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I'm loading for the following primary cartridges: .257 Roberts 7x57 Mauser 375 H&H And hopefully soon, a 300 WinMag as a secondary cartridge. Having searched too many magazines, books, and online, am I nuts to think that I can do everything I want with H4350? It's one of, if not "the" go-to powder for my primary cartridges and it seems to be pretty dang useful in the .300 WinMag cartridge. I'm not looking for top loads in the .300 WinMag...a decent mid-speed 150gr. Partition load for my dad will be just fine. Even a minimum load is going to push 3,000 fps with that 150 bullet. I suppose I could find a reason somewhere down the road to go with Retumbo, but for a mid-velocity load, H4350 seems to be just fine. Can I get away with just H4350? Have I stumbled upon a "one-powder reloading setup"? I just burned through 2# of H4350 without blinking...time to re-order. I'm seriously thinking about 2x 8# kegs of H4350. Boring? Maybe? But I get wonderful accuracy and velocity from it for my primary cartridges and I'm having a really hard time justifying the need for anything else. Regards, Robert ****************************** H4350! It stays crunchy in milk longer! | ||
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Each to their own, I guess. I load for optimum performance, not just a 'settle for' load. H4350 is a good powder, especially in the 3 cartridges you list, but it's not a great performer in the 300WinMag, you really need a slower powder to get proper performance out of the 300. Don't get me wrong, H4350 WILL work with 150's in the 300, I use it when I'm hunting hogs in hot weather, but I can get much better performance with other powders like RE22 and H1000. The load I use with 150gr Nosler BT's is Rem brass, Fed 215 primer, H4350 @ 72gr's, velocity is just under 3300fps from my 26" barreled Kimber.  | |||
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The NRA 1000yd. Longrange Highpower record, that was set in 1996 at Quantico, Va., was set using a 300 Win. Mag and IMR 4350 powder. NRA Patron Life Member Benefactor Level | |||
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"Get away with.."? You sure can. "H4350. Do I really need anything else?" Only your rifles can tell you that, certainly not us. | |||
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Yes, and w/ H4350, your chances of making it happen w/ one powder for the cartridges listed are probably as good as it gets. | |||
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With the exception of heavy bullets in the .257 and the .300 Winchester, it will approach optimal performance. If you happen to use rather light bullets in the .300 (under 150) and .257 (under 90), it will also do just fine. With 180's or heavier in the .300 and 115's or heavier in the .257, it will provide acceptable performance but not as much velocity as a slower powder. Hard to beat in the 7x57 and .375 H&H. | |||
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In my early days I did a lot of my loading with IMR 4350. Any of the powders in that burn range will WORK with a broad range of cartriges. Now days I use mainly RL powders. From 223-375H&H a lot of my loads ended up being RL15 As usual just my $.02 Paul K | |||
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I learned a very long time ago to try to limit the number of powders I keep on hand.....and failed miserably at it! One might do well to try to pick six after some time and hold to them.....Six is a random number picked off hand....no special reason. But to not limit oneself is a recipe for having a powder cabinet like mine.....a disaster.... I was however successful in staying with Hodgdon's and Aliant and no longer use (buy) other powders.....mind you winchester and IMR are now Hodgdons!  /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill | |||
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Ssssshhhhhh! Don't tell my .257 that. It shoots 3/4" groups at 100 yards with a 117 SGK and 44.0 of H4350 with an almost boring consistency. As to the .300 WinMag - yeah. Kinda figured it wasn't an optimal powder. But it seems to be in the category of "works well enough" at least to start with. Right now, that rifle will mostly be a loaner rifle for my Dad...who's 70 years old and has a very odd love for the .300 WinMag (mainly due to a competitive spirit with a 54 year old "youngster" friend of his). So, I download his stuff so that his shoulder can take it. I'm after accuracy for him, not outright killing power. In my hands, I might try H1000 or Retumbo, but I'm not too worried. I've got a .375 H&H I'm rather hooked on and H4350 has been nothing but good to me. Tried 4831 with my 7x57 and 175gr. bullets, but never got around to chrono'ing the load. Still development for now, but I suspect that H4350 is going to be just fine. Don't need a barn burner...just an effective and accurate load. Thanks for the input guys! Regards, Robert ****************************** H4350! It stays crunchy in milk longer! | |||
