Your most accurate powders?

[Ben Shepherd]

JUst wondering-

After loading many thousands of rounds in these calibers I'm listing- I have certain powders that I always start load develpment with when trying a new bullet.

Why? Because I have found them to be the most accurate on average for that particular caliber.

I'm talking standard pressure range loads here, not super light target, or super stupid heavy.

So here are mine:

38 special- clays universal
357 mag- 2400
41 mag- blue dot
44 mag- 296
30-30- H335
30-06- H4350

I do load other calibers, but not enough to have a "go to" powder.

So? What are yours?

 

[DWARREN123]

I load for 32 H&R mag and 357 mag. I use HP38, Longshot and Lil' gun. I have just started reloading and these were the powders in the Hodgdon manual for target, moderate and heavy loads. So far so good, when I run out I may try others especially H4227 for the 357 mag.

 

[dakotasin]

40- power pistol.
45- power pistol.
357- 2400.
7 rem mag- rl-25.
25-06- rl-22.
338 win mag- rl-19.
22-250- h-380.
223 (bolt)- h-322.
223 (ar-15)- varget.
300 wsm- rl-19.
300 win mag- rl-22.
308- varget.
30-06- h-4350.
7-08- varget.
8x57- h-380.

that's all i can remember off the top of my head - i'd have to get my notes out for the rest of my guns - and they're buried in the garage somewhere - the notes are, not the guns - (recent move), so that won't happen for a bit, yet.

 

[MCgunner]

.380 Unique
9mm Bullseye (Unique for hot loads)
.38 Bullseye
.357 mag 2400 or AA#9
.45ACP Bullseye
.45 Colt Unique (2400 for hot loads)
.257 Roberts H4831 (absolute best for accuracy and power)
7 Rem Mag RL22
.308 Win Winchester 748
.30-30 IMR3031
7.62x39 IMR 4198
7mm TCU IMR3031

 

[BsChoy]

I use:

IMR 4064 in 8mm mauser
Varget in 223 and 30-06 (soon 308)
tried IMR 4350 with the 30-06 with 150 and 165's but after 55.0 grains my accuracy seemed to drop of and recoil became heavier(not significantly but heavier)

 

[Ben Shepherd]

'Lil gun is showing potential for me in 357 regarding velocity. Just not enough testing yet to verify general accuracy potential.

BsChoy: Wierd- my 30-06 usually settles right in somewhere between 55-57 grains under a 165gr slug.

Sidenote:

All my 41 redhawks like HEAVY loads for some reason. With the 44's and 357's I can tailor light loads that are every bit as accurate as my stomper loads. But the 41's- across the board, regardless of slug weight- like to go hot 'n heavy if I want pinpoint accuracy. Not that I'm complainin'!!

 

[BsChoy]

Ben

Thats what everybody says that uses this combo...me thinks I will need to retry

 

[P0832177]

I am a practical person, for the most part!

I think that there are way too many accurate powders out there! Varget covers the entire spectrum of bullet wts in the 223 for me! But, for Bulk ammo I lean towards TAC as is measures like water out the Dillon powder measure.

Practical comes into play here, with respect to logistics.

Varget for me works great in the three bullets wts in shoot in the 308, 155/168/175. It can not be out done in my Rock bbl'd 700. I tried RL15 and 4064 and they did not make any impact on me.

I think that W296 is great powder for high energy 35/41/44 mag loads. W 231 is great powder for target ammo out of the same characters.

I am sold on TG for now, more economic reasons and it is plenty accurate for 45ACP/45AR/9mm

 

[Lennyjoe]

10mm - 800X
.45 ACP - W231
.44 mag - AA-9
.223 - H335
22-250 - Varget
30-06 - IMR 4350 (@56.5gr under 165gr Sierra Gamekings is awesome)

 

[Gewehr98]

My results, so far.

