.338 Lapua and US869

Death

Death

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Curious if anyone is using US869 and 250gr bullets in the .338 lapua.
Considering the change because H-1000 is still hard to find. And IMR 4831 is $50/lb now
I can still find US869 for $32ish a LB.
 
I'm in the exact same boat as you. I've tried almost every powder out there now. Closest to h1000 is the new 7977. It's great and readily avlalible. It's new so it's hard to find loads for it but just build your own starting from the Hodgen web sight. A close second Is retumbo but is pretty dirty but accurate. I've tried 869 with OK results. But every barrel is different. Some guys swear by 869.
Good luck!
 
Have you tried IMR7828? I switched to it after struggling for months with Retumbo and H-1000.
running 300gr Lapua Senars with 77.7 gr. Very accurate load.
 
I have used a lot of H1000 and Retumbo in the .338 RUM. I know the Lapua would behave similarly with those powders. Both are very temperature insensitive too.
 
dero338 said:
Not the most temperature stable, but had very good results with 250 accubound.
I prefer RETUMBO.
Click to expand...

That's precisely my experience with the 285 gr Hornady. US869 gives higher MV's than Retumbo, but is not quite as accurate nor as temperature stable.

I'm eager to try Re33 when I can find some.
 
Double base powders are faster in prety much any cartridge, but they are also very sensitive to température change. Since I have seen a drop of 100 fps with only 15 deg C drop in my 6,5X55, I stoped to buy them.
If you have no problem developing loads for différents temperature range, they are the best. But in my case, I avoid them as much as I can.
 
I mostly use US869 in my 338 Lapua but have been chasing my loads for a couple years, it may be due to temp changes but I've found that what shoots good one day doesn't do so well a week later. I may have to sell what's left of the 869 and try something else.
My buddy is using vihtavuori N570 with 300gr pills and getting 1/4moa at 1000yds with it. I may try it next :)
 
I found 869 to be to slow burning for the "relatively" lighter bullets (under 300gn). I shoot the 265gn Barnes LRX with H4831SC and have great results. In my testing of 300, 265, and 250 grain bullets, I found that as you go lighter in the bullets, you go faster in the powder burn rate. Being US869 is one of the slowest burning powders, it's not surprising it's not that accurate with 250gn bullets. For me with 300gn sierras, H1000 works best. Of course, enter disclaimer here, your results may vary.

Cheers
 
For lack of availability of H1000 I have only been able to use H4831SC albeit it seems to work very well with my 285's. Unfortunately I don't have anything else to compare it too.
 
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