Hi all,
As the title states I am looking for some input here. I am looking to do 2 large (100+) batches of both 30-30 win (for myself,) and .32 winchester special (for my brother.) Those are fairly large rifle batches for me anyhow. The 30-30 will be loaded with 150gr Hornady round nose interlok. The .32 will be loaded with 170gr hornady flat point interlok. Powder is getting extremley hard to come by in my area, and if youre lucky enough to find what you are looking for, local shops charge so much, you might as well just pay the hazzard fee to have it shipped. I have a really good 30-30 load with rx7 that I have used for 5+ years. Problem is, I havnt seen rx7 for sale around here since covid wreaked its havoc. My brother just bought a winchester chambered in .32 win special. Obviously ammo is hard to find. I actually had one heck of a time even finding the bullets to load. He asked if we could work a load up for it. Id like to keep my 30-30 and his .32 using the same powder if possible. IMR 4198 is kind of my "universal" powder if you will. When I first started loading, it was readilly available, fairly cheap, and luckily it fit the bill with most of the rifle cartriges I was loading when I first started. So I usually try to keep a few pounds on hand. My lyman 50th shows this powder for both cartriges. I tried a few loads in my 30-30 and was not super impressed. (At least compared to my rx7 load.) I did not reach anywhere close to max load, simply because my rx7 load settled really nicely fairly low. I was actually only at 1925fps through a chrono. Any higher and it started to stray. (most of my loads, including 45-70 with 4198 like to be at or above book max. Obviously im very careful when working those loads.)
Here is my question. I guess I have never been in the position where powders were so hard to find, and so expensive when you start getting picky. Has anyone had luck with either of these using 4198? I know its not the ideal powder for the application, but its what I have, and its what is available locally. (at $60 per pound
.) Should I try pushing the pressure? Should I cut my losses and just spend the $35-$40 in hazzard fees for some more rx7? Other rifle powders I have but can no longer readily get are rx22, IMR 4064, and a small amount of IMR 3031. Before anyone says "just load different lots and see what happens," I have had 2 knee surgeries in the last 4 months. Im only 2 weeks out from a complete ACL reconstruction. This will give me something to do so that I dont lose my mind just sitting around on the couch, but I also cant just take off and shoot multiple times a week for at least another month due to my restrictions. Id just like to find somewhere in the ballpark to start for now. If anyone has any experiences, or loads that might get me pointed in the right direction, I would REALLY REALLY appreaciate it!
As the title states I am looking for some input here. I am looking to do 2 large (100+) batches of both 30-30 win (for myself,) and .32 winchester special (for my brother.) Those are fairly large rifle batches for me anyhow. The 30-30 will be loaded with 150gr Hornady round nose interlok. The .32 will be loaded with 170gr hornady flat point interlok. Powder is getting extremley hard to come by in my area, and if youre lucky enough to find what you are looking for, local shops charge so much, you might as well just pay the hazzard fee to have it shipped. I have a really good 30-30 load with rx7 that I have used for 5+ years. Problem is, I havnt seen rx7 for sale around here since covid wreaked its havoc. My brother just bought a winchester chambered in .32 win special. Obviously ammo is hard to find. I actually had one heck of a time even finding the bullets to load. He asked if we could work a load up for it. Id like to keep my 30-30 and his .32 using the same powder if possible. IMR 4198 is kind of my "universal" powder if you will. When I first started loading, it was readilly available, fairly cheap, and luckily it fit the bill with most of the rifle cartriges I was loading when I first started. So I usually try to keep a few pounds on hand. My lyman 50th shows this powder for both cartriges. I tried a few loads in my 30-30 and was not super impressed. (At least compared to my rx7 load.) I did not reach anywhere close to max load, simply because my rx7 load settled really nicely fairly low. I was actually only at 1925fps through a chrono. Any higher and it started to stray. (most of my loads, including 45-70 with 4198 like to be at or above book max. Obviously im very careful when working those loads.)
Here is my question. I guess I have never been in the position where powders were so hard to find, and so expensive when you start getting picky. Has anyone had luck with either of these using 4198? I know its not the ideal powder for the application, but its what I have, and its what is available locally. (at $60 per pound
.) Should I try pushing the pressure? Should I cut my losses and just spend the $35-$40 in hazzard fees for some more rx7? Other rifle powders I have but can no longer readily get are rx22, IMR 4064, and a small amount of IMR 3031. Before anyone says "just load different lots and see what happens," I have had 2 knee surgeries in the last 4 months. Im only 2 weeks out from a complete ACL reconstruction. This will give me something to do so that I dont lose my mind just sitting around on the couch, but I also cant just take off and shoot multiple times a week for at least another month due to my restrictions. Id just like to find somewhere in the ballpark to start for now. If anyone has any experiences, or loads that might get me pointed in the right direction, I would REALLY REALLY appreaciate it!
