Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Can't find IMR4350 so switching to H4350

Never as far as killing something.

History is a great teacher if you will learn from it. In this case look at what Hodgdon 's have done with many IMR branded powders in the last 15 years. Imr-4350 will follow 4320 ,4759 ,4756,pb, 7625 it's toast waiting to happen. I can't even imagine going to 1 powder for everything I shoot " mentality "nothing optimal just sorta ok but then why even bother with 3 different cartridges? Maybe the op needs to just get down to whatever he can borrow from his relatives?

Yes H4350 is a far superior powder. It's possible a given shooter might not care about temp stability if they either only take very short shots or only shoot in one weather condition. For everone else, temp stability is important and H4350 is MUCH beter than IMR4350.

Thanks to barrel timing, accuracy will also vary with temperature when shooting unstable powders.

I agree.

I quit buying the IMR version some time ago, have a big jug of H-4350.

DF

Well yeah Guys....

I don't care if anyone thinks its much better than IMRs... IMR's have never let me down, or given any problems when it was hot out at the range, or
when it was cold during hunting.... to include down around zero...

so it still boils down to preference...

and no one is wrong if Hodgdon/ADI is their choice, and neither is my choice of sticking with IMR powders... 4350 or any other one...

As a general comment, I keep both IMR4350 and H4350 on hand. (Used to also keep A4350, but my batch turned out to be one of those recalled a year or so ago.) I do this because when I write an article about various loads, many readers are interested in both powders.

Here are some things I've noticed:

IMR4350 is indeed somewhat more temperature-sensitive than H4350, but a lot depends on the specific application--as well as the primer. I have been using the same charge of IMR4350 in my .375 H&H with 300-grain bullets for around 30 years, both because it shoots very well, but because when I tested it in very cold and hot weather it proved to be very consistent. This isn't always the case with IMR4350, but there it is....

When I did test the last lot I had of A4350 against IMR4350 and H4350, the Accurate version was closer to H4831 in burn-rate. Don't know if that's always the case, but it was in this instance.

The last two pounds of IMR4350 I purchased, maybe 3 years ago from a local store, have "short-cut" granules. Did they run out of IMR4350 and substitute H4350, or is this a new development? Dunno.

Might also add that one reason I've been writing about temp-sensitivity for a while now is that Montana, where I was born, raised and still live, has the widest recorded variation in temperatures of ANY of the United States. Which is probably why I have seen temperature affect handload performance a number of times over the years.

If you live where temperatures don't vary as much then it probably won't--unless you happen to hunt somewhere else. One thing I've noticed during a LOT of handload chronographing since buying my first chrono in 1979 is that just about any modern smokeless powder won't vary much in velocity in Fahrenheit temperatures from the 20s to the 80s.

A little proof testing will settle the question for the particular rifle in the test. If the POI doesn't shift then it doesn't shift, whichever powder is involved.

i just checked a 2014 batch of IMR4350 labeled made in Canada. It does appear to have shorter granules than what I remember from the metal can DuPont days.

These are REALLY short. Might post a photo....

Interesting. I have some I4350 from the 70's I could measure and compare them.

Has anyone had decent luck with AA4350 ??? I know where a bunch is at.

I've used A4350 in .243W with Hornady 100gr SPs. I loaded it for a time in two .243s. Very accurate out of these rifles, only reason I didn't continue using it was spotty availability.

If I didn't have quite a load of H4350 I would have bought some that's been showing up online lately.

AND- ....how is it working out Hanco.

Thanks for all who responded. I know it 'may' sound unusual to try and use 1 powder for 3 different chamberings but getting at or under an inch for each this way must mean I am a hell of a lot better reloader than Magnum Bob.

Options have been a bit limited of late for us all but I am feeling good about the idea of H4350 right now. Especially if it is available. I bet others have had to go to prior loads or switch for lack of component.

AND- ....how is it working out Hanco?. .


Options have been a bit limited of late for us all but I am now feeling pumped about the idea of H4350, especially if I can find more. I bet others have had to go to prior loads or switch for lack of component. [/quote]


I applaud te MSNBC type quote there Bob.. I especially love the " nothing optimal just ok" part you presumed to add. As for borrowing from relatives.......really added to the conversation.

I get three different chamberings at or under an inch at speeds I like with the bullets' I choose and never lost an animal. If you like, I can show you how.

All others responding - appreciate the chat from the usual good guys.

Ken your welcome. Getting down to 1 powder would really screw up what I enjoy about handloading the ability to experiment and find optimal combinations for different cartridges with multiple powders, primers, and different bullets. Sometimes it's hard to move on from a load that works to try using new loads but that gives a guy new experiences and sometimes a better load. That being my main point. I shoot year round not just a month in the fall. Couple months a go I bought a 8 lb jug of H4350 but haven't started in on it yet ,still playing with Stabil 6.5, Hunter, and Superpreformance and some Rl-26. Best of luck in finding H4350 at a decent price. Mb

If can't find any brand 4350 try win staball 6.5, it's been decent in creed, 243, 7-08.

I've been finding the few powders I didn't manage to stock up on a few years ago, Alliants 2400 and WW748. I ordered from Midsouth and Powder Valley. You have to keep your eyes open and ready to buy at a moments notice or its gone in an hour or less. I'm set for a few years now.

my memory fails me at times, but I thought I saw a thread about IMR 4350 getting phased out?
it seems like blasphemy, but with 4451 supposedly splitting the burn rate difference between H 4350 and IMR 4350, it sure sounds like something that may have been proposed before the uproar ensued....