Been reloading for a couple of months now and I am enjoying reloading almost as much as I enjoy unloading. I haven't been very adventuresome to date, using 4350, only for my 7x57, 30-06(s) and 300HH. I am not trying to do anything exotic, just have fun. Other than 4350 what's another powder to play around with?

Thanks,

JDG

I'm quite partial to 4895. 4350 seems a little on the slow side for the calibers you're loading.

IT'S BEEN AMAZING TO ME HOW MANY OF MY RIFLES LIKE THE 4831'S.

Your 4350 is a "chosen powder" for the cartridges you have listed in many of the manuals. It is the only powder I use for the 257 Roberts,7 x 57 , 06 150g bullets and 338 Winnie. It also works well in 25-06, 260 Rem and many others. I am anal a/b my reloads and if yours shoot like mine do (w/ 4350), then call it good.

In the 7x57 and the 30-06, H-414 is a great powder. Ball so meters very well and can be used to push the 7x57 up to where it belongs with a scope and premium bullets. It works well in the '06 too but so do many powders. Ramshot Hunter might be pretty darned good in the 7x57 too. It is in the '06 and heavy bullets.
dmw

in the x57 and the 0-6 cases i have a very hard time beating rl-19.
you have to weigh every charge,but the results are well worth it.
fed or rem primers do best for me.

Ok, real basic question: why are some powders (like 4350) cylindrical and others "ball"? I presume is has something to do with the way they burn.

Below are my primary rifles and where they fit in. So how do I mix it up?

G&H 7x57: shooting with a Lyman 48, hunting deer sized game, looking for an all-around good load.

Rem 700KS 30-06: my go to gun for longer range (300-yards) for anything up to elk. (I'm already shooting sub-MOA groups with 4350 and 180 gr. Nosler Partitions)

1903 Sedgley 30-06: still figuring out where this one fits in but I'm thinking just a good all around load for 180 gr Partitions loaded at moderate levels.

Pre-64 M70 300 H&H: primarily loading 200 and 220 gr bullets. Not a real long range rig. I am shooting the rifle with a K1.5 with a post reticle.

I've been playing with RL-25 and IMR7828 with 200gr AB's and North Forks in my .300 Win Mag. These slower burning powders seem to work well with the heavier bullets. This has been for my M70 with a 26 inch barrel. You may want to try these in your .300 H&H.

Someone else mentioned the 4831's. I don't have a lot of experience with this powder, but my .416 Rigby absolutely loves it. Specifically H4831.

Doublegun,
With your latest description, not really needing/wanting top speeds, you will be hard pressed to beat 4350. However the Ramshot powders are easy to try and I have had good luck with the short cut version of H 4831 as well. Full cases lead to consistant loads and 4831 / 4350 class of powders do that well in your guns.
I love the choice of the K1.5 with Post for your 300 H&H by the way! PCH are my choice for most of my rifles if they have a scope on them. Sit that target on top of the post and watch it fall!
Best regards,
dmw

The following might give you something:
7X57- Varget, RL15,
30-06- RL19
300H&H- RL22, IMR4831
These five powders have been quite useful in a variety of applications from 22-250 to 7mmRem mag.
GOOD LUCK and GOOD SHOOTING!!!

Don't just buy another powder, get a new rifle to work with. that's what most real rifle loonies do.

@Fury, thanks. I tried several scopes on the 300 and even tried the iron sights and I couldn't get the rifle to feel natural in hand until I mounted the K1.5. The rifle just feels right. It's not iron but it shoots and feels like iron.

I am definitely not wanting or needing to hot-rod anything. The only rife I'll push is the 700KS and it's built to take it. I am just wanting to know what other powders I should try.

From a practical standpoint I don't know that it really matters too much given the G&H and Sedgley both are set-up with peep-sights and the 300HH is set up with a 1.5 - I am guessing that is going to make it pretty hard to tell how much accuracy is effected by different powders.

I am intrigued by the idea of using "ball" powder. The cylindrical stuff is kind of a PITA but nothing I am not used to.

quote:

Originally posted by wasbeeman:
Don't just buy another powder, get a new rifle to work with. that's what most real rifle loonies do.

Oh, I am well on my way down that road. Heck, I'm a sxs guy with a safe full of old doubles (and one old 16 ga M12) but the rifle side of my safe is starting to get tight. I suppose a 375 is in order at some point. Funny thing is in spite of my 52-year old eyes I am shooting peeps more than glass and am finding my shooting just keeps getting better. I remember when I was a kit shooting my first BB gun and how I got to the point with that gun that I could connect with just about anything - I'd love to get to the same point with my G&H and my Sedgley.

