....is there one powder that is "pretty dang good" (not "the best") for

.30/06 (rem 700 and m1 garand)
.308 (sav 99)
.223 (mini-14)
.22/250 (ruger m77)

my dad refuses to buy more than one kind of powder and is currently using up the last of his IMR 4895. i am thinking that varget might give some better performance and be more versatile.

any suggestions?

When I read the list, my mind jumped right to 4895.

The other powder that works for me in the 308, 223 and 22-250 (I don't own an '06 so I don't know about that) is Hodgdon's BLC(2)

fjold -

i was also thinking BLC2 but it doesn't seem to be available up here. another one i considered along with varget is one of the RLs (15?).

maybe the crazy old man got it right the first time after all with 4895?

4895 or 4064

4895, 4064, varget, RL15.

if you can get it wc846 would be a prety good choice and cheap.
may have a little muzzle flash in the 308 and 30/06

What ramrod340 said!!

+1!!

quote:

Originally posted by Pegleg:
4895 or 4064

+1

quote:

Originally posted by tasunkawitko:
....is there one powder that is "pretty dang good" (not "the best") for

.30/06 (rem 700 and m1 garand)
.308 (sav 99)
.223 (mini-14)
.22/250 (ruger m77)

my dad refuses to buy more than one kind of powder and is currently using up the last of his IMR 4895. i am thinking that varget might give some better performance and be more versatile.

any suggestions?

I'd prefer a second powder but that seems to not be an option....In which case I'd get Varget as it's a bit easier to funnel and measure.

H4895

quote:

I'd prefer a second powder but that seems to not be an option....In which case I'd get Varget as it's a bit easier to funnel and measure.

IMR4895 is as close to "universal" as one can get, but Varget would be my second choice.

If I could only have one powder it would be Varget I've used it in everything from .223 to .375H&H.

i agree with ramrod340

We're picking just one powder for all those applications, right? Then I'd go with Varget.

The problem with anything that'll do everything is that it isn't particularly good at anything.

It's something I call "Swiss Army Knife effect"
yeah it can do a whole bunch of things, but it
doesn't do any of them well.

Yeah 4895 (either "H" or IMR) is versatile, as is 4064,
I personally use them both, but there are a lot of things that can be done better with something else.

Have you considered trying to talk him into adding different propellants to his bench?

I look for what propellant is best for a particular cartridge.

For example the 30-06 will do better with IMR4350 (or RL19)
The 223Rem really shines with Benchmark
(If you want "low flash" loads for "Tactical" use
in a semi-auto RL7)

22-250? Varget!

308, hard to do better than ww748 but actually here IMR4895 is a good choice.

AD

Tas,
In no way do I mean to be critical of your dad, My dad is 86 and set in his ways. To try to change his mind on something is almost impossible. If he is happy operating within a narrow band of mediocrity, why try to make him change. Would he even use varget or Blc-2 as opposed to 4895?

Remember, you can lead a guitar to water but you can't tune a fish.
GWB

quote:

Originally posted by tasunkawitko:
....is there one powder that is "pretty dang good" (not "the best") for

.30/06 (rem 700 and m1 garand)
.308 (sav 99)
.223 (mini-14)
.22/250 (ruger m77)

my dad refuses to buy more than one kind of powder and is currently using up the last of his IMR 4895. i am thinking that varget might give some better performance and be more versatile.

any suggestions?

Why is it that your father refuses to buy more than one powder? Why don't he buy what he wants and you try something you want?

to all - thanks for the replies so far. i agree about the swiss army knife approach, but he just wants the gun to go bang and the pill to hit within minute of deer. he's got at least 7 different kinds of brass, his lee loaders and his dippers and he's ready to do some loading.

i told him i would see if there was a "better" swiss army knife than IMR 4895 since he was just about out of it and was about to commit to an 8-lb. keg of the stuff. not sure why he wants only one brand of powder, but he was adamant about it, so i figure it comes down to keeping it uncomplicated. i tried to talk to him about separating the brass (or sticking to one brand), experimenting with powders to find the best for each cartridge/rifle etc., but this is the way he wants it, so i say live and let live.

i initially was thinking of varget since that is a powder that i have that does very well and also, if i remember correctly, has a very good tolerance for changes in temperature, which is a factor up here in northern montana. i'm not married to it and if his IMR 4895 will do "good 'nuff," then i'll just get him a keg of that.

FWIW, his loads all come off the charge table that comes with lee loaders, so they are all mild (barely starting loads) and should be safe even with the thick lake city brass and military brass, but i worry about the accuracy he is going to get - once he gets the bug i am sure that he will embark on the quest for ultimate accuracy that we all enjoy!

I am currently using 4895 in all of those cartridges, as my first and best choice. A slightly slower powder will give more velocity in the .30-06, but when used in an automatic a slower powder will also likely yield excessive gas port pressures.

4895 is a fine-grained extruded powder which meters extremely well. Being a single-base extruded powder, it also exhibits fairly linear pressure-velocity increases, thus no sudden pressure surprises with half-grain incremental increases.

While BL-C2 is of similar burning rate to 4895, I find it very inconsistent in a .22-250 and, though I've never tried it in a .30-06, I think the '06 case is capacious enough to cause BL-c2 to do some potentially funny things.

Incidentally, in my experience, all of the 4895s are pretty close to one another in burning speed and characteristics, and the lot-to-lot variations are among the least of any powder.

H4895 is one of their Extreme powders...meant to stand up to extreme heat and cold. It would be my first choice as an all-around
powder and should fill the bill in your dad's situation.

Have not yet, but I'm ready to start reloading for new my AR 15.

Even though it shoots 5.56, I'm gonna stay with .223

The only two powders I have on the shelf are are IMR 4227 and IMR 4064.

I'll be using those first, since I have recipes for them behind a 55 gr bullet.

quote:

Originally posted by ramrod340:
4895, 4064, varget, RL15.

Yeah if it was availability that pushed me to just one powder.. these would be my choices...

but I'd pirate some 4198, SR4759, and some Blue Dot away from prying eyes...

I have done all 4 with 4895.

h335 -- try a can of it, fellas, REALLY.. compare it with either 4895, and you'll leave the old 4895 for h335

works great in 223 and 550 express, with all stops between doing great, fast, accurate loads.

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
h335 -- try a can of it, fellas, REALLY.. compare it with either 4895, and you'll leave the old 4895 for h335

works great in 223 and 550 express, with all stops between doing great, fast, accurate loads.

Your experience is a great deal different than mine.

H335 is spec W-844, a powder formulated for the 5.56/.223 Remington. I use it in that cartridge with great success.

However, it does really funny things in larger capacity cases: Whereas its burning rate appears to be almost exactly that of BL-C2/WW-748/WC-846 (all the same spec powder) in a case the size of a .223, a significant gap in apparent burning rate opens up in larger cases. I would NOT recommend H335 in any case larger than those on the .222 case head, or perhaps the 7.62x39 case.

Having tried H335 (which I dearly love in .222/.223/.222Mag) in .22-250, .243, and .308, I can tell you that it is just not a consistent powder in those larger cases.

H335 is a spherical powder so it does meter well. But for all around use in the extreme heat and cold of Montana, where his dad intends to use it, I'd still opt for H4895.

Have used H335 in .458 AR which is a huge capacity case and in .376/.416 Steyr Improved which is a merely large case ... works great!

I would have recommended BL(c)-2. Have used it in all of the cartridges mentioned.