships in Late July

Alliant Powder, a division of Alliant Tech Systems Inc., (ATK), has confirmed that the new Reloder 17 powder will ship out later this month. This is definite. The powder is going out to distributors within 2 to 3 weeks. Alliant had originally intended to start shipping Reloder 17 by mid-April, but there were some production-line delays relating to packaging. Reloder 17 is made in Switzerland by NitroChemie and Alliant had to make some modifications to its production line to be compatible with NitroChemie’s bulk powder containers.

We are very excited about the new Swiss-made Reloder 17 for Alliant. It is a high-energy powder with a burn rate close to IMR 4350, and “midway between Reloder 15 and Reloder 19.” The powder density is optimized for the short magnum cases such as the 7mm WSM and 300 WSM, but it also will work very well with cartridges such as .243 Win, .270 Win, 6XC, and 6mm Remington, according to Alliant Product Manager Dick Quesenberry.

Reloder 17 features an advanced, penetrant-type kernel coating. Alliant believes this is superior to typical surface powder coatings because it provides a more consistent, progressive burn. The powder pressures do not spike as sharply as with surface-coated powders, but remain more consistent throughout the burning process.

Mr. Quesenberry noted that Alliant tested many formulations, from a variety of makers, before choosing the Swiss-made Reloder 17. Alliant’s new RL17 is NOT the same as Norma URP, produced by Bofors in Europe. According to Alliant, the new Reloder 17 tested superior to URP (and most other powders in that burn range) in all major criteria: Velocity, Accuracy, ES/SD, material consistency, and resistance to ambient temperature-induced pressure changes.

The new RL17 will be offered in 1-lb. and 5-lb. containers and will cost about the same as other Alliant Reloder powders, such as RL15 and RL19.