Doesn't mean I won't find something better down the road, but here goes:

.44 Special - Alliant 2400
.45 ACP - WST
.38 Special 148gr HBWC - WW231 or WST
9mm Luger - WST
9mm Steyr - WST
.357 Magnum - WW296, sometimes 2400 for Desert Eagle
7.62x25 Tokarev - Accurate Arms #9
7.62x39 Soviet M43 - Accurate Arms 1680
7.62x45 Czech M52 - Accurate Arms 1680
.223 Remington - WW748 or H335 (some say it's the same powder)
6.5x55 Swedish Mauser - Accurate Arms 4350
6.5x53R Dutch Mannlicher - IMR3031
6.5-06 - Hodgdon H4831SC (IMR4350 got a bit "peaky" for me)
7mm Rimmed International - 2400 for cast, H335 for jacketed
.30-30 Winchester - 2400 for cast, H335 for jacketed
.308 Winchester - IMR4895
.30-06 Springfield - IMR4895
.303 British - Reloder 15, IMR4895 for 120gr bullets
8mm Mauser - IMR4895, AA4350 for 185gr and heavier
.45-70 Government - Reloder 7 for smokeless OMG loads, 2400 for mild cast bullet loads, Goex Cartridge for accuracy and smoke w/500gr and heavier.

 

[1911 guy]

Consolidation.

I have to admit to having limited space as well as time. I try to keep my powder selection minimal because of the storage issue. Here goes:

Red Dot: .45ACP and 12ga
Varget: .223 and .308
FFFg GOEX: .36 and .50
FFFFg GOEX for priming the above.

My storage, reloading bench, gun cabinet and office are one and the same. I'm in it now. Kinda cramped.

 

[Clark]

I am a lousy shot with a pistol, so I just load for power. Usually Power Pistol or H110.

In rifles, I use IMR4895, except in some overbore magnum, I may use Re22 or IMR4350.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

45 acp bullseye
10mm AA7
40 S&W Power Pistol
357 Mag 2400
357 Max not sure yet
357 Sig AA9
38 special Trail boss
9mm Power Pistol
380 Auto Unique
7.62 Nato IMR 4895
30-30 Win IMR 3031 (but RL7 is really close)
7-08Rem IMR 4064
25-06Rem Retumbo


That is the current listing as best I can tell.

 

[EddieCoyle]

OK, here's my list:

.500 S&W (4" barrel) - Titegroup
.45 ACP - W231
10mm - Power Pistol (180 gr bullet) or Blue Dot (155 gr bullet)
.38 SPL - Bullseye

 

[redneck2]

Good thread.

Just a thought. Would be nice we would list bullet weight as well as caliber and powder. Obviously what works for a 110 grain varmint weight bullet in a 30-06 will be different than a 200 grain bullet.

For my 10mm's....lots of Blue Dot with 180 Speer GD's, Starline cases, WW primers

.223 (AR)...26.0 Varget, WW cases, Fed match primers, Nosler 50 gr BT's

.357 Herrett...AA 1680, Fed Magnum BR primers, 158 Sierras or 160 Hornady

.45 LC...plinking and general..AA5, 255 LSWC, WW primers. 2400 for mid-range. WW-296 (H-110) for Ruger only heavy duty stuff

 

[possum]

40- power pistol

+1 that is the most accurate, out of all the different powders i have used.
I have also tried unique, tite-group, win231, bullseye, but the power pistol has won out everytime.

Most Successful
I use 165gr rainier fmj, winchester primers, 7.0gr power pistol with overall length of 1.130"

 

[Sam Adams]

9mm & .45 - Titegroup
.38 & .357 - Unique
.223 (AR) and .308 (M1A and Rem 700) - Varget, though H4895 is also very accurate in the AR
7.62x39 - Accurate 1680
.30-'06, 7.5x55 Swiss and 7.62x54R - 4064 is generally best, but Varget will do fine as well

That covers most of my reloading needs. I believe in simplifying the logistics to save on cost and space. I've tried a bunch of powders, and I'm going to use up the rest and then buy the above powders (mainly Titegroup and Varget, since I shoot the respective ammo more than anything else) in 4 or 8 pound containers.

 

[temmi]

.338 WM ----- IMR 4831 - 4350 (Different guns)
30-06 ------ IMR 4350
450 Marlin ---- IMR 4198
480 Ruger --- H110
45ACP --- Bluedot

 

[Black Snowman]

Varget: 223 Rem, 308 Win
Tite-Group: 9mm, 40 S&W, 38 Spl, 44 Spl, 45 Colt, 45 ACP, 10mm
H110: 357 Mag, 44 Mag, 454 Casull, 50 Action Express

 

[Old Time Hunter]

Just went through this one on another forum! I actually have contacts with military munitions engineers through work and based on what they came up with and the advice of a few thousand forum experts, I have consolidated my powder inventory to the following:

.375 straight case and larger- H4198
.35 bottle neck case and smaller- H4895 (there is an overlap here, in that my .356 Win seems to like H4198 better, but my .35 Rem likes H4895 better)

Pistol cartridges- Unique for plinking and H110 for hunting (.308 carbine, .357, .44-40, .44 spl, and .44Mag)

Utilizing IMR4198/4895 is pretty close to the Hodgdon's, but I've found they have higher pressures without corresponding improvement in velocities or burning.

