Powder selection

[guile_99703]

I am about to start reloading. Not a competitive shooter, just looking to achieve the accuracy/consistency of decent practice ammo using the fewest different powders possible to cover my entire cartridge inventory.

I have:
9x19mm (9mm Luger to be fired from Beretta 92FS/M9 124gr)
45acp (to be fired from 1911A1 230gr)
5.55x45mm (223 rem to be fired from AR-15 55gr)
7.62x51mm (308 win to be fired from AR-10 147gr)
12.7x99 (50bmg to be fired from M82A1/M107 650gr)
12ga 2 3/4 (to be fired from Rem 1300 #4 bird and #4 buck)

The primary idea is to narrow it down to 2-3 powders that could be bought in bulk (few/several pounds at a time for reasonable money) and used to load the 6 cartridges listed above in such a way that they will reliably cycle/operate the firearms associated (above).

I realize that it would make an "ideal load" unlikely in any one cartridge but if I can get equal or better reliability and accuracy than Cheap/nonreloadable Soviet ammo my minimal goal will have been met..

I'm willing to take great care in measuring powder/shot (to within 0.1gr) loads to accommodate. also willing to use different projectile weights if absolutely necessary but want to adhere to common bulk projectile weights.

All Ideas/insight welcome as I am new to all this..

[joelogic]

700x for pistol and shotgun. H322 for .223 and .308. 50bmg the next person will have to chime in.

At least this is what I am using. 4grs, 5grs, 22.5grs, and 42grs respectively for your list. I don't load shotgun but you can use 700x for it. Birdshot is only $4.67 at walmart

[guile_99703]

I would like to load lead bird shot, steel seems to be all my local Walmart carries.

I figure #4-2 lead might be overkill for some small critters/fowl but should be around enough for turkey hunting too..

I know there's no such thing as a good universal tool (or load for that matter) but I figure a hot #4 (or 2) lead should cover the broadest gap before stepping up to #4 buck or a rifle round..

Granted this is all speculation but I'm trying to cover the most with the least (as much as I can get away with anyway).

[Cowboy T]

Handgun and shotgun: Titegroup.
Rifle: H322 is very good for slightly reduced loads, H335 is somewhat better for full power loads.

[jimmykan]

Titegroup is very economical, but can cause leading with cast bullets.

Look for deals on surplus powder at:

https://www.gibrass.com

https://www.patsreloading.com

https://www.hi-techammo.com

I think Hi-Tech has WC844 (similar to H335) for $84 per 8-lb jug! and if you buy 4 jugs, the waive hazmat! 32 lbs of that would be enough to load about 5,000 7.62x51 cartridges or 9,000 5.56x45 cartridges.

[Abenaki]

Unique for handguns......maybe even shotgun?
varget for rifle.

I have no idea about the 50 bmg.

[guile_99703]

It looks like $10-15/Lb is the general target range for economic powders suitable for my usage?

So far.. (do these prices look reasonable?)

WC872/WC867/WC860 = 50bmg $7-10/Lb
WC846/WC844 (H335 equiv) = .223/308 $10-12/Lb
Hodgdon Titegroup = pistol/shotgun $13-15/Lb
Alliant Unique Powder = pistol/shotgun $14-16/LB
Varget = 223/308 over $17/lb

Would there be an advantage to going with either Titegroup or Unique in the scope of the rounds I am looking to load?
Is there anywhere I could look up loads by specific powder/cartridge combination?

[joelogic]

I started with titegroup but it was dirty compared to 231 and 700x. It would leave carbon of the front 2 inches of my gun shooting FMJ bullets.
For plinking surplus may be fine but for accuracy surplus powder can come from different lots causing velocity fluctuations.
You are going to have to rephrase your last question. What do you want to know about powder/cartridge combos?

[guile_99703]

Winchester 231 has come up as interesting in some of my browsing
@ around $15/Lb it seems to cost about as much as the other pistol/shotgun powders mentioned so far (Titegroup and Unique)

I don't think I could find much 12ga load data for it though?

The more I look at this powder the more it seems that is should be quite good for this use.. Where could I find more 12ga load data for it? (especially 1 1/4oz loads if possible)

[jakuda]

Winchester WST powder. It's purported to be for shotgun usage, but lots of competition bullseye shooters use it for their pistols.

