List of suitable powders

[ssgross]

Powder is hard to find. I have a rationing plan in place on my shooting that should keep me at the range weekly for a few years.
I popped in to Cabela's the other day - first smokeless powder I have seen in 6+ months, but slim pickings. Just off the truck were 4 lbs of 700x. Knowing I could use it for pistol, I split it with another guy standing next to me.

There were also a few lbs of Clays which I passed on. I've seen loads with Clays and other shotgun powders in my cast bullets manual, but I don't shoot any cast bullets and I'm not planning to start casting (yet). When I got home and started thinking about my rationing plan again, I wondered if anyone else was starting to think about load data for "safe" alternatives to the usual staples. I did some searching and, for example, Hodgdon has a sheet with subsonic loads for 223 using TiteGroup, TrailBoss, and Clays. Although it won't cycle in an AR - I typically only shoot slow fire practice anyway (my eye just started twitching at the guys who insist on standing in the stall next to me and practicing 30 round mag-dumps). Now I curse myself for not buying up the Clays.

The event taught me a lesson to be more prepared from now on to take whatever comes out.
So I manually made a list of all the powders on Hodgon's site for which there is jacketed load data for my calibers (30-06,30-40,303 Brit, 7.62x54R, 7.5 MAS, and 5.56), in the standard bullet weight ranges that I keep on hand (150,155,165,168,175,180,200 or 220 for the Krag, 55,62,69,75 for AR).

I now have this list printed off and folded in both my wallet and tucked into my wife's purse (she goes out shopping more than I, and knows nothing about powders). I will next go through all my loading books, and other manufacturers data to add to the list. If I can find time, I may tackle doing a database of everything published that would work. I may solicit some help for this in the tedious data collection data entry tasks. There was a sourceforge project for this, but all their stuff is broken.

Certainly many of the choices aren't ideal, but in this time, as they say, beggars can't be choosers.

Suitable Powders for rifle caliber's and bullet weights above, from Hodgon's load data.
Benchmark
BL-C(2)
CFE 223
CFE223
Clays
H322
H335
H380
H414
H4198
H4350
H4831
H4895
Hybrid 100V
IMR4955
IMR3031
IMR4064
IMR4166
IMR4198
IMR4320
IMR4350
IMR4451
IMR4831
IMR4895
IMR7977
IMR8208 XBR
SR4759
StaBALL 6.5
Superform
TiteGroup
TrailBoss
Varget
WIN748
WIN760

Information

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[Ovidio]

Hi Sam,

you can consider Vihtavuori:

N120
N130
N140
N150
N160

I use N140 for almost every caliber I reload: 6,5x55, 7x57, 7,5x55, .308, 30-06, 7,65x53, 7,62x54r, .303, 8x57...
Almost the same with N150. That one I use in the "faster" rifles a bit better: 6,5x55, 7x57, and also in the long barrelled 8x57.
N160 is considered here the i-ching for 6,5x55 and also for the 7x57, but I never used it. I shoot those calibers only every now and then, and I don't want a such expensive powder to grow old in the cabinet.

If you had them Fiocchi Purple/Lovex S060-2 is another extremely flexible powder.
I found loads for all the same calibers like the N140. It is a bit faster, like the N130, maybe even half way between N130 and N120.
Not ideal for 6,5x55, for example, but with the right reload it works very well.
Fiocchi and Lovex are exactly the same powder, just differently labeled.
Until now they were almost half as expensive as VV, but now they have doubled the price.
Single-base powder.
I noticed that if I reload with a certain temperature and shoot in different conditions, the results may vary quite a bit.
Two years ago I shot half a box of reloads with my Brazilian Mauser (7x57) immediately after reloading, in winter, and had great results. Shot the second half in summer and the bullets went all over the place.

W760 is the only other powder I use, but that is expensive and I use it only with my Carcano.

[browningautorifle]

I have a rule of "Unless I know for a fact I can't use it or it's really OLD powder" I just take it. It'll find use in one way or another. That's why I have about seventy pounds...

[ssgross]

I have a rule of "Unless I know for a fact I can't use it or it's really OLD powder" I just take it. It'll find use in one way or another. That's why I have about seventy pounds...

I have plenty on similar scale of things I like most, 4895,4064, varget, win748, because I would always do the same, just buy it whenever it was on the shelf...and it was always on the shelf. Performance for these are good enough for my needs I never felt the need to branch out much. But yes, now we all need to just take whatever we can get. I do have my limits though...my wife won't let me start the buy-another-rifle-just-to-use-the-powder game, especially if I can only get a lb or 2 of it anyway.

[CINDERS]

Bit behind you there BAR only got about 23Kg of powder as presently not only that is in short supply but all projectiles and primers thank goodness we hedged 3 years go with projies/cases we brought up on the ADI and Reloader powder & primers in very late 2019 so the shelf life is ok at this point.

[usabaker]

I got enough of most of the powders I need except for 4350, use the last of that up a while back when I started using Hybrid 100V, but now that I have the 300 H&H I find myself wanting the 4350 because all of the books I have seen rate it as the best load for hunting and accuracy. I'd like to do a side-by-side comparison on my rifle to see if the 4350 stands up to the claim. I have alerts set-up everywhere... I am really considering getting more powder as I can find it since our new dictator has gunpowder on his list of things he's planing on controlling and banning mail-order sales.

[CINDERS]

H 414 IMR 4350 and ADI AR 2209 are similar to Hogdons 4350 but always reduce the loadings as sometimes the burn rates can vary up to 5% I read once I use AR 2209 in my 6.5 x 284 bit cleaner than RE-22 or RE-19 which makes the bore like a coal mine with carbon.