Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles H-414

Have an opportunity to acquire a sizable amount of this powder, at "yesterdays pricing", and am curious if anyone is using it successfully in any of the common rifle calibers. Thanks
G

I use it in 7x57,250 sav,243win,308win and some others.

"Plainsman"
What kind of results are you getting in the .308win. My stock of Varget and 4895 are dwindling, maybe this is a good substitute.
G

Can't speak for Plainsman, but my experience with H414/W760 in the .308Win, is that its a top performer in heavier bullet weights. Middle of the pack in 165/168's and not so good below that. Its a medium-slow burn rate........think of it as a spherical H4350........so its a bit slow in this medium capacity case with light bullets

My 7-08..especially with 160's...

IMHO, it would be hard to pass that up. It's good powder and with the availability of Varget and even RL-15, a bird in the hand may be worth a bunch more than a bird in the bush...

DF

Easy 3000 fps with 150s in a 30'06 w/22" barrel. CCI 250.

Do your load work-up using magnum primers. They will help if you hunt in extreme cold ( below 20 degrees).

I have used this powder in several rounds for more than 20 years and "lastround's" advice is THE OPPOSITE of what I would suggest.

H414/W760 is a great powder in several cartridges, its advantages over other powder's in it's burnrate are that in some rounds it can offer superior accuracy and top end velocity......but is VERY temp sensitive.

I have NEVER seen where a magnum primer with this powder at any temp was ever a good thing.....EVER

In the Speer loading manual a magnum primer is recommended with this powder. The fact that H414 is so temp sensitive is why I use mag primers; in cold weather, 414 is harder to ignite. My way of thinking as you have yours.

Well,,guess I'll find out. Bought 28 #'s of it last night. Have an assortment of 165's, 168's, and 180's in .30 cal. Will get back on this later when a few range trips have been completed. Thanks to those who responded.
G

Try shooting through a chronograph and you will find that SD and ES numbers are almost always higher with a magnum primer and H414/W760.
"414 is harder to ignite" I have never found this to be the case

I have used a good bit of H414 in the .22-250 and .220 Swift, always with standard CCI large rifle primers. I've read that this powder is temperature sensitive, but have been unable to confirm that in actual use. Anyone have real experience in this area?

30 06 loves it. I've never had an issue lighting off a charge of it with a federal 210 in temps well below 20 deg Fwiw

My previous post concerning the use of magnum primers with H414 was certainly not meant to cast doubt on "anybodies" favorite powder. I too have used a lot of this powder in the past, most notably in 270 Winchester and in 7mm-08. I discovered that a load worked up in 70 to 80 degree weather shot well with this powder. However, with both cartridges, when sighting in just before hunting season my point of impact was different, usually lower by about 1.5 inches and my group was slightly larger. At first, I wrote it off as just me.

When Spring and Summer came and was just shooting for fun, my load was back to a higher POI and groups were better. I reworked the load using F215s and found accuracy was as good or better. They were also more consistent the next winter. Maybe this was all just my inept shooting ability, but I don't think so.

I have since switched to powders that are more temperature insensitive. Again, I'm not saying H414 is not a great powder for some uses. Just stating what my experience is, what I have read and heard about ball powders, and what some manuals recommend in the category of primers and I certainly will not try to step all over anyone who does not agree with my way of thinking. Thanks.

I've used H414 in both my 30-06 and 30-30. As long as I kept the powder charge above moderate weights, hang fires became nonexistent.
Yes it is temperature sensitive; I've shot H414 from 10� to 100�F having precision issues due to the differing harmonics with the 70fps or so velocity difference. So I had developed 2 loads, one for summer, one for winter.

I have been using H414/W760 for over 20yrs. When I tried WLR and CCI200 I got lower velocity's, higher swings in velocity, more erratic accuracy. With the same powder charge as when using CCI250's. I always follow hodgdons old book suggestion with ball powders. Magnum primers. H414/W760 is my most used powder. But is somewhat limited in use. 22-250 to 30-06 has been where it is most useful. Really shines in the 22-250 and 243. 30-06 in 150/165gr

Not to common I guess, but H414/W760 is my all time favorite powder in my 375 H&H with 300 gr. bullets.

Gunner

And, we all may be switching to powders that we can find or scrounge up by hook or crook...

DF

But you light all your powder with magnum primers...

Well, maybe not the .22 Hornet...

DF