Powder selection

[joelogic]

Are you in Alaska? I guess thats why you have a lot of time to read

Honestly, I just bought powder and bullets and loaded ammo. Last year when it was buy what was available thats exactly what I did. Probably bought 6 different pistol and 4 different rifle powders last year because it was always hit or miss with availability. When I found what I liked I bought a case of H322 and 8lbs of 700x. Bullets are plenty available now so I always buy a bulk case when I can so I can load several thousand at a time so they will all be consistent.

Dont over think it too much. Experimenting is part of the fun.

[guile_99703]

700

99703 is an Alaska zip code (Ft Wainwright) haven't lived there in years though.

Searching through the load tables @ http://www.handloads.com/loaddata for the 4 powders that look most suitable so far: Hodgdon Titegroup, Hodgdon Clays, Winchester WST, and IMR 700x (in order from fastest to slowest) shows IMR 700x consistently developing higher muzzle energy (velocity given bullet weight) in both 9mm 124gr and 45 230gr cartridges as well as 1 1/8oz shot @ http://data.hodgdon.com/shotshell_load.asp (there were no listings for any load over 1 1/8oz). Though Titegroup also did quite well in comparison to the others overall (which seems odd being on the opposite end of the range)?

Are these 4 powders much closer in burn rate than my chart leads me to believe? (they should list combustion velocity in m/s like a any other conventional explosive to make the differences clearer)

It seems that IMR 700x would be the best all around pistol/shotgun powder for my uses (on paper anyway)?

[Divernhunter]

I use Win748 for 223/308 loads. For pistol/shotgun I use unique and Hi-Skor-700X. For my 50bmg's I load 5010 surplus but you will probably not find it anymore. I also load WC860 surplus for the 50bmg. You can also use H-50bmg or new IMR5010 powder. Buy at Hi-Tech and you can save the haz-mat fees. You can also get primers with the powder order and save haz-mat. Pats will also wave the fees sometimes if you order enough and ask.

[guile_99703]

It seems that right now the most favorable options look like:
223/308 = wc844 (H335) or wc846 (win748)
9mm/45/12ga = IMR Hi-Skor-700X or Hodgdon Titegroup

However the 50bmg has a number of powders: wc867, wc872, wc860, IMR5010 and H-50bmg...
Is there any one powder that might be better suited to M33 and M8 projectiles and/or the Barrett M82A1 (M107) rifle? Or any that should just be avoid?

[xrMike]

Another powder to consider for both .223/.308 is Ramshot TAC. It's a little cheaper than most others, burns clean, and is a ball powder so it meters well.

[CEDaytonaRydr]

Unique and/or Bullseye for pistols/shotgun.

Varget for the 5.56 and 7.62

I've never loaded for .50 BMG, so I have no idea...

Even so, that's down to 3...

[guile_99703]

Alliant Promo (Promotional) $11-12/Lb has a burn rate similar to Titegroup but with a bit lower powder density like Hodgdon Clays (according to my powder list anyway)

I have read that Promo can be used with Red dot load data though perhaps slightly less consistent by lot (much as I have been warned surplus might be).

I have found load data for 9mm/45/12ga much like the other favorites (IMR 700X and Hodgdon Titegroup). It reads as being a little dirty which had also been mentioned about Titegroup.

Does anyone have experience with Red Dot/Promo and cast lead bullets? (where Titegroup is reported as being smokey and having leading problems in that regard?)

Winchester WST and Hodgdon Clays should also be noted as having reload data available for the cartridges mentioned and are apparently fairly popular amongst competitive 45 shooters (from what I have read) though most the data I find is for "reduced loads" as a product. Identified as being particularly clean?

I'm also a bit curious if anyone has insight about how cleanly these powders burn in comparison to the others.. So far it would sound like WST, Clays, and 700x would be amongst the cleanest? Followed by Titegroup and Red Dot/Promo? (In about that order?)

Unique is pretty economical and the only powder I could find 1 1/4oz 12ga load data for so far... Are there any drawbacks to this powder in comparison to Promo, 700x, or Titegroup?

I'm still a bit curious about anyones experiences with Hodgdon Universal Clays, it also has load data for 1 1/4 shot (like Unique) and though more expensive it seems to have a reputation for being superbly clean burning.. Granted some of the 9mm loadings I have found seem to be less energetic than say 700x or Titegroup it seems to make up for it on the other end..

Is Ramshot TAC comparable to H335? Any advantages to one or the other? (for loading in 223/308)

[Cowboy T]

One other thing. For .50 BMG, you really need to treat that as a special case, because it's in a class all by itself. I'd first look to Hodgdon's H50BMG powder, as it was specifically designed for that round.

[guile_99703]

I agree the 50bmg is clearly in a class by itself... I might have seen somewhere that you can use 20mm powders to load it but with the number of powders specific to the 50 I have already encountered there seems no reason to start looking to improvise...

Of the vast number of powders I mentioned earlier (wc867, wc872, wc860, IMR5010 and H-50bmg) I have got no idea which would be best suited for 650gr projectiles in an auto-loading rifle... All suggestions are appreciated...

[pennstater]

Win 231 for 38/158 swc-hp, 231 for 200gr hp-xtp for 45acp.
Different Hodgdon Extreme powders for various rifles.

[GeoffLinder]

I think WW231 would be a great choice for 9mm and for .45 ACP.

WW748 is a good choice for .223 and will also perform well in .308

Dunno about .50

Unique, Clays, Titegroup all good for shotgun along with about a dozen more.