Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Powder, powder, powder

Starting to see quite a bit more powder coming available lately. I think that, given our rolling shortages, high prices, new names and Hodgdon's accumulation of brands, we'd be well-served by a thread about dealing with some of these issues. I would suggest three levels of contribution:

1. What powders you've found substitute well for old favorites?

2. What powders are probably different-branded versions of the same powder?

3. What powders, currently, do we know for certain are different branded versions of the same powder?

I know we've done this in the past, but maybe it's time for an update. If we've had a recent update and I've missed it, my apologies.

I haven’t. Of course the last 3 weeks I’ve been busy scouting, hunting, with too often making a living getting in the way, so I haven’t been to any sporting goods stores. But prior to that there has been a almost complete and utter dearth of powder or primers in these parts.

I’m good for years, possibly a decades for all my components with the exception of H4895, which my 308 likes.

Title sounds like a Teresa Brewer song.

Instead of finding similar ones, I decided to just trim down to a few for simplicity. Trail Boss for pistol, imr4895, imr4350, and imr4198.

I can do reduced loads and I can shoot everything from my AR-15 to 308 with those.

I understand the concept of backing off and working up when powder etc is changed, but having said that, how interchangeable are H4350 and I4350?

It really depends on the powder lot,but from what I've experienced between the two,about 1.0grs maybe.The most inconsistent of the two for me has been H4350.I've used some that were about a grain on the slow side of IMR 4350 and then I've seen it be about a grain on the faster side.I've used IMR 4350 for thirty years and it has been very consistent for me.H 4350 is supposed to be more temperature stable than IMR 4350 if you hunt in areas with extreme temperature swings,but I never had an issue with IMR 4350 between 20 degrees and 90 degrees(usually the temps hunting range 30-70 degrees for me) ,so it works good enough for me.

I've been using a lot of the Ramshot and Accurate powders lately.Hodgdon has taken them over now.I like TAC,Big Game,Accurate 4350,Hunter and Magnum.

Thank you. I have been using h4350 for quite a while but have been running low. I bought IMR 4350 as a go to when I run out.

Another issue is RL 22. I am getting very low and RL powders have been impossible to find. I've been using it for my 25-284 and may now have to find a substitute for that. Looking at 4831 but will have to re-work those loads.
Any ideas about that would be appreciated.

If you can find any Ramshot Hunter it tends to work very well in cartridge/bullet combinations where RL-22 works. It generally also less temperature-sensitive than RL-22--but a LOT of powders are.

What's a "rolling shortage"?

I read this and found it available online. Ordered it! Thank you!

I've been using Accurate 4064 as a replacement for the now discontinued IMR4320 for the past year or so. I've gotten the same level of accuracy in most cartridges with similar charge ranges. The velocity isn't quite up to 4320's level, but 4320 was not a barnburner in most cartridges anyway.

I've also been using a lot of CFE Pistol of late, mostly as a alternate for when 2400 was scarce. It has been very readily available, fairly cheap by today's standards, and the accuracy has been equal to or beyond what I was getting with 2400 in most cartridges. You can't push the same speeds as you can with the slower burning magnum handgun powders, but they're respecatble mid to upper-mid level loads that are both efficient and very good shooting.

I've recently upicked up some Vihtvuori N120 and N130 as an alternative to the unobtanium for years H4198, but have yet to start any load development, so we'll see how that goes one of these days. The N series have just been available, and generally cheaper than Hodgdon rifle powders, so I figured I'd give them a whirl. They'll be my first foray into the Finnish magic dust.

Good question. I have no idea

Since Varget has been very hard to get I have substituted Ramshot TAC and Win 748 for it. They seem to be nearly as good and were available. I am beginning to see Varget on a few online places but they want $48 a pound for it. I don't need it that bad and it isn't superior enough to TAC and 748 for me to spend that much.

Have powder,powder,powder but it sure be nice to find a ready supply of primers one day.


And not for 200.00 or more per thousand.

It's a shortage that moves ahead at a fixed rate to provide protection for prices to advance.

Really been enjoying Ramshot powders.
Especially Hunter. Using it in 6.5, 270 and 06. Also Have big game that I can use in 6.5 and 06 with the lighter pills as well as 9.3
Tac in 223,308
All meter well and Burn clean

Ramshot Hunter works well for me in:

22-250/75 A-max
243Win/85TSX
270Win/130TTSX and 140TSX
7Rem/175 Hornady Interlock

Ramshot Magnum works well for me in:

243AI/105 A-max
257Wby/95 Badlands and 100TSX
a buddy is also getting good results in his 300Win Mag w/200gn Accubond bullets

I too have found Hunter useful in 22-250, 243, and 270. I may try in in 7mm-08 with light bullets. I'd like to add to my supply of RL19 and Blue Dot but have seldom seen them available.

Just about any powder is less temperature sensitive and more consistent lot to lot than R22.

But it still works great in several belted magnum cartridges.