Alliant RL-7 is a viable substitute for H4198 and RL-15/19 does work instead of H4895 but both have smaller ranges of calibers.

My goal was to find the best that covered the broadest range, not specific to a particular caliber/cartridge.

 

[NailGun]

.357 Rem. Mag in my Marlin, Blue Dot
.357 Rem. Mag in my Smith, HS-6
.357 Rem. Mag in Wife's Stampede, Unique
.357 Rem. Mag in Wife's Marlin, Lil-Gun
Lots of time and effort went into developing loads for these pickey eaters.
Time well spent, I might add.

 

[robertbank]

.45acp - Win 231
9MM Unique/231/Titegroup
.45LC Unique/Titegroup
.38spl Win 231
.357mag Win 296

Take Care

Bob

 

[fecmech]

.45 acp--Bullseye
.38 spl--Bullseye
.357 mag(cast)296,h110,wc820 all great!
.44 mag (cast) same as .357
.44 spl--231, green dot
9mm (cast) Hogdon Longshot, Herco

Also an "Honorable Mention" to Blue Dot. Very accurate with cast bullets in both the .357, .44 mag and 9mm up to the 1200fps range.

 

[Harley Quinn]

Powders and there abilties

I am curious I noticed AA#9 and 2400 mentioned for 44mag a couple of times.
Slow burners.

Since I have heard AA#9 is a good one for 357SIG and also AA#7. I believe they are similar especially in the short barrels of handguns.

Maybe because the 44 Mag has a longer barrel the AA#9 and 2400 is good.
What I have read is to fill the case so you won't get set back. Seems like that is the big worry now. So if that is the case, and the compressed charge is the way to go+more powder to burn. What about a hotter primer?
I believe this thread needs to address the primer also. Or how about a grain of 231 near the primer and the rest 2400.

Who has any inside information on the 357 Sig? I am going to use a sealent/glue on the bullet/case for a good hold.
Any thoughts?

HQ

 

[shooting on a shoestring]

What do you mean "accurate powder"?

I find there are 3 types of "accuracy". And I'm talking revolver cartridges here. That's mostly what I shoot.

1) How consistently does the powder drop from my measure, or what is the weight difference from drop to drop?

2) What is the velocity difference due to powder position in the cartridge?

3) What is the size of the bench rested group?

Small aside: The 3 points above deal only with precision (repeatability), not accuracy (point of impact being the same as point of aim).

I find ball type powders (HP38, HS6, W296, AA#7, Lil'Gun, TiteGroup ect...) to meter really well, very repeatable throws. But they are also very position sensitive (150 fps with HS6 and W296 in .357 and .45Colt). But for target shooting with the barrel remaining horizontal, the position of the powder stays pretty constant (on the bottom side of the case). Groups can look OK. However, in hunting or CCW, drawing a handgun from vertical, the first shot has the powder near the bullet, and shows considerably lower velocity, different point of impact.

The least position sensitive powders I've found in .357 and .45Colt are Bullseye and 700-X. They show about 15 to 20 fps difference from powder at the primer, to powder at the bullet. (I usually use Bullseye in the .357 snubby for 148 WC and 158 SWC at 1000 fps. Bullseye in the .45Colt BH 7.5" 255 SWC 1000 fps.) Also these are very low charge weight powders, hence cheap to use.

Unique meters less well than Bullseye, is considerably more position sensitve (80 to 100 fps in .357 and .45 Colt) and uses slightly heavier charges for the same velocity.

H4227 gives my .357 & .45Colt great groups, cases are full of powder, so it can't get away from the primers, also high end in velocity, and high cost due to large charge weights,(roughly 3 times the weight of Bullseye charges). Also it meters well, about +/- 0.2 gr on a 23 gr charge.

So what's an accurate powder? Depends. If you can be happy with 1000 fps or less, Bullseye or 700-X are really great. If you have to get in the 1300s, H4227 is super (I do like Lil'Gun and H110/W296 alot). If you're going for something in between, plan on your velocity varying about 100 fps depending on where the powder is positioned when you pull the trigger.

If you need more accuracy or velocity, use a rifle.