Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Random Thoughts on Rifle Powders... Mule Deer et.al ? ? ?

wow. and i thought getting along with varget, h4350, 4064, h4895, and 2400 was bad.

i shoot .243, .25-06, 6.5x55, and .22-250. need a .223 i guess.

alpinecrick & Grasshopper:

Thanks for your responses. I am a DINOSAUR when it comes to handloading. I've been handloading since '75 and over time I found loads for all my calibers that worked well and when the newer powders came along I saw no NEED to try something else.

When you're getting 3000-3300 fps w/normal hunting wt. bullets WHY? All of my manuals are somewhat older and do not have the newer powders listed.

I sincerely thank you for your suggestion about variations in burning rate charts. Even the older lists showed variances. Maybe someone else reading this might not be aware of those variations and it will help them.

However in spite of what I've said, I have a "hankerin" to try 2 or 3 of these newer powders in my 7 & 300 mags. Maybe Re 22, H1000 & or Ramshot Magnum. Yeah, some may not be so new!

JWALL
_____________________

Appropriate Bumper Sticker.

VEGETARIAN...Indian word for POOR HUNTER! ! !

Like others on here, I've switched around a bit from when I first started.Have found H4350 '"better" in the 30/06,and 375H&H with heavy bullets; RL15 really great and very consistent in the 375.

In the 7RM I like RL25 today with 150 gr bullets and up;and in the larger capacity 7's like the Dakota and Mashburn,RL25 and H1000,show a decided accuracy / velocity improvement over RL22,and pther powders of that rate.Not sure why but have seen it in three rifles not....they just seem to meld well with the increased capacity and the heavy bullets.

H1000 is very good stuff and I am partial to it...very good accuracy and velocity,low spreads,too.

Retumbo delivers the goods in those same combo's,but seems touchier somehow than the other two.

For those struggling with the 270,I've learned that there are no flies on R22 (with charges similar to H4831)and I would swear that 7828 is very much like the really old H4831,even with 130 gr bullets.

And the cartridge percs with RL25 also,slower powders than are customarily recommended.Some report great success with H1000 and 140 gr bullets from the 270 as well.

I suppose I handload "by proxy", since my buddy does it for me.

So far, we've been able to find at least passable (1"-ish), and sometimes very fine accuracy for a .30-06, 7x57, .35 Whelen, .338-06, and .223, using RL-15. We've tried other powders, but have always gotten the best groups in these particular rifles with RL-15.

I'm sure that the day we ever run those loads through a chrony will be sad, indeed. For now, critters are dying predictably, so ignorance is bliss.

FC

I am trying to simplify a bit when it comes not only to powders but also to bullets. I presently load for about 28 chamberings (not counting shotguns) and am working on standardizing a load or two for each. I have a hunting rifle load and a military rifle load for .223, 308, and 30/06. I have high power and low power Cowboy loads for .45 Colt, .45 ACP, .44 Mag, and .357 Mag. I have lead and FMJ loads for 9mm Luger. Other than that I have one basic load for each chambering. I have tried to use the same powder in as many different loads as practical but do not let performance suffer too much just so that I can use a powder I already use in another load.

.223 - BlC2
.308 - IMR 4895
.30/06 - IMR 4064
.338 WM - IMR 4350
.375 H&H - Rl 15
.45/70 - IMR 4198
7mm RM - H1000
.357 - Unique, H110
.45 ACP - Unique
.45 Colt - Unique, Trail Boss
.44 Mag - 2400, Trail Boss

Those powders fairly well cover all the other chamberings. These powders may not be the latest whizz-bang powders but they seem to work OK for me. I could, no doubt, jack up performance on several chamberings. I must say, however, that I tried a whole bunch of different powders before settling on my basic loads.

What a coincidence, jwall; you've been reloading since '75 - and I've been at it since '57.

What a coincidence. I started loading in 1957 too. A little bit anyway.
What I've found is that sometimes there are some very practical advantages to the latest powders.
That doesn't mean that they are "magic." I remember buying into the craze over Norma's N205. Until one day I blew a primer on a really hot day.
But sometimes certain things like temperature resistantce, uniformity in metering and antifouling compounds are worth having. I discovered that Ramshot's Silhoutte really does burn alot cleaner than Bullseye, WW231 and AA#2, for instance. Ramshot's TAC is made with an anticopper fouling compound, I've been told. Something that PD shooters may well find very helpful.
Some of the newer powders also meter alot better. I now like H4895 over the IMR powders of that burn rate because they meter better. So does RE-15.
I've quit using IMR 4350 and now use H4350. I also stopped using Re-19 or IMR 4831 and now use Ramshot Hunter instead. Meters far better.
But I still have too many powders. Oh well. I suspect I'll loose my qualifications as a Rifle Looney if I stop playing with lots of different powders. E

