Please help with powder slection

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Last Post 22 October 2015

Standard Member

EvanGuy posted this 21 October 2015

Ok so im looking into getting three pounds of powder. i have a place i wish to order it from. they are nice folks and answer all my question quickly and also get quotes any time i ask. they only have a small slection of powders though. and im wondering if you guys would look through the lIst and see what you recamend.

Ill be using it to load reduced 303 british with 90-300gr pure lead bullets. right now im using w231 and im loading for close to 1000fps. 90gr i use .25g and for 300 i use .35g. i alao weigh with digi scale not scoups. i like the w231 alot but inthink there is better.

Titegroup is finer thenw231 is what im not excited about. But thats at the top of my list. i was wondering about some ramshot comatition or some a1 or a0

Or should i not be concerned with how bulky it is as long as i dont double load?

Here is the link

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Standard Member

EvanGuy posted this 21 October 2015

http://www.rustywood.ca/powder.html>powders>http://www.rustywood.ca/powder.htm

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CBA Board

John Alexander posted this 21 October 2015

Wow. Interesting that you are working at those velocities. I will be interested in your results.

I think we have a communication problem however. Handloaders usually weigh power in English grains. It appears that you must be quoting your loads in grams???? or the decimal point has slipped badly. I doubt if .25 grains would get the bullet out the muzzle but would be interested to hear if I am wrong.

I have done some shooting with very slow loads but faster than 1,000 fps with an 85 grain bullet in the 223 but it took about 4 grains or so in my much smaller case. I was using TiteGroup which burns well at low pressures.

I wouldn't worry about finding a bulky powder it will still be lost in you big case. John

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CBA Member

Brodie posted this 21 October 2015

John, EvanGuy is probably weighing his charges in Grams not Grains. I don't remember the conversion factor off hand, his weight of .25 grams ( g.) would be 250 miligrams (mg.).. I would suggest Red Dot as a possible powder. Use Ed Harris's “The Load” work ups for your charges. Red Dot is very bulky and not position sensitive. Brodie

B.E.Brickey

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CBA Member

R. Dupraz posted this 21 October 2015

EvenGuy First off, I am a target shooter and go for small groups. About the only thing I hunt for anymore are my glasses and sometimes my truck keys. There are really two paths to take with reduced cast bullet loads. A slower bulky powder to help prevent double loads or a faster one. I have used IMR 4227 for many years, pretty much exclusively for lead loads. From the .22K hornet on up through the 30-06. And also handguns. The exception is one load for the 38-55 which is a full load of IMR 3031 in order to knock those overweight 200 yd. rams over. IMR 4227 meters easily through a powder measure and has given very good accuracy in a variety of firearms with cast loads for me and simplifies things as well. And is usually readily available. "HOWEVER", IT CAN EASILY BE DOUBLE LOADED IF ONE IS NOT VERY CAREFUL". There are many who do use slower powders with good success as well. So it really depends on what direction you want to go.

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Standard Member

EvanGuy posted this 21 October 2015

Thanks for the input guys, and i know to use GR but my scale is only grams so i have to convert. there is 15.43gr in one gram. if remembering correctly with out doing math .25grams is close to 3.8gr and the .35grams is close to 5.4gr. I dont remember but i have a conversion table that goes in 0.01gram intervals. up to ten grains so thats all under one gram on my scale..

Im not overly concerned with me double loading. since i only add powder to upside down cases then seat the bullet right way. there is no way to double load because i only pick up cases that are sitting primer first after the bullet is loads i flip them for bullet up direction. its slow but safe. ill reply more to the posts after work. i took a bathroom break to add info about my charge weights. thanks for the input.

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Standard Member

EvanGuy posted this 21 October 2015

Also in “plinkers hollow” there is a thread thats called “30cal/300gr subloads” that has loads of pic of what im doing. if you care to look.

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CBA Member

Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 21 October 2015

i too do the upside down brass trick ....a little slow but then i usually use my belding y mull visible measure .... even slower ....

if i use a speed measure as for a big lot of pistol cartridges i go back and check each charged case with a dipstick .