Doublegun,
I shoot nothing but cast in my 1903 35 Whelen these days with a 280 grain RN and that is a ton of fun but if you’re not a cast guy; I also shoot a Mauser 30-06 with mostly 220 grain RN both soft and solids. If our shooting Iron sights, the 220 at a 2200 fps to 2400 sort of pace really is fun and works well on game. You might like that path in your Sedgley and your 300 H&H albeit at different speeds. Again the Ramshot Hunter powder would work well in both the 30-06 and the 300 H&H and I presume it would in the 7x57 as well as it is listed as a recommended powder in the 7mm-08 and they are nearly identical case capacity.
It is not for everybody but the lower power post sight is way more accurate than folks would think. The reason being is that the eye can center the top/middle of the post very, very well and ones aging eyes don’t hurt that much as long as the scope is clear. The key to accuracy is repeatability and the PCH doesn’t give up anything in that regard as long as one knows how to operate them. It helps to be a good Iron shooter I suppose but it really is about simply seeing the top of the sight and the target in the relationship you want the bullet to hit. I simply love the flat top post! If you want to shoot extended range targets for group, you simply have to increase the size of the bull so you eye can resolve the relationship between PCH and the Bull. It varies for individuals I suppose but for me shooting groups at 200 yards is no trick with a PCH. I just use a lager bull. Same for 400 yards, you just need a bigger bull so your eye can know it is centered. Kind of like shooting the shoulder /middle of Heart Lung area of a deer elk. With the PCH I never hold over game. Always shooting for hair at any range I would take a shot. My bullets at 100 yards land 2.5” high and I have a 6 o’clock hold on the bull. That means at 100 yards with the line my eye resolves, the bullet lands 2.5 to 3” above the PCH. The further out your shoot the bigger distance between what your eye resolves thus your eye/brain results in you perceiving a carefully aimed high spine shot to land in the vitals at ranges out to 350 yards or so.
Yes I have a ballistic program and can print the charts but I am talking no rangefinder, shooting from field positions, sitting with stick being the favored and killing deer or elk sized game. Yes I have shot a few at 400, 425 and a bit more than that with the PCH as well but that is not the norm. The norm is 75, 125, 175, 200, 250 is a long shot. I hunt then shoot and crawling in the tall grass is a job I enjoy! I could do it different and don’t mind others that do but this is how I enjoy my hunting.
Best regards to you!
dmw

Which 4350 are you using? I get better results with Hodgdon than IMR. RL-19 would be another one to try.

I get better results with my 30-06 and 150 grainers using 4064 than I did with 4350.

RL17 has the approximately (do not interchange data, start lower and work up) the same burn rate as 4350 and will get you another 100 fps

quote:

Originally posted by armadillo:
Which 4350 are you using? I get better results with Hodgdon than IMR. RL-19 would be another one to try.

I have been loading with IMR.

I agree with woods: try Reloader 17.

quote:

Originally posted by Doublegun:
Been reloading for a couple of months now and I am enjoying reloading almost as much as I enjoy unloading. I haven't been very adventuresome to date, using 4350, only for my 7x57, 30-06(s) and 300HH. I am not trying to do anything exotic, just have fun. Other than 4350 what's another powder to play around with?

Thanks,

JDG

I'm going to be selfish here...

Might I interest sir in the charms of Reloder 17?

You shoot three classic and rather charming cartridges if I might be so bold as to say, do you not feel any urge to try the most modern of powders in them?

I've had good success and some rather impressive velocity gains over 4350 in my 30.06, documented here.

Now I'm not necessarily suggesting you push the velocity envelope, but if you can get the accuracy you need and your results in velocity gain for equal pressure mirror mine there is scope to load to the same velocity you do now but at reduced pressure.

If that's a goal you find attractive, perhaps give it a try.

Best,

The 4895s, 4064s and H-380 would be the powders I'd be looking at next. roger

h335 -- i use it from 22hornet through 550 magnum

IMR 4350 and IMR4895 are God's own powders in hunting rifles.

If you want slower burn rate use H4831 in the 300 H&H

If you want a little faster burn rate use IMR3031 and IMR4198 in smaller cartridges like the 30-30.

These powders are usually easy to find and have been around forever. There is a lot of data for a lot of cartridges to burn these powders. They are nothing exotic except for the fun part.

Remember I am a newbie so help me understand the benefits of slower burn rates. Is it just lower pressures?

quote:

Originally posted by Doublegun:
Remember I am a newbie so help me understand the benefits of slower burn rates. Is it just lower pressures?

Yes, sort of. Generally speaking the slower powders are more for magnum calibers and their larger case quantities. To safely use that case capacity, you want a slower burning powder that will build in pressure less quickly.

Faster powders it's the opposite. Smaller cases you want faster burning so that you can reach that peak pressure before you run out of powder and thus maximize velocity of the bullet.

Now having said that these are general statements, there are no hard rules in my opinion. I've seen loads where a fast powder was called for, but a slow powder was used with good results. And vice-versa.

I personally don't get hung up on chasing velocity. My goal is to find the most accurate load. My experience has been that at least a nearly full if not completely full case usually gives me the best accuracy. As such I find those general rules mentioned to be true.