5744 vs 2230 for .45-70 Lever

[3Crows]

Which is preferred or better yet why would you choose one over the other? I am shooting .45-70 in Marlin lever guns. These two powders are new to me and I grabbed one of each to see how I might like them for trapdoor and mid level loads (Marlin loads but not hot).

 

[dh1633pm]

I use AA5744 for my trapdoor and Marlin loads. It works well. I have AA2230, but never tried it outside of .223.

 

[JT-AR-MG42]

I'll second dhs post.
27 or 29 grains of 5744 with either the Gould HP/solid or lee's 340 gr. FN makes for a fun and accurate load in my 95
and in an H&R trapdoor.

As an aside, I remember when Accurate was the new kid on the block and introduced 5744
for the introductory price of 2 or 3 dollars a pound. 5744 was like a gift from above for those wanting a smokeless
load for many of the older BP cartridge guns.
I ended up getting 64 lbs. and shot it up long ago.
Last I bought was more like 34 bucks a pound!
The original offering was slightly position sensitive unlike today's version , but never required dacron or tissue
like some of the DuPont powders.

JT

 

[Shak3s1977]

I've loaded roughly 150 rounds with Accurate 5744 for my 1895 Marlin. They shot accurate enough but always left large burnt "zombie" kernels in the action. This made the action feel gritty. That caused me to switch over to IMR 4198, along with suggestions from members here.

Around here the price has gotten pretty high for Accurate 5744. Roughly $10 a pound more than any other powders. I'm not sure why that is, because the other Accurate powders are still reasonable.

 

[Charlie98]

I've loaded roughly 150 rounds with Accurate 5744 for my 1895 Marlin. They shot accurate enough but always left large burnt "zombie" kernels in the action. This made the action feel gritty. That caused me to switch over to IMR 4198, along with suggestions from members here.

Around here the price has gotten pretty high for Accurate 5744. Roughly $10 a pound more than any other powders. I'm not sure why that is, because the other Accurate powders are still reasonable.

AA5744 is a good .45-70 powder, and particularly with cast. Like Shak3s, I use primarily IMR4198, now, for all my cast rifle, not just .45-70... in my experience it just works better, but if all I had on the shelf was AA5744... I would be fine. AA5744 does leave junk in the barrel, but doesn't seem to foul the action on my 1885. Granted... that is a breech-loader, not a lever-action. Equivalent velocities require a little less AA5744 than IMR4198, so the cost differential isn't really much to worry about unless you are really pinching pennies.

I don't know that much about AA2230, but they tout it as good for straightwall rifle cartridges. It is in the same burn area as H322 and IMR3031, so that makes sense. Unless you need some velocity from your .45-70, I would think AA5744 would be a better choice.

As an aside, I remember when Accurate was the new kid on the block and introduced 5744

The current version of AA5744 is actually the 'new' 5744, the older Lovex version is still available as Shooter's World Buffalo Rifle.