Powder choice ?

[cornhusker]

While at the range the other day,I had a guy walk up to me that was just getting into
reloading. He had a good question. He wanted to know how one went about
choosing the best powder to use..I guess I never gave it much thought before.
I told him I try to use the one or ones that give me a fuller case load. Know i'm not
sure if this is the best way or not.. I thought I would ask you here.
How do you go about picking the best powder of choice. One is never too old to learn
new or better ways.I have been loading close to 40 years now...So lets hear from you on this.

 

[Rerun7]

Yeah, it would be interesting to hear other's take on this. I've always used the reloading manual to help me decide based on the accuracy loads, velocity, etc.

 

[elfster1234]

it really depends on the bullet / cartridge..... but pretty all the powder i have right now is varget and h4350 for rifle, and unique for pistols

 

[wxl]

If on my own, review various load manuals for my bullet and pick couple based on velocity, pressure and capacity of brass. Then look at what I have, load some for range evaluation for accuracy/velocity. Search online forums for others' experience.

 

[GhengisAhn175]

Go off if known data first.

example: 6.5/260 H4350, 308 varget/4064.

once someone gets more comfortable they can start experimenting with other powders to achieve different results

ie: 2000mr for 308 to gain speed

 

[FLIGHT762]

For rifle loads, if I'm starting from scratch in looking for powders I will look into the newer powder offerings that have temperature stability and / or a de-coppering agent. There are a lot of new powders out there that have these qualities. Most of them don't cost any more than the older technology powders. An example is if I was looking for a powder for blasting ammo in .223 Rem. for an AR-15, I would use CFE 223 rather than H-335.

I still have some of the older powders that I'm burning up like IMR 4350, When it's gone, it will be replaced with the newer offerings like H-4350, IMR 4451 or Re-16.

 

[roggom]

I look in the manuals and choose a powder (1) that is readily available (2) velocity and case fill.

To this point, most of my go to powders are Old school IMR. IMR 4350 for 260 and larger bottleneck. IMR 4320 in place of Varget. IMR 4895 for 223


Sure I can load with the newer stuff and prob have slightly better results however that is for naught if I can't get the powder. Those three take care of most of my rifle shooting and are always on the store shelves.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[jmtyndall]

When I'm looking to load a new caliber, I start by asking the community around me. What works well, is accurate, relatively easy to get etc. After that I will usually reference manuals to confirm any charge weight advice given to me and start working up

 

[supercorndogs]

I get several powders in a given burn rate range, then try them. For a new reloader, I like GhengisAhn175s suggestion.

 

[BRU15]

When I got started in reloading last year I was completely overwhelmed with all of the different powders so I asked on some forums what I should go with. My first two powders were 8208 XBR and Varget, I'm still using them a year later and have only added one new Powder and that's H4350.

I only load for 6 XC, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 Grendel and .223 Remington. When I started I was loading for 308 instead of 6 XC but I ended up rebarreling my one 308 to 6 XC.

 

[Supersubes]

For a new guy, a loading manual would be the single best resource. If I'm starting out in uncharted territory, I compare velocity versus pressure, and generally stay away from powders that produce high pressure, without the velocity. To me, that indicates a peaky/inefficient burn. If I can have the same or nearly the same velocity, with several thousand less CUP/PSI, I'll lean that way.

I also post a Hodgdon burn rate chart right above my loading bench. Very good resource. Good for finding powders that arent arent listed in your loading manual. Just because they're not in the manual, doesnt mean they wont work, it just means they weren't tested. If you want to tinker, go find data for it in another manual.

https://www.hodgdon.com//wp-content/uploads/2017/01/burnratecolor.pdf

Like so many others, the Hodgdon extreme line of powders work really well. I'm pretty well stocked with that entire line simply because of the sucees I've had with them over many years. Only bad thing you can say about them is availability is spotty (thats a clue that they work). They're nicely spaced in burn rate, and usually the one you need will be pretty obvious. If you envision gravitating towards lighter bullets in a given cartridge for experimentation, you can also pick up a powder thats one step faster than your ideal. (or slower if your're going the other way). You'd have a lot of flexibility that way.

 

[RustyKnifeUSMC]

I talk to a lot of people who reload who I respect. Reference the load manuals. Do a lot of reading on boards like this.

 

[Milo 2.5]

Yeah, it would be interesting to hear other's take on this. I've always used the reloading manual to help me decide based on the accuracy loads, velocity, etc.

I'm not saying your method does or will not work for you. I have a friend who somewhat relies on this method and for 10+ years I've asked him just what parts of his build resembles the gun used in the manual, then throw in atmosphere, elevation, etc...
The * accuracy load is my favorite.

 

[Rerun7]

And just to clarify, I don't take the manual's word for it. I use that as a starting point to develop a load for MY rifle. I typically start with the accuracy load unless the velocities are slower than what I'm looking for. I determine my oal for my rifle and then build a ladder around that accuracy load data to find where the sweet spot is.