Powder Questions

[Patriot]

What makes you select a certain powder to use? As I am a recreational shooter my powder
priorities are cost, availability, suitability for the cartridge I am using. For instance I have
been using Win748 for my .223 reloads. Why, simply because of a couple of recommendations
from people on this forum. Other people have suggested H335 and AA2230. The Win748
goes bang (if I don't obstruct the flash hole ) and it doesn't seem too dirty, seems to
be accurate enough for me (bullets going pretty close to where I'm shooting), so what
would make me want to try the other powders outside of curiosity?

I'm about to start up with my .30-06 loads and am faced with some choices. Win748 (cool,
it's the same powder as I am using with the .223), but I've been reading (bad thing to do)
and it seems there is this powder AA2540 (AKA Camp Perry Powder), AA2700 (just because
I have a pound of it), and the AA2230, H335 as well as others. When I reloaded this previously
I used 3031 but I had to hand measure the powder since it is an extruded powder and
doesn't meter well in my Dillon 550B.

Do you guys settle on one powder or are you out there searching for the holy grail amongst
the plethora of powder offerings and what the hell are you looking for if so? What is
important to you in a powder? What are your priorities? I realize the benchrest and
competition shooters are on a quixotic search for perfection but what pushes your buttons
when it comes to powders if you are a rec shooter?

 

[Lugnut]

I shoot competitively with handguns so it might not be the answer you want. I use W231 almost always now for my 9mm/45ACP loads. It's a fast powder so recoil in heavy 9mm bullets is very soft. So for me a big variable is how fast the powder is... slow burning powders like Power Pistol yield large, bright muzzle flashes and are a "heavy" load...meaning hard recoil.

Some care about price but we are talking fractions of a penny/load so I find it's insignificant.

Some are looking for a "clean" burning powder... I think they all get dirty after 2-300 rounds so it's another nonissue for me.

Some powder works better with certain bullets in certain guns... only way to validate that is to use it in your gun!

I've used H335 for .223 loads as I was looking for something similar to mil loads. They worked just fine. With the very high pressures of rifle loads... I'd be real careful experimenting.


Just thought of a couple other reasons:

Some powder may work well (Clays for example) but I think it meters like crap.
Some powder is very sensitive to temps... may be an issue in competition.

Sometimes trying new things is just kinda fun! Do make sure to use a Chrono!!

 

[Supermoto]

For my rifle, I find what powder is the most accurate H335 or Varget
Open gun.. I pick a powder that I like the recoil impluse, that is consistent and not temp sensitive
.45acp, I use 231, it meters well
.38 special, I use trail boss so that I can see the powder in the case

 

[RKG]

If you are loading '06 for an M1, there are special considerations; nothing slower than 748 (which is an excellent powder for 165 Sierra MKs).

 

[bpm990d]

Just like matching bullets to a particular application, you can match powders to a bullet. Typically slower powders, at normal pressures give you higher velocities with heavier bullets. With light weight bullets they give marginal velocities.

On the opposite side, faster powders at normal pressures give higher velocities with light bullets and slower velocities with heavier bullets.

In addition some cartridges/powder/bullet combination will shoot very accurately with one powder and shoot marginally with others. This is mostly important for hunting and competition.

If you are shooting recreationaly, you are going to want flexibility, availability and ease of use. 748 would be a great powder with lots of flexibility for medium weight bullets in the .223 or the 30-06.

B

 

[EddieCoyle]

I picked H335 for my 55gr .223 loads. Here's how/why I picked H335 (unscientific, but it worked for me):

I went down to my local supplier and picked up a pound each of 4 powders that were listed in my reloading manual (I think I picked up H332, IMR4198, IMR4895, and W748).

I loaded 50 rounds with each powder using a charge that would give me 3000fps according to the load manual, then I shot groups with each. The H335 grouped the tightest. Not by much, but it was consistently slightly better. I even ran some tests blind (my son loaded the mags and didn't tell me which powder I was shooting).

I used up the rest of the other powders for pumpkin shoot ammo.

 

[EC1]

I usually choose powder based on 3 criteria:

1. accuracy - reason obvious but I have found that better accuracy for me with powder A may not be the same for another shooter with the exact same loads (I think it may be the hand/wrist strength versus the burning rate of the powder)

2. clean burning - I hate to stop during a day of shooting to clean a gun

3. average powder charge weight - the lower the charge weight the more rounds that can be loaded per pound of powder (economy)

 

[EddieCoyle]

3. average powder charge weight - the lower the charge weight the more rounds that can be loaded per pound of powder (economy)

I thought that way too, but I found with some calibers (usually big handguns) that this requirement is mutually exclusive with requirement No. 1- accuracy.

With most powders, too much empty space in the case causes erratic velocities.

 

[gerrycaruso]

picking a powder

I picked 748 because it gave me good accuracy in the 5.56 and flowed well through the powder measure. I now use it to load all my rifle calibers except the black powder calibers for which I use aa5744.I used to spend so much time at the loading bench trying different combinations of powder,primer and bullets,that if I did stumble onto the best load,I wasn't a good enough shot to know it.Don't waste time looking for the best load. Just find a good load and shoot more.

 

[drgrant]

For me it's usually a few things...

