Connecticut Preparedness

[newguy]

Well I been doing alot of research on powder choices because i really wanna pick one powder that would work well for all rifle calibers i plan on reloading. Wanna see what others would suggest.

1. Cost of Powder
2. Being Universal for many rifle calibers
3. If it has a lower cost I see some you need to use more grains of powder.

These 3 things taken into account what would you use.

Reason I am asking is i am planning on making a bulk powder purchase

[CTSixshot]

As you know, no one powder does everything.
That said, for bottleneck rifle cartridges your H4895 and 3031, 4064 (Hodgdon or IMR) cover most common calibers. You could probably look to other brands for similar wide coverage, too, eg. Reloader 12 etc... H4895 is the only powder Hodgdon lists specifically for reduced loads (less powder equals more reloads per pound).
It's no sin having two or three powders, since you'll always be buying more at some point.
For pure economy, you won't want to hear this, but cast bullets with 6-8 grains of Red Dot or Trail Boss (see Hodgdon website for Trail Boss loads in rifle).

[newguy]

I read nightmares about using 3031 just because it a pain to meter because it is stick powder. I guess i will stick with H4895 or IMR4895

[Mike_Diako]

I've had the same experience with the 3031. It's a pain to meter.

[JohnFH]

all the powdwers you mentioned are stick type powders, and all work well in my RCBS measure

[newguy]

Maybe I will just pick up 1lb of 3031 just to try it out. supposedly a good powder for Brit 303. once i have all my supplies then it off die hunting.

[JohnFH]

H4895 or IMR4064 are good all around choices for 30 cal, I have had good luck with both in 30-30, 308, 30-06. 3031 tends to work best with lighter bullets, faster muzzle velocities.

4064 is my go to for match 308
All my 223/5.56 is 3031(it's what Lake City uses too, but thats a secret)

[Mopar]

Ah yes, there are a hundred powder choices, and 200 recommendations.

There is no one magic powder that is the "best" for everything. However, there are a few that work reasonably well for a wide range of applications. For rifle my go to powder is 3031. Yea, it's an old design and maybe not the best powder for most applications, and doesnt meter as nicely as many modern powders, but it's cheap, common, and it works in damn near any rifle application.
I just picked up 8lbs of W846 which is NATO 7.62 surplus powder which SHOULD work for most rifle applications but I have not worked up any loads on it yet, and because it's surplus I'm not willing to rely on any published data for it.

[newguy]

Ya I saw W846 and it extremely cheap but like you said not much data on it. They say your supposed to use BL-2 data. Not sure if I wanna use cross referenced data sorta like when I had a triumph motor cycle and it said I could use a harley carb on it so I bought one and it matched up fine but never really ran correct

[Mopar]

Ya I saw W846 and it extremely cheap but like you said not much data on it. They say your supposed to use BL-2 data. Not sure if I wanna use cross referenced data sorta like when I had a triumph motor cycle and it said I could use a harley carb on it so I bought one and it matched up fine but never really ran correct

It's not something for an inexperienced reloader to play with, IMNHO. BL2 data should give you an idea where to start, but that's about it. From what I understand there are differences between country of production, and since this is pulled down surplus there are most likely differences between different batches. Picture breaking apart hundreds of thousands of rounds of surplus NATO ammo of various manufacture and dumping the powder out. That's W846. So there can be a lot more variation between batched then commercial powder.

[newguy]

Ya that what i read too if you plan on using W846 make sure you do low end of the load data for BL-2 and not to expect that each jug you get of W846 will have same burn rate Also read something that said for rounds larger then 223 with W846 you have to use magnum primers

[JohnFH]

This is why I usually don't mess around with weird or unknown stuff.

I would also rather spend more time shooting then trying to make up loads.

[Mopar]

This is why I usually don't mess around with weird or unknown stuff.

I would also rather spend more time shooting then trying to make up loads.

John it was cheap ($94/8lbs, so $11.75/lb) and I bought it to put away "just in case". Chances are if I use it I'll be happy to take the time to work up a load for it because it will be the only choice I have.

[newguy]

Ya i have seen it as low as 75 dollars for 8lbs i mean you can't beat that with a stick

[JohnFH]

More power to you if you like to experiment or get a good price.

I'm hoping if it ever gets to "just in case" I already have a working load and I won't be spending time or materials experimenting.