unknown powder

[Todd Cassady]

Right, his kids shot that gun a lot so they might have been loaded for them. I got plenty of H380 i can push them with not worried about losing the powder. Just want something that shoots close to what i have loaded so im still on target.

 

[Buster Hemlock]

Shoot them over the chrono and obviously examine brass for pressure signs. If it isn't doing what you want pull them down and take the powder and throw it in a container and then work it up incrementally from the current charge checking velocity and brass for signs of pressure. You may not know what powder it is but you could still get some use out of it. Really no different than what wildcatters do, you already know that the current charge is safe in your gun, pull them down and work it up. Even if you have to go up 5 grains you end up with around 350 rounds out of your 400, which is a bit of shooting.

 

[Chuckrub]

This might help.
https://ilrc.ucf.edu/powders/

 

[Dosh]

Bought a new in the box 22-250 from a friend's widow, she gave me 450 loaded rounds he had loaded. Mixed headstamp and all had 55 gr hollow points. Pulled all the bullets and sold the brass. Loaded the bullets in a friend's AR. I don't shoot someone's handloads without knowing the powder, primer and where it had been stored.

 

[LRhunter514]

Dosh, is giving very good info, had a friend blow up a good Sako using unknown loads.

 

[Will Gray]

I get red mist with my 375 RUM on white tail. If they shoot good, enjoy. If they don't shoot good, responder. I have a High Wall in 22-250 and a barrel for my Savage 110, great round.

 

[TheLongRanger83702]

I had about 400 22-250 loads given to me, 55 gr. Nosler ballistic tip boat tail bullets, 30.5 grains of some sort of extruded powder?
Trying to id the powder but cant come up with anything. Checked my books and dont see a load i thought would match it?

Any Help

Dont want to waste the bullets.

Unless you totally trust the source I'd just pull the bullets and re-reoad them with a known quantity just for safety's sake alone.

 

[T3ninja]

Do you have a picture of the powder? I know I had a killer load with varget, and I think it was 36 gr. That's been 15 years ago though, so I don't really remember

 

[P7M13]

Having shot reloads from reloaders I trust, I would be extremely cautious as I wound up hammering the bolt open on my 7 mag once.
I would pull, dump the powder and reload with a known entity.
Edit to add, I think of myself as a careful reloader, and over thousands of rifle rounds, I have loaded a few bloopers. They're never fun.

 

[George Koch]

I had about 400 22-250 loads given to me, 55 gr. Nosler ballistic tip boat tail bullets, 30.5 grains of some sort of extruded powder?
Trying to id the powder but cant come up with anything. Checked my books and dont see a load i thought would match it?

Any Help

Dont want to waste the bullets.

Did the person that gave them to you like you

 

[baldhunter]

This is exactly why I write on each case with a sharpie,the bullet weight or type,powder type and load,number of times fired and sometimes OAL.It takes a little more time,but there is never a question.

 

[Vernon Harris]

It's probably IMR 3031..... 31.5 with a 52gn Sierra Matchking will shoot a hole.........

 

[Dosh]

It's probably IMR 3031..... 31.5 with a 52gn Sierra Matchking will shoot a hole.........

I'm shooting the 52gr SMKs with H4350, extremely accurate. My son found 400 at a yard sale for $8, so I have over 800 on the shelf now.

 

[19elkhunter51]

If my best friend said I just loaded these, I would give him a thorough round of questioning before I put them in any of my weapons. I personally would pull the bullets, weigh enough of them to get a basic idea of their weight, throw away the powder, keep the primed cases, load the cases with a KNOWN powder and use them for practice. If you feel comfortable with the bullets, run them over a chronograph, get some information using inexpensive bullets.
Saving an unknown powder and "building" a load based on a guess is a quick way to damage or ruin a barrel not to mention an action. You can buy an awful lot of powder, even at the price of powder today, if you ruin a barrel, action or take a trip to the hospital.
Now think about the explosion that going to happen only inches from your eyes, face and head.

My two cents worth, after reloading for over fifty years, of my opinion. Grain of salt should also be taken with my opinion.