-Is obtainable on a regular basis. (For example, Vhitavouri is great powder, but forget just driving somewhere and buying a jug of it on a
whim..... not happening. )

-Meets velocity goals without going over max.

-Meters well.

For .45 ACP I'm pretty much settled on power pistol. It gets me the velocities I want without going anywhere near the listed book maximums. (I typically use Speer's load data as it appears to be not too watered down by lawyerism. )

I could use Unique to get similar loads but the problem is unique meters
like crap, and it runs a bit dirtier than the others.

I've been using PP in 9mm and .40 S+W, but I'm really still in the
development phase with those calibers... I've done a fair amount of 9mm
with W231, though.

I've also been fooling around with WST in .45 ACP for plinking loads, it does work pretty well for this... also burns very clean, too. Data is often hard to come by, though.

-Mike

 

[EC1]

I thought that way too, but I found with some calibers (usually big handguns) that this requirement is mutually exclusive with requirement No. 1- accuracy.

With most powders, too much empty space in the case causes erratic velocities.

I agree, but as I said #1 accuracy then 2 as a tie breaker if accuracy is the same and then 3 as the final tie breaker if both accuracy and clean burning were both nearly the same.

 

[Adam_MA]

My powder choice for 223 was easy, I already used IMR 4895 for my 308 reloads, so I tried it in 223 and I was happy with the results. Not having to stock another powder brand/type was a nice bonus as well. H110 works well in 30 carbine, and 44 Mag. Another winner. 45ACP was a bout of testing, but I ultimately found Ramshot Zip, to be the best balance of clean with using less powder.

 

[RKG]

Here are two rules about propellants to get you started without having to re-learn what a lot of reloaders have learned the hard (and expensive) way:

No. 1: There is no "one size fits all" powder.

No. 2: There are so many powders out now, some of which are so close to others in burning rate and other characteristics, that you will never live long enough to find the alsolutely bestest powder for your particular round in your paticular gun.

What you will do, if you are lucky, is to find a powder and load that works reasonably well in your gun (that is to say, the round is more accurate than you are) and you will learn to live with and accept that. If, however, you insist on an unending quest for absolute perfection, you will end up frustrated and broke, and suddenly realize that time has passed you by and you missed the fun of shooting.

The best way to weed out the good candidate powders from the rest is to invest in Handloader magazine. These folks are subsidized by the magazine to try more combinations than any of the rest of us would ever have the time or wherewithal to do.

 

[Patriot]

Here are two rules about propellants to get you started without having to re-learn what a lot of reloaders have learned the hard (and expensive) way:

No. 1: There is no "one size fits all" powder.

No. 2: There are so many powders out now, some of which are so close to others in burning rate and other characteristics, that you will never live long enough to find the absolutely bestest powder for your particular round in your paticular gun.

What you will do, if you are lucky, is to find a powder and load that works reasonably well in your gun (that is to say, the round is more accurate than you are) and you will learn to live with and accept that. If, however, you insist on an unending quest for absolute perfection, you will end up frustrated and broke, and suddenly realize that time has passed you by and you missed the fun of shooting.

The best way to weed out the good candidate powders from the rest is to invest in Handloader magazine. These folks are subsidized by the magazine to try more combinations than any of the rest of us would ever have the time or wherewithal to do.

Excellent advice RKG. Thanks.

 

[BIG GUN]

H335 has been the powder of choice for years. I used it until Accurate Data2200 came out, and it is excellent. I bought a lot of it when it was available, now gone. I am amazed at how versitile Varget is in lot's of calibers.

 

[8x57mm]

consistency, accuracy
There's a slew of powders that work well in 30'06. For .308-.323 non-magnum calibers, and bullets of 185gr. or less in weight, you might consider IMR 4064. It's a great all-around powder . It's extruded, so metering isn't always the smoothest, but it is completely unaffected by weather, so it's especially good as a hunting load powder.

For heavier bullets (190-220gr) a fat (and probably compressed) load of IMR 4350 will usually do very well.

 

[jpattersonnh]

I started years ago and had a mentor. Dwayne at Bullseye sports in Goffstown.
He taught me the finer points and how best to choose powders for a caliber. I started w/ IMR4320 in 8x57 and W231 for handguns. Still use both but have added a few more. IMR4831 for 7mmRM and 6.5x55, IMR4064 for .308, 7.5x55, H335 for .223. Unique for Handgun Hunting and personnal defense loads.
I'm up to 12 calibers for rifles and 5 handgun.
These powders cover them all. Although H335, 4064 and 4320 are close in burn rate, the results downrange are different. The up side is I can use all 3 for any calibers if I had to. Accuracy and velocity are very different in any given caliber. Could I use 1 for all, yes. But, what fun would that be?

 

[jhrosier]

I look for powders that are versatile.
For the last couple of years I have been buying a lot of Unique, 4198, and 4895 for just that reason.
Only if I cannot get reasonable results with one of these three will I consider adding another powder to my iinventory.
I still have quite a few "odd lots" left from years past but will not replace them when/if depleted unless I have to.
When I start thinking of trying a new-to-me powder, I consider how much money is tied up in many partial cans that I don't remember why they seemed like a good idea at the time.

Jack