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This would be a surprise to me. Is this really so?? According to the burn charts I have seen, RL15 is closer to Hodgdon powders such as Varget or H380, say. I could be wrong, but I have always assumed H4350 was slower.... - mike ********************* The rifle is a noble weapon... It entices its bearer into primeval forests, into mountains and deserts untenanted by man. - Horace Kephart | |||
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You are correct. I got lazy and had QL open and pulled its "burn factor" and my swizz cheese brain thought "burn rate" As usual just my $.02 Paul K | |||
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I use I4350 in my 300 and shoot 200gr bullets @ 2900+fps. I'm happy with that. There are slower powders that the experts will tell you are more suited but I didn't get the accuracy I wanted with them. Aim for the exit hole | |||
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I intended to use IMR 4350 when I first started loading for my 257R and 300WM, but could never find it on the shelves, always sold out. I went with RL19 for both, and have been very happy. It makes things very easy and simple, which is a benefit in itself. Part of which is eliminating one more component to test, and lets you concentrate on finding the best bullet style, seating depth, and charge wt with what you have. If the 300 doesn't like the 4350, look into RL22, RL19, or 4831. I also prefer to keep things simple. | |||
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I tried that "one powder does all" approach way long time ago...I found out quickly that, as anyone who has gone down that roat before, if all I was interested in was making my small supply of shooters go boom, H4350 worked OK...I could find loads for all the bullet weights and calibers I used. I would have been happy except as I got more involved, started learning up, started competing, started loosing my lunch money...I had to do something a little different. There ISN'T a "one________does it all"...powder, bullets, guns, women, trucks, M/C's...etc...I been looking for one of those things for the past 60 years.   It just boils down to picking a few powders and bullet weights that fit your needs, as been suggested and is excellent advice, then optimize the load for your rifles. It doesn't take all that much work and is ALL fun. All that stuff being said...some of the fastest and most accurate loads for my 300 WM are using either IMR or H 4350 and the heavy end of the 30 cal bullet spectrum...200-220's...plus IMR 4350 is an "Extreme" powder and works well in high or low temps without a lot of velocity loss or gain...where as some of the others are a bit fussy. I have a couple of boxes of 220 I loaded up probably 25 years ago sitting on the shelf, left over from loading up 5 boxes. I take a few sage rats each year with the 300, just to keep check on the accuracy and check it over the chrono, when I'm doing other chrono work, but haven't hunted with it for at least 15 years. Sometime in the dim past I started going with larger calibers and heavier bullets, shorter distances and specific kill points, so all my guns will do a minimum of 1/2"/100M and I tend to carry something in the 338 or larger catagory. Most have been optimized to one bullet weight/brand and powder type/brand. But it's still loads of fun trying out new powders that come on the market and I do check out many of the latest bullets for my calibers. I think whatever you decide to do, just optimize the bullet/powder/primer/COAL combination and enjoy your shooter. Your choice, your enjoyment. | |||
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H4350 is a great powder and yes you can do it all in the cartridges I am a 1 powder guy also. I use VARGET for my .308, 338-06, and my 376 steyr. I still have about 5 lbs of h4350 around which I will use in my 30-06 till I burn it all up. You should be able to achieve high 2900 with H4350 and 180s in a 300 Win Mag. Do you think anything on the planet is going to notice the between 2900 and 3000 fps? Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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While I would pick IMR 4350, that is just because I have used a lot of it. So the answer is Yes. And in this current time, where supplies of reloading suplies are hard to get, better to have a BUNCH of one kind of powder, that will work for your multile calibres than a little of this and a little of that... With Unique, 2400, IMR 3031, and IMR 4350, you can load every "normal" sporting handgun and rifle calibre. DOUBLE RIFLE SHOOTERS SOCIETY | |||
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