Deer season is getting close enough I am starting to get some data requests....

I am sure a lot of guys like to try reduced loads for their children's first hunting or shooting experiences.....

Per a few suggestions, It was suggested that I see what I can work up for reduced loads, where say one load of powder could be used for all bullet ranges and then just list the velocities I got for each weight of bullet....

EG: 22.5 grains of blue Dot for the 243 with all bullet weights from 100 down to 55 grains...

Per that request, I looked at the 243 and went out and tried 6 powders today with bullet weights in the following: 55 grain, 75 grain, 80 grain, 90 grain and 100 grain.....

Trying to use some more common powders that everyone seems to use...I tried IMR 3031, H 335, Varget, and H 4895.....I picked the charge weight as 30 grains for each powder based on Hodgdon's web site recommending H 4895 can be reduced down to 40% of a full charge weight.....IN these powders this was reducing the charge weight from what is listed in the Sierra Number 5 manual by about 20 % or so for the 100 grain loads.....

Well I can report the following;

Even at 30 grains, these powders each offered significantly more recoil than the faster powders do...

H 335, Varget and H 4895 also offered significant muzzle flashes! This could scare the daylights out of a new shooter! It woke me up.....And this was in broad day light, with not a cloud in the sky and the temp at 106 degrees... on two of the three powders are suppose to be insensitive to temperatures.....

Accuracy with these 4 powders with those charge weights literally STUNK in my Ruger 243 test rifle....

The other two powders I tested with this load development was RL 7 and IMR 4198.....

Both had reduced recoil... NO muzzle flashes and proved to be very accurate in all bullet weights tested.....Load was 25 grains for each of these two powders...

I am going to test out 2400 and 5744 loads with these 5 bullet weights......

But for reduced loads, any powder faster than 4198 seems to be a poor choice......I don't consider 10% below max as a reduced load....The main objective is to reduce recoil by 40 % or better and still keep top accuracy...

I don't consider accuracy as being minute of whitetail at 100 yds.... I look for varmint accuracy at 100 yds with the reduced loads....
I also look for an adequate deer load for 200 yds or a little more, but dead on at 200 yds, with a max of 3.5 inches high at 100 yds...

IMR 4198, RL 7, Blue Dot, SR 4759 and 2400 seem to deliver! ( H 4227 and IMR 4227 have not proven to be that accurate to me).... I have been told I need to try some H 322 tho... one of the few powders I haven't worked much with....

will post the finished results when I have time to finish them... will be looking to do this sort of work for the 243, 260 Rem, 6.5 x 55, 7 x 57, 30/06, 300 Win Mag.....

cheers
seafire

I think that Hodgdon recommends a 40% reduction in charge (or 60% of standard), not 40% of the full charge for H4895. I use it in a couple of rifles and get pretty close to 2500 fps with all of them. I haven't noticed the muzzle flash, but I will agree that it isn't all that accurate. I get 1.5" groups with up to 150 fps in velocity variation from round to round.

Have you ever tried any ball poweders for reduced rifle loads, and if so, how did they perform ??
TIA

Has anyone tried ball powders, such as 1680, in reduced rifle loads or are ball powders, for whatever reason, considered unsatisfactory. TIA

quote:

Originally posted by BEJ:
Has anyone tried ball powders, such as 1680, in reduced rifle loads or are ball powders, for whatever reason, considered unsatisfactory. TIA

Yes. Will send PM if you like . Don't want to my buddy"s thread. roger