Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Just starting rifle reloading - please recommend me some powders to start with

I've got my reloading bench finally built and the basic reloading gear mostly purchased, and it is now time for me to start thinking about buying the actual reloading components - powder, primers, brass, bullets. I will be reloading for 223 Rem, 25-06AI, 264 Win Mag, 26 Nosler, and 300 Win Mag. I know each cartridge will mostly do best with its own particular type of powders, so I am not expecting a one-powder-for-everything. But, there are a bewildering number of powders available. I am just wanting one or two suggestions on where to start. Can anyone recommend one or two powders for each cartridge that people generally have good luck with?

I am not asking for reloading recipes, just what powders to buy. Although I am happy to listen if anyone has any good starting formulas to suggest.



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Buy a Lyman 50th and see what it says. And if you use a certain bullet maker (Nosler, for instance) buy their book. The info you seek will be there.

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle

Look around on this site for powders that have good velocity for your chosen bullet/cartridge .

Hogd 4831sc , imr 8133 , would do well in all but the 223 .

Stick with powders that resist temperature swings the two above should be good .

Nice reloading space -congrats -good luck with your new hobby !!

CFE223, Benchmark, Varget, H335 and many others work in the 223.

Ol Mike gives you some good advice.

In my 25-06's I'm using IMR 7977 and the 110 gr Nosler Accubond LR

In my 264 WM I'm using the 142 AB LR and RL 33

I found H1000 and 180 gr bullets to work well in the 300 WM

RL 33, though not as temperature insensitive as some other powders, should work well in the 26 Nosler and maybe even the 300. I've also read where folks have used Retumbo in these larger capacity cases and it should work in your 25-06AI as well.

This hobby will swallow up that very nice reloading area you have in a short amount of time. Enjoy the process. KEY TO IT ALL = READ SEVERAL DIFFERENT BOOKS ON THE ART OF RELOADING AND DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK!

In the vernacular of "Big Stick" This is all you need for the 223, HINT:

Benchmark and TAC both work great for .223 (and they both meter nicely), and I'll bet you could do really well with Re26 for the rest of them. You may want to get more specific with your powder selection, though.

A lot of good advise on highly versatile powders in this thread:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...most-versitile-rifle-powder#Post13660973


You load everything on your list with H-4895 and H-4831, or course those two may not be optimum in everything.

For light weight blasting ammo in the .223, H335's a good answer.

Heavier bullets int he 25-06 and .264 Win mag will want a slower powder, such as H1000 for Imr-7828.

I use a 5-powder set for nearly everything in terms of big game loads (in order from fastest burning to slowest):
H4895 (service rifle)
AR-COMP (slightly slower service rifle, GREAT in straight walls)
RL-16 ("fast" magnum 4350 burn rate range)
RL-23 ("slow" magnum 4831 burn rate range)
Retumbo ("slower" magnum)

All are temp stable, and it's highly likely that for nearly any big game rifle application one of them will be the fastest temp stable option. Some of these are newer powders wit sparse data, which doesn't bother me but may be an issue for a new reloader.

The advice of just starting with H4895 and H4381 is not bad They're not perfect for many applications, but one or the other won't totally suck for nearly any hunting rifle application.

The above is good advice, and I should have added that I do have the Lyman 50th, and, for example, for the .223 Rem with 55 gn bullet, alone, Lyman shows 17 different powders, with one powder, Varget, identified as "potentially most accurate." I've ordered Varget, but I am thinking it would be good to have one or two more likely good options on hand.

.223 Rem = CFE223 and Varget

25-06AI = H1000 and H4381SC

264 Win Mag = Retumbo and H1000

26 Nosler = Retumbo

300 Win Mag = Retumbo, H1000 and H4831SC


Considerations: Close to Max Velocities, Reasonable Pressures, Temperature Stability, and use in multiple cartridges in your list.

Perfect! Thanks!

If your .223 is a 1-8” or 1-10” try 26.5 grains of Benchmark with a 50 grain V-Max or Nosler Ballistic Tips. It’s max so work up. I get great accuracy at 3400 FPS muzzle velocity.

If your rifle is a Tikka, the COAL is 2.276”.



P

I would peruse the loading manuals and then check to see what local sources have in stock. I have been loading most of those cartridges with R16 and R26 because they work well and I am well stocked with them. The 223 you already have several good suggestions. The Nosler 869 or one of the surplus 87* series powders either 870 or 872 from Bartlett or other outlet. I would try to narrow it down to three or maybe four powders at first and get those in 8lb jugs.

I might add, I find Ramshot Magnum to work as well as Retumbo in high volume/pressure cartridges. It meters very well and is very dense, so you do not run out of room in the brass before hitting max velocity.

I use magnum in the 264 to make 3300 fps with a 130 gr accubond.

H1000 works for me in the 7MM STW w/ 160s. And I use H4831 w/ 120s in the 25-06 and 130s in the 270.

I have not gotten around to trying any of the IMR Enduron powders, though I hear really good things about them.

I was going to suggest CFE223 and H1000 before I saw this reply. That is if you want to start with just a couple of powders, those two will probably be your best bets for the rounds mentioned. You’ll find that as the loading infatuation grows so will your powder stash so I’d start out with just those two at first. Otherwise you’ll end up with several pounds of some you never use, as I know all too well.

Especially if you like old school powder fouling and temperature sensitivity.

My guess is that I shoot more than you do, and the internet myths about fouling and temperature aren't a factor.

You probably shoot more 223 than I do. Does that mean what I observed while shooting thousands (instead of your tens of thousands) of them did not occur?

I didn't say that you didn't observe anything, I just said it isn't a factor. You wouldn't believe the stuff I hit with those dirty hot barrels...

Yes, it's temp sensitive, and yes, I believe the stuff you hit with it.

I have done quite well using H4895 for rifle and Hodgdon Universal for pistol for nearly everything I load.

H4895 won't be the best for everything, but it will at least be on the list of published data on the Hodgdon site.

These aren't the only powders I load, but they're the ones I usually start with.

What are the twist rates of your barrels and what weight of bullet for each cartridge do you plan to use?

Based on comments from here and other sources, this is what I got, at least, so far.





Azar - I’ll measure barrels and report back.




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P.m. MULE DEER and buy these two books by MULE DEER" John Barsness " Gun Gack 1 & 2, MULE DEER has alot of experience in hand loading with many cartridges and different brand rifles too.

that first pic frightened me...........

223........

Benchmark.........IMR8208........H4895.......H335.......VV133

Me too just a little, but at least his air vent wasn't blocked.

That air vent is the key to the whole operation.

223...........

always have a bottle of Blue Dot on hand !

Already got Mr. Barsness' two volumes, and yes, they are great.

For the .25-06 I've had excellent results with Norma 204, MRP and VV N165. Norma 204 is my primary with the .25-06 and I stick with 100gr NBTs.

I'm still futzing around with the .223, but so far H-335 is okay, RS Xterminator shows promise as does TAC.









And lots of Sierra 40gr Varminters.