869 vs the pack

[nksmfamjp]

I need to make an investment….well, just buy some powder!

I'm getting set to load 28 Sherman Mag. I have 4lbs of R26, but it is supplying 2-3 other rifles right now!

I can get Hodgdon 869 now. Others like Re33, Re50, H1000, N570, and Retumbo are nearly impossible to find.

Anybody have experience with 869 in a big magnum? Ok? Temperature sensitive? Is it ball powder?

 

[Fedwell]

I use it in a 338 Lapua.

 

[Fedwell]

OH, and also use it in my 6.5-300Bee

 

[MagnumManiac]

Yes it is ball powder, originally was developed for 20mm cannon fodder.
I really like it, it burns cooler than all extruded powder and releases a lot of gas for it's size.
Gets finicky at max pressure, a small increase can go sky high with little warning, but most cases don't have enough space in them for this to happen regularly.
My 338-416 Rigby Improves loves the stuff, but it has runout in Australia and no one is bringing it in anymore, had to substitute H50BMG with it.

Cheers.

 

[jbenevides89]

I ran out of barrel in my 338, but it seemed to run very consistent. It had good groups and around 2650 fps with 104 grains.

 

[QuietTexan]

I'm hoping we start seeing a lot of Hodgdon when the ships in LA get unloaded, so this is short term thinking: US869 is pretty much everywhere today, also Ramshot LRT has been around a lot lately. Get a couple pounds of each to play with until the kegs drop, and keep watching for the kegs.