I HAVE FOUND DOUBLE CHARGES with my dipstick !! how embarrassing .... and humbling .... but it makes my fingers stay on my hands ...

i do use the fast powders ...because i am cheap ... but am terrified of double charges .... after charging i ASSUME that there is at least one double charge in my block .. so i dipstick them ... ...murphy lurks in the shadows ...

also, don't load maximum pressures with fast powders ...if you need more power, go to a slower powder and stay under max with that one also .

just some thoughts .

ken

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CBA Member

Brodie posted this 21 October 2015

I too charge and load bullet one at a time. It keeps me from wrecking good rifles and losing fingers and eyes.
You might also try powders similar in burning rate to IMR 3031 and 4895. Start at the bottom end of suggested loads and work up. Both of these powders work well with cast bullets in the 3030 and 30/06 with cast bullets. Brodie

B.E.Brickey

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Standard Member

EvanGuy posted this 22 October 2015

John Alexander, yeah they are low speeds for sure, ive been down around 750-800 but then started working up my charge, it was 2.5gr of w231 with a 300 gr bullet but i ended up getting 3 of 50 stuck so now im up closer to 1000fps and more like 4-6gr powder. its very quite and also the bang is very different, its a short sound and has no echo or trailing off sound to it. i mostly shoot squirrels around the yard and at my 100m range. i find the 250 and 300gr bullets key hole but the 200 down work well.

Old Coot, yeah ive seena nd read almost every version of that load, its a little fast as im not lubing my bullets are they are also pure lead Yeah i find loading one at a time to be the safest, slow but worth it when dealing with a 22lf case sized amount of powder in a 45gr case. i also have h4895, i use that on my pulled 7.62x39 123gr with 30gr pushing it

R. Dupraz, Thanks for the input yeah im careful when reloading so im not too worried about double loads, even so using 4-6gr a double load probably wouldnt kill me being only 12gr. but defiantly reaching the top of it. i also weigh all my charges on a scale then tip it into my case from the little cup i have. so metering isnt an issue either,

Ken Campbell Iowa,yeah i hope to keep pressures low and also not pass 1000fps, so i wont be working them hot. looking at my primers and reading the internet and guessing and playing with quickload a little, i assume im close to 5,000 -15,000 psi, if i take an empty primed case and fire it, then look at the primer is not a single difference then a primer from one of my 300gr loads, totally rounded edges no flatting, and when i fire off my 38 special insert for my 12 gauge its way louder with more kick and seems to be quite a bit more power and the primer flatten out into the firing pin hole a bit and they are close to 18,000 psi

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CBA Member

Wineman posted this 22 October 2015

I too usually work in grams. I have a digital lab scale (Ohaus) that does not do grains. It is good to 0.01 gram (0.15 grain) and I just tested it with a set of precision weights. With a 10 milligram weight (0.01 grams and looks like a piece of foil) it would not register, so all of my loads are +/- 0.15 grain. It was pretty good up to 100 grams (1543 grains) and then it was again off by 0.02 grams. So if I need to load any 25 mm cannon rounds, I will be off by 0.3 grains. Bummer. Since my technique of using a LEE powder scoop is about the same level of accuracy, I am not too worried.

Dave

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CBA Member

Brodie posted this 22 October 2015

Wineman, It's probably more accurate than most of the balance bream type loading scales on the market.

B.E.Brickey

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Standard Member

EvanGuy posted this 22 October 2015

My scale only goes to 50 grams but im still working below one gram so im sure its not in the ideal weight area. idealy ill get a digi scale thats good for 10 grams but has thousands of a gram. also in not overly concerned about a little varience since im no where near max loads. the load sugests i double my powder so .02 should be ok for me. also i dont have a good shot. im happy with hitting an 8x11 plate at 100m. so dont notice powder differences lol. Also i ended up ordering 3 pounds of titegroup. the liberals are in power kn canada so i can see shortages on reloading suplies coming.