I shoot many 'old' (.25-35, .32-40, .38-55,.303 Sav., etc) most common (.222 to .458) some new (.300WSM, .325WSM) and a few odd (.218Bee, .256, 9mm bergman)calibers, and most of my shooting consists of plinking, routing and re-routing tin cans, blowing up loaded milk jugs, turning big rocks into smaller ones and similiar 'salting lead mines' type of recreational shooting. My powder inventory ranges from 150lbs to sometimes as high as 400lbs--some of it as old as 1979 vintage (I recently finished off some 1960's-bought H4831 'surplus cannon powder'in a .223 load destined for use in an M-16). My powder philosophy is: Try new stuff if the opportunity presents itself ie fire sale on powder, but buy cheap. If all I am looking for is to get the projectile downrange at minute of rock or can, why not use the least expensive powder? To that end, I have let several sporting counters/stores etc managers know that I will buy surplus powder when they have it--usually powder that has set on their shelves 'too long'. Recently, I bought 31 pounds of various IMR powder from one store that was over 2 years old. I paid $12.00/lb. As a result, I regularly work up loads using the powder I have the most of or that is the oldest--for instance, you probably won't find H4831 loads for the .223 in any manual. Some of my powder has dust in it--I waft it off while pouring it into the measure. Some is astringent smelling. I load it all. And, yes, I know what the 'conventional wisdom' says, but I have done this for over 40 years now with nary a mishap and have enjoyed hundreds to thousands of hours of shooting at a much lower cost than otherwise. I don't load heavy loads with dusting/astringent powder and for most hunting and serious target work, and heavy loads--ie bear loads in the .500S&W and the .458 mag--I use the better, newer powders. With all of the above said,due to liability issues and other cirmstances beyond my control or knowledge, I expressedly DO NOT recommend MY such practices to anyone else. I include it here for informational purposes only. I do have access to a pressure measuring device and use it on occasion, but most of my load workups consist of watching for signs of execessive pressure and measuring velocity. All the new powders on the market today will make for more surplus powder eventually and I'll probably use some of it sooner or later, but for now, the old stuff does what I need it to do.

Well, Rocky, JB and some select others here...........

Keep up the good work, I need you!

And this is mandatory............

.........you all got to outlive me!

Rocky Raab: Man! I didn't know anyone could or would be allowed to handload in JR.HIGH ! ! OR there are few of us DINOSAURS left. >GRIN

Yes, I had a tutor and he was approximately 20yrs older too.
He gave GOOD, CONSERVATIVE, loading advice and I certainly tried to follow it. I remember the FIRST 243 shells I loaded and THE FIRST one I shot! I ALMOST closed my eyes when I pulled the trigger. Surprise, surprise I still have both eyes & all my fingers.

I sincerely thank you GUN WRITERS for participating here at Campfire. Your info & experience are INVALUABLE (and free, hee hee).

JWALL
_________________

My Favorite Bumper Sticker:

VEGETARIAN.... Indian word for POOR HUNTER.

Over the past 20 or so years, I've reduced the variety of calibers and moved more toward heavy, slower-moving bullet cartridges, and that's reflected in my powders as well.

Sometime over the past few years, reality dawned and I realized that four powders at the most, and a minimum of three, could easily maximize everything I wanted to do. More than that, these three could all have the same brand name, whether it be Hodgdon, AA or Alliant. In the Hodgdon brand: H4198, H335 and H4831. Then, in Accurate Arms it would be: 2015, 2230 and 3100. Finally, in the Reloader series, RL-7, RL-15 and RL-22. Or, I could cull one from each company in the appropriate burning rate.

Currently, on hand (from that list): H4198, RL-7, AA2015, H335, AA2230, RL-15, RL-22 and AA3100. Mostly, right now, I'm using H4198, H335 and RL-22. If I stocked those last three, I wouldn't need anything more.

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

BobinNH: Thanks for the suggestions. I tried H4350 when it first came out and it didn't perform as well for me as IMR 4350 THEN. I understand there have been some improvements, temp.sensitivity, & short cut, at least.

As I developed as a handloader I had targeted velocity + accuracy per bullets wts. I achieved those with the fastest OF the slow burning powders.

1. In 7 RM w-139btsp @ 3300 fps. I got vel.& acc. w/IMR 4350
2. SAME w-150 N P @ 3100-3150 also IMR 4350

3. In 8 RM w-200 Speer/Nos Pt.@3100 fps. I achieved w/IMR 4831

I could get some more velocity w/even slower powders BUT it would take more powder per shot which = more money.

I got on IMR 7828 soon after it came out EVEN for 270 Win 130.
YES it is VERY SIMILAR to Military Surplus 4831. It has worked so well I can't think of any reason to change.

However IMR 7828 was the last NEW powder I've tried. After reading this thread from "yuse guys" I think I want to try H1000 & Ramshot Magnum in 300 WM & 8 RM and possibly 270 just for kicks.

Thanks again. Y'all don't know how much I ENJOY and appreciate the Campfire. Please keep up the good work! !

JWALL
________________

My Favorite Bumper Sticker:

VEGETARIAN.... Indian word for POOR HUNTER! !