Powder selection

wessman1 said:

This is what I'm talking about where do the thoughts go when it comes to powder selection I can look at what others use but I want to know why.like what are the reasons why one might pick h1000 over retumbo for their 300 Winnie.When I started reloading 4895 was cheap and I pretty much used it exclusively even in my 25 Gibbs with lite bullets but I really didn't know any better back then

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H4895 is a different story , its a unique powder when it comes to versatility of charge levels, it has the reduced loads ability ( sometimes you might choose that versatility over consistency you may get from another powder ) if i only had one choice available it would be h4895

https://imrpowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/h4895-reduced-rifle-loads.pdf

when it comes to powder choice , for rifle charges
i will always try/choose the powder that has 100% , barely crunches, case capacity, then ill keep using it if its accurate .. because 75% of all the loads i have worked up all end up being right at that barely crunches charge for some reason ( i wish i knew why that happens )

i try not to get caught up in the fads, like 6.5 CM wont shoot without 4350, although it is a good choice ,we have so many others available to us

i once though that the labeling on the IMR brand line looked bland, reminded me of generic brand food packaging, but i had to buy some in the shortage times to keep loading and found 4064 & 7828 long cut ,gave good results as well

DUSTY NOGGIN said:

NO, nothing safe about guessing anything , call imr/hodgdon first ... vmd charts will show different volume per weight = capcities .... i couldnt find a volume for 8133 yet , IMO you should do some research before you proceed ... getting an email from the manufacturer would be ideal

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Another option is to call the Company that makes the bullet you are going to use. They have done lots of testing, and might give you info about the powder you want to know about, and they will certainly let you know which powder worked best for them.

I do not believe I am any good at picking powder, but then, I think few of us really are. I would agree that:
-- seeing what works for others is good (but make sure its apples to apples, same bullet weights, type of rifle builds, etc.)
-- looking at the books. I average a new manual ever year or two. Whoever has a new one...
-- getting to 98% to 101% case fill. Love it. That's actually were QuickLoad can be really sweet. As much as some of its parameters are a little iffy, IF you know your bullet, powder, COAL, H20 capacity, it predicts case fill really well.
-- choosing a powder that seems to have temp stability. Means more to some than others. I live it a part of the country where we can see zero to 100 over the course of 6 months. Makes load workup in the off season a bugger......

BUT Finally -- my contribution. You are playing an expensive hobby here. Do your research carefully ... and buy 8 lbs of powder. There is NOTHING more annoying than to find that your 1lb can that made your rifle sing, is now empty, and the next lot is making you re-work your load (or worse, you cannot find that sweet spot again)..... Powder is stable. Store it right and it will last decades. Sooner or later, even that orhpan 7.5lbs of whatever that did not work out, will find its way to the right gun or buddy that really appreciates it.... Or so my theory goes.....

Honestly I only use 4 powders to cover most of what I load. I have way too many powders on my shelves and can experiment when I need to but if I can't get it to shoot with Hodgdon 4350, 4831, 1000 or Retumbo there is something wrong with my rifle setup. I do keep some 335 in supply for 223 and use Varget for a couple of 243 loads. I admit I mainly focus is on heavies and thus the slower burning powders. Experience has taught me what to expect from these powders and I save a lot of time wondering what might be most effective. Keeping the case near 100% capacity seems to help with consistency but just run a ladder test to find the node with and dial it in from there.