Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters H4350 v IMR4350

Thanks, Jim!

That's good to hear. Any particular bullet weights in your 25-06 AI that prefer the 7977?

Ed

Been using the light weight stuff so far Ed.

85 grain Balistic tips and 90 grain BlitzKings.

I was going to try some 8133 when it comes out too.

Speer's new data for the 7x57 shows a lot of data using Alliant powders, one of which is Power Pro 4000. Has anyone used that and, if so, what are your thoughts?

65BR,

142 ABLR

Which loads do you still use IMR in John?

I had a very accurate out of the box Savage model 11 in 6.5 Creed until a girl I go to church with talked me out of it for a deer rifle. After trying several loads with it including H4350, it exhibited superior accuracy with Varget and either 120 Barnes or 123 Scenar. I load for a .243 Savage 10 with a 22 inch barrel that seems to produce better accuracy and speed with IMR vs. H in 4350. The .243 is my daughters deer hunting rifle and is always loaded with Nosler partition 100 grain.

I think that would be a good GIRL gun.


Jerry

Quit compensating Jerry.

m m

I just can't resist an open door to gig someone. I can't help myself.

Jerry

Re16 has proven to be a good substitute for the 4350s. My 30-06 loves the stuff under a 180. In general, I haven't acheived the same accuracy with the new Enduron powders as I did with the standard H series. I managed to squirrel away 10 lbs of H4350. I also have a good quantity of Re 16 as well. I start with those 2 in that burn rate. Usually one or the other, sometimes both, produce MOA or better.

I know, I poke a little fun all the time too.

bellydeep,

Mainly I still use IMR4350 with 300-grain bullets in the .375 H&H. My Mark X .375 was the first rifle I took to Africa, over a quarter of a century ago. It really liked IMR4350 with 300 Partitions back then, and still does now. Have tried a bunch of other powders, from Varget and RL-15 to Big Game, H4350 and Hunter, but none have outperformed IMR4350 in accuracy, velocity and temperature-resistance in that particular application.

Have also yet to encounter a 7mm Remington Magnum that doesn't really shoot well with IMR4350 and 150-grain bullets.

Not using it for the ‘06 though?

And how is it for temp stability in the 7mm?

Thanks a heap, John. About the time I've gotten all my IMR and H 4350 loads all figured out, you say there's some new and better powders.

We need to call for hearings, and I am convinced you're colluding.


Rant over, now what would you think about 4451 for my 7X57/7X57Rs and my 8X57/8X57Rs? Low pressures are especially important in the rimmed loadings.

bellydeep,

Haven't tested it for temp-stability in the 7mm RM, because I don't hunt with it. Instead it's a rifle I'm obligated to own because of being a gun writer: Since the 7mm Remington Magnum is so popular, I have to have one on hand to try stuff out.

While I have hunted some with the round, have never been crazy about it, and in fact have ended up eventually selling all my previous 7mm RM's. Got this one because it appeared on a local gun-store's rack at such a cheap price I couldn't pass it up, and the rifle shot well enough to keep for testing. But I may just send it down the road too, because I rarely get questions on loading the 7mm RM anymore.

One thing I noticed here in Montana was when the WSM's appeared, a BUNCH of used 7mm RM's showed up on the used racks. When I asked the guys at Capital Sports & Western Wear about 'em, they said the 7RM's were just about all trade-ins on WSM's.

That's not happening as much anymore, but what I have seen is a lot of former 7RM fans are either going to larger-caliber magnums, whether the .300 Winchester or various beltless magnums, or smaller cartridges that don't kick as much, whether older rounds like the .270 or newer ones like the 6.5 Creedmoor. Plus, the generation of hunters that bought 7mm RM's by the zillions from the 1960's through 1980's is dying off, and today there's far more cartridge-competition out there.

Bruce,

I don't know if IMR4451 is "better" than H4350, though it does include a decoppering agent, and is double-based so a little more velocity is possible, at least theoretically. But it can be found and purchased far more easily than H4350.

I don't have a 7x57R or 8x57R, but 4451 works fine in my 6.5x57R drilling, which you're so familiar with. I was using H4350, but as with all my other rifles where H4350 had become the standard powder over the past 20 years, I eventually had to load some more ammo, and 4451 worked great, producing the same accuracy and velocity with basically the same powder charge. It's not that IMR4451 is superior to H4350, but its THERE.

During the Obama shortages I grew REALLY weary during the "shortages" of having to be constantly on the lookout for rimfire ammo and centerfire components that had suddenly become scarce, whether in local stores or on the Internet. I did stock up a lot of stuff when it appeared, to the point where I rarely buy anything these days, but some stuff remained scarce even after Trump was elected, including .17 Mach 2 ammo and H4350.

I solved the .17 Mach 2 problem by selling my rifle to an eastern tree squirrel hunter: To him a brick of ammo is several years' supply, not just one day of shooting ground squirrels in Montana. By then .17 M2 ammo wasn't half the price of .17 HMR's, where it started out, but close to the same price, IF you could find it. So I zzlso simplified my life by selling the M2 and buying .17 HMR's when they went on sale. They kill gophers just as well as .17 M2s...

I do have enough H4350 left to include it in handloading articles, but for regular use in all our rifles (including Eileen's .243) IMR4451 is now the standard, because it made life considerably simpler.

John, generally IMR 4350 has been available when the Hodgdon powder has not. Is there a reason you went with 4451 over it?

Thanks

Mike

I've slowly made the change to H4350, but will never be without good ol IMR4350. As for trying IMR4451, tempting, but every time I go to sportsman's warehouse, I look at it and see the price tag. Nope, not paying over $30.00 for a pound of powder. Sorry JB, not doing it, no matter how hot and heavy you promote it... They also don't sell 4451 here locally, but IMR4350 is plentiful and H4350 can be had at the LGS from time to time..

4451 is more temperature-resistant than IMR4350 in most applications, and is a "short-cut" powder, so dispenses more easily and accurately from mechanical powder measure--both of which were the primary reasons I switched from IMR4350 not long after H4350 appeared.

I also had some 4451 on hand soon after the Enduron powders were introduced, thanks to Hodgdon, and found essentially the same charges as H4350 produced essentially the same results.

Got it; thanks