Factory Load Powder?

[BMartin1776]

How do you find out what kind of powder is used in factory ammo you and your gun like??

Ive heard many folks say you have to experiment to see what types of loads etc will work best with your gun(not a lot of smoke, runs clean). Well if I shoot a certain type of factory ammo that runs well in the gun wouldn't the logical step be to find out what that powder is and work from there when doing your own reloads??

[CSACANNONEER]

Factory powder is typically NOT canister grade powder. So, unless you are talking about a smaller "factory" that uses canister grade powder, you'll have to do your own burn rate test and develop a load for factory powder.

[357magnum]

It's a factory secret, they could tell you but then they would have to kill you.

[CEDaytonaRydr]

There is some info out there. Some manuals list "Factory Duplication Loads", so you can start by checking your manual for those. If not, try a google search, and check the Hodgdon/Alliant websites...

[Spdjunkie]

How do you find out what kind of powder is used in factory ammo you and your gun like??

Ive heard many folks say you have to experiment to see what types of loads etc will work best with your gun(not a lot of smoke, runs clean). Well if I shoot a certain type of factory ammo that runs well in the gun wouldn't the logical step be to find out what that powder is and work from there when doing your own reloads??

* What caliber do you have in mind?
-&-
* What round are you trying to duplicate?

[Arcaporale]

Like has already been said, chances are the powder used by the factory isn't a canister grade powder or commercially available to you. If you do some research here and other forums you will probably find a load that works just as good or better than the factory ammo you are using.

Of course you will still need to develop your load, but with a little bit of searching around the internet you can narrow down the powders you want to experiment with to probably around 2-3 types.

What cartridge are you trying to load?

What is the intended purpose of the load? Plinking, long range accuracy, hunting?

I see lots of people on the forums go down this road of chasing a load to duplicate factory ammo, when all the while they could have just made better custom ammo to begin with, tuned to their gun.

I would decide on a projectile you would like to use first, then search around and see what others are using for powder in that bullet/weapon combination and go from there.

Of course if your really want to duplicate a factory load for the hell of it, go for it.