extruded powder and powder measures

[anothergunnut]

So I have done some searching and see that the most widely recommended powders for 223 and 308 are extruded powders like Varget or 4895. When I search regarding powder measures, I see that these same powders are cursed for the powder measure's inability to consistently measure them.

This seems to be a disconnect although it may be because of who is responding. Are people who recommend these extruded powders weighing each charge and not using progressive reloaders? Are you using progressive reloaders with extruded powder and figure that they are accurate enough for your intended purpose? Are you using ball powders when you use a progressive and hand weighing when using extruded powders?

[crowbar]

I use Varget for loading .308 and 6BR Improved. I throw with a RCBS Uniflow and trickle up to exact weight using a beam scale. I load for NRA long range and Palma matches, love Varget for its' ability to shoot winter or summer without pressure spikes. Ball powder like BL-C(2) or H414 would allow me to throw and go, but I wold have to adjust my loads to winter and summer for the kind of shooting I do.

What are you loading for ?

"There is no 'I' in team, but there are four in 'platitude-quoting idiot'."

That is great !

Mike

[Fjold]

I use a lot of extruded powders for rifle rounds and typically throw light charges with my measure and trickle them up to weight.

Short cut extruded powders like Varget, 4831SC and SSC meter well so I throw those charges. I also do use some Hodgdon ball powders.

[tankerman]

It's really not that tough, your powder measure will get you very close, then just add a grain or so and you're there. I used 4831 and the like for hunting rifles so I'm not loading more than a few dozen at a time.

[anothergunnut]

Right now I am reloading a variety of pistol rounds on a Dillon progressive and do not weigh each charge. The ammo works well for informal target shooting which is all I do. Now that I am shooting more semi-auto rifles, I am considering reloading 223 and 308. As I started researching, I noted that many people are weighing each charge. That sounds like a precision way of turning out 50 rounds but impractical for several hundred. Is there a popular extruded powder that can be metered rather than weighed or do I need to use a ball powder?

A vote for Che'nge is funny and eerily true at the same time!

[brando]

the one thing not mentioned is how extruded powders get caught sometimes in the powder throw mechanism, causing a "skip" and often a bad throw. It sounds worse than it really is, but given time with throwing extruded powders, you'll get a better feel for a good throw versus an interrupted throw.

[Fjold]

You don't have to use extruded powders. In my Dillon 450B I use BL(c)-2 for my 223 reloading. It was originally a surplus powder but is now made to spec for Hodgdon and it meters great. I also have used it in 308 and 243 with excellent results.

[Alanski56]

You don't have to use extruded powders. In my Dillon 450B I use BL(c)-2 for my 223 reloading. It was originally a surplus powder but is now made to spec for Hodgdon and it meters great. I also have used it in 308 and 243 with excellent results.

+1 on Hodgdon BL-(C)2. I use it exclusively for .223 and .308 after trying Varget and having a hell of a time consistently metering it through my RCBS powder dispenser. I can dial BL-(C)2 to meter +/- 0.1 grain consistency, which in my mind is pretty good. For .308 I individually weigh each charge for supreme consistency for my Savage 10FP-HS Precision, however.

[Pthfndr]

I use a lot of Varget and RL15. I bought the very inexpensive Lee Perfect Powder measure. It meters +/- .1 grain of the target weight 99% of the time for my .223, .308, 7.62x54 and 7.5x55 ammo. I never trickle for those loads if I'm only using them for 500 yards or less.

Best $20 I ever spent.

[30Cal]

I shoot M1A in NRA/CMP Service Rifle using 4895. I sometimes weigh my 600yd loads. Everything else comes straight from the measure, and I get 1MoA or better accuracy at 200 and 300yds with good bullets. I search for loads that are insensitive to charge weight variations (meaning I intentionally inject variation when I do load development).

Here's a 600yd target I shot prone with an AR at 600yds; 20 shots in 50 seconds with iron sights. These were Berger 73's over Varget that someone loaded into mixed brass on a Dillon without any fuss. In this particular match, you have to shoot as many rounds at 600yds as you can, so you shoot as the sight is moving down into the target; vertical dispersion is encouraged (that means you're not wasting time) and horizontal is bad. The coach needs a narrow group to mitigate errors in the wind call. The really hard holders can regularly print a 10" wide group with 25-32 rds with that same ammo and 5" wide groups aren't uncommon.