[guile_99703]

Winchester WST falls right in between Hodgdon Tightgroup and IMR 700x (burn rate wise) on a powder list I keep referring to as part of my search.
Given the popularity of the other 2 powders mentioned, would Winchester WST be an ideal compromise? It seems to be a little more expensive $16+/Lb but might be money well spent if it is an overall good performer..

Where I don't plan to load any shotgun slugs, I figure I can lighten (or weigh down) my shotgun loads to best accommodate the powder used.. Is there anywhere I might find the possible loads with each of these powders that would still reliably cycle a Rem 1300 shotgun?

Also any thoughts on Hodgdon Universal? (looks similar to Unique?)
Or Winchester WSF?

[bumpo628]

First off, you need to get the load data books (or online) and find some recipes for the items you want to load. Don't buy anything until you find published loads since you don't want to get stuck with stuff that you don't need. That being said:

You will find that Unique will work for both pistol and shotgun. However, for shotgun you will only find data for 1-1/8 oz loads. It will actually be more economical for you to have a different powder for each of your categories. For example Promo is quite cheap and you can use the load data for Red Dot.

You'll have to verify this but I came across some other forums where people have been using Red Dot / Promo for pistols and light rifle loads. Promo is only available in 8 lb jugs and it costs about $11 a pound at Midwayusa.

[jakuda]

Winchester WST falls right in between Hodgdon Tightgroup and IMR 700x (burn rate wise) on a powder list I keep referring to as part of my search.
Given the popularity of the other 2 powders mentioned, would Winchester WST be an ideal compromise? It seems to be a little more expensive $16+/Lb but might be money well spent if it is an overall good performer..

Where I don't plan to load any shotgun slugs, I figure I can lighten (or weigh down) my shotgun loads to best accommodate the powder used.. Is there anywhere I might find the possible loads with each of these powders that would still reliably cycle a Rem 1300 shotgun?

Also any thoughts on Hodgdon Universal? (looks similar to Unique?)
Or Winchester WSF?

I think WST is a good powder, especially if you're going to load shotguns also.
It burns pretty cleanly too, compared to Bullseye powder.

Titegroup is another good powder. Bullseye shooters use it.

http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp for some loading info.

[guile_99703]

My overall understanding of hand loading is pretty general in the scope of the wide range of shells I'm looking to load here..
1, Chamber pressure is most significant factor, never exceed the specified maximum pressure (biased on the cartridge) However a minimal pressure is also required to properly cycle an auto-loading firearm.
2, Chamber pressure is a product of the projectile weight, the powder charge, and its rate of burn.
3, The heavier the projectile the slower the rate of burn necessary to maintain a chamber pressure for a given charge.
4, A lower powder charge at a given rate of burn and projectile weight should also equate to lower chamber pressure. (assuming you begin in the right ballpark to start with). somewhat like watts or ohms law in that regard...

I have done a bit of reading about working up custom loads, and inspecting spent brass/primers for indications of over pressure conditions.
Also little about burn efficacy and bore/capacity especially in regards to wildcats and some magnum cartridges (though not particularly applicable to what I intend to do here).
Wildcatting had been an interest of my for about 15 years now, invested a bit of time/thought/reading on the topic. I just never took the plunge. (guess I always realized that there wasn't anything new I was going to accomplish there)

I do realize there are several reloading manuals available that offer different load recopies categorized first by cartridge, then projectile weight, offering different powders and recommended charge weights.
Though I haven't seen one yet that lists information first by powder, which would be most helpful in finding the answer to the initial question.
I figured you guys can help me get an idea on which powders would be best to reference under each cartridges load data page. (before investing in powder or projectiles)
I do appreciate the help and feel that there is alot I can learn from you..

[jakuda]

Personally I don't think you need to think so deeply about the powder burn rates for reloading. At the end of the day, you most likely will notice only several things: if the powder burns cleanly, if the recoil feels "sharper" vs another powder, if it meters (gets measured by disk or other powder measurer) consistently, if you can see the powder in the cartridge (in case you double charge for some reason), and accuracy of the bullet (maybe).

For accuracy (bullseye shooting), the following are always mentioned: Alliant Bullseye (the classic standard), Vihtavouri (VVN) 310, Hodgdon Clays (not universal or international), Hodgdon Titegroup, and Winchester WST.