Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles If you could only have just one powder what would it be?

Your favorite do-all powder? No powder will do it all from 17 - 50 cal. I know that. The majority of us, at least I think, have chosen a certain niche in our shooting. Some I know do a wide variety and couldn't function with just one.

For me, my loading currently consists of .243, .280Rem (x 2), 7mm Rem Mag, 30-06, and 300 Win Mag. Nothing terribly eclectic about that collection I know. The 45-70s of the world and the like hold no fascination for me. No real need or want for a .17 or .204, and not much more of either for a .224, though its not unlikely I will one day purchase one. Used to own a .338 and one day likely will again. The 35 Whelen and 375H&H hold a little fascination for me as well.

If I had to choose one powder my choice would be Reloader 19. I know it wouldn't do for the 35 or 375. But from .243-.338 it will work wonderfully. I have good loads for all of my current cartridges with R-19. Its perfect in '06 sized cases as well as belted mags for all but the heaviest bullets, and it will work with them too.

My vote for my do all rifle powder: Reloader-19. A tie for a close second place would be R-22 and VV-N160.

Iwould think H4350 would be in the top 5 for each of those calibres.

Basically...you're correct. In fact, I expect to see a lot of people answer 4350. For many years it was the "standard" powder of most all that shoot guns chambered for '06 case rounds and belted magnums. Whenever my father gets a new gun in the .243-.338 range...invariably he'll begin his loading with H4350. I took some of his loads from when I was a kid and started playing with R-19 and R-22...and whatever he could do with 4350, I could better with R-19 or R-22 velocity wise, and almost always find an accurate load as well.

In fact I think Id put H4350 as #3 on my list.

Your orginal question was what if I could have only one powder so I would have to answer it the same way as one of those ifs about only one cartridge etc.

I would select 3031 as it will do it all. Now if you asked what powder I would take at $0.60 a pound it would be 4831 as I would use a lot of it.

I'll step up for H4350. Am loading for .280, 7x57, 25-06, and starting a 6.5x55 project and mom's .243 this summer as well.

Prefer 4831 in the 25, am playing with it in the 280 too, but if I had to have one for all ... the H4350 will get the nod.

Note that us yanks have to contend with temperature sensitivity (Opening day temperatures have varied between 3 below and 70 above over the last few years).

h4831sc

IMR 3031

RL-15

I'm an H380 fan. Throwing charges instead of metering them saves lots of time and I don't see a big difference in the velocities. I use Benchmark at the low end (.223) and Re19 for my .375 H&H although Hodgdon list H380 loads for my 6mm up through my .375.

I could Rule The World with Re-15.......................

RL22.

H4350

H4350 (.243, 7mm-08, 30-Govt'O6)

Hodgdon's H-4350SC.

Steve

For the rifles i load for i could live in comfort with IMR 7828.

All but two of the rifles I regularly shoot would work excellent with RL-15..............

IMR 4350 for 22-250,243,7mm-08,7x57,30-338,340

I shoot '15 in 223,223AI,224Wby,22-250,22-250AI,Swift,CHeetah,243,243AI,6mm,6mmAI,25-284,25-06,7-08,284Win,7Shamu,308 and 375 and 375H&H AI.

Off the top of my head.........................

Stick, you gotta love that list! And I was worried about getting too much overlap......

In my .204s, 6mm, .260 Rem, 6mm 30-30 AI, 22-250, 22250AI and several others...........