Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Recommendations for a ball powder to use in .243?

I'm looking for recommendations for a good ball powder to use in a .243. Right now I'm using IMR 4831 and I love how it shoots. I'm getting sub moa groups, and with Hornady 95 grain SST bullets I'm shooting to the exact same POI as Winchester 100 grain power point ammo. I mean almost exact since both will hit in the bullseye. Federal 100 grain Powershoks hit about .5" low and Remington Core Lokts about 1" high. I love this because I can switch to factory ammo if I need to while out of town on a hunting trip, and I don't have to worry about it.

Now what I don't like about the IMR 4831 is it doesn't meter worth a crap. It's always done this for me, but I forgot how bad it was since I hadn't loaded any .243 in a while and I use ball powders for my other calibers. Now, I'm using a RCBS Uniflow powder measure and I weigh each and every charge. It's just something I like to do to make sure it's perfect. With the ball powders I use 95% of the time, it's perfect and every once in a while I will get one just .1 or .2 grains off from the others, but it's rare. It's really nice as I dump the power onto the scale to measure it and dump it in the case. This isn't what happens when using IMR4831. This thing seems to vary about .8-1 grain each throw. Sometimes it will be too much powder coming out, sometimes to little. I often find myself having to dump the powder back in the Uniflow and do another charge. I often find myself doing this 8-10 times before it comes out with the right about. When I have to do this 8-10 times to just load one bullet it takes forever to load anything. Took me well over an hour today just to charge 25 cases. This is a huge hassle, and I'm ready to get something that doesn't do this. Any advice for a similar performing powder, but that is a ball powder?

W760 is pretty close to IMR4831, regarding burn rate.

If you're not loading huge quantity, you might just get a powder trickler. Set your thrower about a half grain or so on the light side, and trickle them up to precise charge.

That's what I do with RL22 in my 30-06 loads. The measure tends to chop a fair amount of powder, and it seems to be a detriment to uniform throws.

I am getting good results with Ramshot Hunter in a .243, but have only tried it with the Sierra 85 HPBT so far. Tried Big Game as well with the same bullet and accuracy is good but isn't giving the velocities of Hunter.

Got a pressure series of 105 A-Maxes ready to take to the range tomorrow. I think Hunter will be better suited to the heavier weights in this chambering.

One thing about Ramshot powders is that they like to be run at top end. They can be giving real mediocre accuracy until you are right up close to max and then suddenly they start bug holing. Not all the time but I've seen this more often than not, so don't give up if the first few strings of a series don't look promising.

Even though nothing meters as well as ball powder, H4350 is an excellent fit for most any weight in the .243 from 70 grains right on up to 100. It can sometimes stick a little bit but overall it meters a lot better and more uniformly than the IMR4831 logs.

However, IMR4831 does give really excellent results in the .243. It has produced the best groups and speed of anything in several trials in the past, particularly with 100 grain bullets.

Like Montana Marine says, you can always throw light and then trickle up to the exact weight. It is obviously slower than straight throwing but if you only load 50 or so at a time it isn't that big of a pain.

According to Hodgdon's 2011 Annual Manual on page 69, Winchester uses Supreme 780, a spherical powder, in the .243, .270, and .300 Winchester magnum factory loads.

h414?

AA 2700, and H-4831SC for 100 gr 243.

Swifty

Win 760, H414, AA2700 all are about the same burning rate, great in 243

I'd try some H4350 or RE-15 as they meter very well through my uni-flow powder measure.

I'm kinda fond of Hodgdon's old H-450 in the .243. Its burning rate mirrors H4831, but in a ball powder. In the heavier bullets over 85 grs, it gives superb velocities. I believe it may be the same powder as the equally old WW-780BR.

I didn't have a trickler for a long time after I started loading, I just used a small bowl and a plastic spoon. Set the measure just a tad light, throw the charge into the scale pan, scoop a few grains on the spoon and gently shake into the pan until it balances. Also easy enough to scoop some out if the thrown charge was over.

Dale

Supreme 780 meters great, and gives excellent results with the 95gr. BT's and partitions in my .243 Vanguard. I get velocities around 3100 with no pressure signs, and bughole accuracy.

Have had results in the 243AI with H414 in weights from 55-85. Burn rate is close to 4350 and hodgdon lists top velocities with it. It doesn't get much ballsier than H414 but if I didn't have an 8 lb jug I would be trying either ramshot's hunter or big game first.

You gotta give Accurate Magpro a try.

It's a ball powder and it has been spectacular in every cartridge I've tried it in.
Incredible velocities, superb accuracy, and spectacular metering.

Accurate lists 47.5gr of Magpro behind a 100gr Speer SBT gets 3107 out of a 24" tube.
They also list 53.7gr behind a 85gr Sierra HPBT getting 3510.

Berger shows 49.5gr with a 90gr VLD getting 3128.
Berger also shows 48gr behind the 95gr VLD getting 3030.

Magpro has quickly become my favorite powder.

Hunter

another vote for H 414..

others work just as well, but since H 414 works so well, I have had no reason to try the others..

real light bullets, 55, 58, 60, 64, grainers, H 380 is a little faster and as accurate if not moreso..

Use H-4350, use a good powder thrower (I use a redding BR) and stop weighing each charge. I dump all my .243 loads, and they consistantly shoot sub moa. I don't let a scale confuse how a load will perform on paper.

I could not agree more.

H-414 or W 760