Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles New powders

So I'm long in the tooth, and opinionated. But lately I've changed my favorite powders.
New powders, to me that I'm very pleased with, include:
TAC (1st, best new powder for me) similar to IMR 4064 in burn rate, but EASY to load and is my goto powder in several cartridges. Highest velocity in several cartridges.
RE26, (in fact a bunch of Ramshot powders)
H4350 slowly replacing IMR 4350 due to temp sensitivity.
H4831sc replaced H4831 100% due to ease of loading and can put more powder in the case. (H4831, IMR4350, and H4895 were my first three favorite powders - H4895 is still a favorite.


What say you what are your new powders.

I am liking Re16 in the .30-06, at least initially. I may try it in another cartridge or two before long. Same goes for Re26, looking good in the .280 Remington. One you just don't hear about is LT32 which has given stunning results in my old 788 in .222, but I need to play with it some more...it's been on the back burner a couple of years now. I'm liking Accurate 4100 in .44 Mag and I think it will be great in .41 and .357 as well. Back in the day it would have been IMR4350, H4831, Hercules 2400, and H322 or H4198. Things are a-changin, though, and for the better I think.

Love all the RL series of powders. H4831 is a frustrating powder for me. I can get acceptable accuracy in many loads, but some of the most anemic velocities I've ever seen. Agree 100% on your views concerning H4350.

Good stuff guys. How do you feel about the new powders with copper fouling reducers in it????

Marketng I have read there are a good number of propellants out there that have the same or very similar properties in terms of reducing copper fouling. I would love to have a bore scope for the smaller 17 calibers that happen to be amongst my favorite varmint calibers to verify with some trial & documented results.

Looking forward to giving CFE BLK a run in the 17 FB, 17HH and we will see what else.

BTW marketing is working:)

I still use a lot of IMR 4350, the young guys in my lease say that's an old mans powder. I'm using Reloader 22 in my 300 Win mag and 270 Wby. I'm gonna try the 22 in my 7 rem mags. IMR 4350 has been so accurate, it's hard to change.

New powders are like fishing lures. They entice fishermen to BUY new baits. It's hard to fix something that's not broken. I've tried and will try on occasion new powders. But I will mainly stick with the ones that have worked for years. Hasbeen

Despite the marketing garbage from Hodgy, they aren't new. The French discovered that Tin compounds will keep them at bay, around 1900. General Dynamics added Bismuth compounds a bit more than a decade ago, for the military and their "green" ammo. The original tin cleaners have been in 748, 760/414/2700 for at least the 50 years worth of MSDSI have, that's why they produced the "heavy fouling" everyone cried about, until Hodgy began marketing it heavily now suddenly it's vogue.

As far as liking "IMR 4064", since last fall, Hodgdon changed suppliers once again without a PSA. The one pound bottles are still coming from General Dynamics, although they totally revamped that plant and how it works. But the 8# bottles are now coming from Rhinemetal. So just because the marketing name you know still exists, it isn't the same thing.

7977 and RL 33 have become some of my favorite 'new' powders. Both are giving excellent velocity and accuracy. Fairly temp insensitive in the rifles I'm using them in.

I used to use IMR 4350 and H4831 in all my guns.
Now my guns are all different and with smaller capacities. I use RL 17 , IMR 8208xbr, and now RL26. for my using guns.

I do have older stocks of some powders not in Vogue. and load them in plinking loads where applicable.

My 7x57 is the lone exception. as it does it's best with H414, Reloader 22 and IMR 4831.

Another new favorite of mine in recent years comes with no load date to speak of in the caliber I favor. Yet a number of guys over in the 65grendel fourm like this propellant for upper end velocities for the Grendel.

My experiences concur with what I have read on the Grendel fourm. Velocities far exceeding my expectations with 123 & 129 grain projectiles. Now the guys on the hoard are using this propellant generally in a AR platform and I am working with a bolt action.Seems to be working very well in both from my experience and what I have seen on the forum.

A number of us have contacted hodgdon about the use of this propellant in the 6.5 Grendel and we are told that the propellant is to slow for the Grendel. This propellant is only suitable for the 30-30 and a few other niche cartridges. Sorry I beg to differ. Seen some really good prices on this propellent recently. Supply & demand come in to play from my perspective.

If Hodgdon were able to offer a little more extensive load data I am sure the sales for this powder would be doing much better competing with the likes of accurate 2520 & AR- comp. Ar-comp the data may not help there cause much as the lever will not compete with the extreme spread or temp stability. Yet when it comes to velocity I feel LVR is king in my 6.5 Grendel with still respectable consistency for the extreme spread.

Would like to se some hard data as to why LVR is not suitable for the 6.5 Grendel. Now I may agree, that this does not work well for all bullet weights, though I have done well with 100 gr TSX 123 gr SST, 125gr partition & 129 gr Inner lock & I am sure more will follow like the Nosler 123 gr custom competition.

I used lever revolution in a .243 with 55 gr bullets and it worked fine. No load data available , but it worked and was accurate enough for a plinking load.....

In my 264 WM I like Ramshot Magnum for the 127 Barnes 127 LRX and RL-33 for the Berger 140's. I use RL-17 in the 30-06 with 200 grain and up bullets. I have RL-26 to try in Wife's 270 Win.

I have a current post about this post very thing. I am trying to consolidate 6mm, 260 and 270 into a single powder. In the past I used Imr4350 for most and H4831sc for heavier bullets. I got suckered in to the IMR 4451 sensationalism and began trying to move everything to it.

Imagine my surprise when my first loads weren't all single holers!

I have chipped away and so far my 270 love the new powder for my 140's of choice. This weekend I got it to shoot as good or better in my 6mm with the 100 grain bullets of choice. It is very promising with the 85 hpbt's too.


So....two down- a 260Rem to go.

Because they are a surplus reseller.
For decades now everyone in the game has known that above roughly 45,000psi, Copper crushers are inaccurate; like reporting 20,000+psi swings for the same load inaccurate.
... Well skip on over to Hodgy's Reloading page and what do you find??? Awful lot of CUP data.

Your complaint about LVR in the Grendel, is no different than Superformance in the Creed. Hodgy tells you (call them) that Supr has no fit and it's dangerous in the Creed. Hornady has had data for it for a long time, why? Dave Emary, was a powder designer for General Dynamics before going to Hornady. Dave knows what he designed, even if Hodgdon doesn't know what they bought.

I'm like you. I like to play around with different powder-bullet combinations, but I usually end up sticking with the ones that have worked for me over a long period of time.