Choosing Powder/Primers for Reloading

mosinmaster

mosinmaster

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Hi,

I just ordered a RCBS kit from PR. I have dies/bullets/cases, now just the powders and primers need to be bought.

I kind of want to streamline my powders/primers for the most calibers.

Calibers I want to reload for are .308/7.62 NATO (M14), 8mm Mauser, 6.5x55 Swedish, .30-30, and .45 ACP.

Is there a powder that will suit all the .30 cal rifles? And one for the pistol cal?

Also, which brand makes good primers? The M14 should use harder primers in case of slam-fire, which ones are best to use? How about for the pistol?

Thanks
 
For powders the easiest way to find overlap of powders is to use the Hodgdon/Winchester reloading data center.It will allow you to choose the specifics and go from there.

Go with one primer is totally fine for what you want to do.Just work up your loads and record results. Federal , Winchester, CCI , some do have harder cups so I guess that would be what you want to use for your do all primer.I believe CCI are the hardest, I could be wrong.

For pistol stuff I cannot comment.
 
You could start with some Varget / H4895 for powders they are known to be very versatile for many calibres
You should buy a pound of some common ones and play around a bit, you will find your firearms may be picky to certain brands for best results, so you may not be able to streamline if going for accuracy.
 
Those aren't all .30 calibre rifle cartridges.

You're probably going to need at least 2 different rifle powders for those cartridges to do them justice.
Powder selection is based on ratio between the cartridge case capacity versus the bore size/length.
Realistically your best bet is to print a page for each cartridge from a reloading manual and shop with that in hand.
The Lee reloading manual has collected load data from several sources and sorts by bullet weight and muzzle velocities within,
making it easy to pick the highest performance powder for a combination.
You'll probably find only some of the powders listed are available to you.

The ideal primers for the M14 would be the mil-spec CCI #34, but they are hard to come by.
CCI #200 would be my next choice. CCI BR-2 primers would also be fine, but pricy for that application.
I suspect primer availability in Canada is starting to decline due to US demand, which is where many
of the primers sold in Canada are produced.

I would avoid the Federal Large Rifle primers because of their high firing pin impact sensitivity,
and current production (gold) Winchester Large Rifle Primers for the same reason.
(The current Winchester primers were redesigned from the silver version to increase
their sensitivity to primer strikes).
Higher sensitivity primers have an increased risk of a slam-fire from the M14 floating firing pin.

I can't comment on the Remington primer offering.
 
The 308 and 8mm will work best with a medium speed powder. 4895 would be a good choice for those two, with lots of loading data. It would work well in the 30-30, too.

4895 would be ok in the Swede with lighter bullets, say up to 120 gr. But the Swede is reaaly good with 140 gr bullets, and a slower powder is much better, like 4831SC.
 
How do you choose a powder based on caliber, bullet weight, barrel length? Is there a chart? Or just a mathematical calculation? Low, med, fast burn speed? I'm not familiar with this yet, hence reading a manual.

But with regards to bullet grains, I'm thinking:

M98 Mauser in 8x57: 170 - 200 grains
Modern action 6.5x55: 140 grains
Marlin 30-30: 150 grains
M14 308: 150 grains (any higher would damage the rifle correct?)
1911 Commander .45 ACP: (standard grain is 230, but do most of you guys shoot reduced weights?)
 
"M98 Mauser in 8x57: 170 - 200 grains Slow Powder 4350 to 4831
Modern action 6.5x55: 140 grains Slow Powder 4350 to 4831

Marlin 30-30: 150 grains Medium powder 3031, 4895, Varget, 748, H335, BLC2
M14 308: 150 grains Medium powder 3031, 4895, Varget, 748, H335, BLC2

1911 Commander .45 ACP: medium speed pistol powder 231 is a good choice (I load the 200 gr lead SWC. Cheap and accurate)
 
Sounds like IMR 4895, H4895 <-- What's the difference?; Varget, BLC2 are good powders to get for my rifles. Why does the 6.5x55 require a different powder from the others?

With fixed sights on a 1911, are they zeroed for 230 gr bullets? If you shoot 200 gr bullets, will the POI shift dramatically at pistol ranges?
 
You can use a medium burning powder as some mentioned it just wont' be ideal for all . (as far as rifles listed) I can use 4895 for .308/8mm and 6.5x55 . depending on bullet weight you plan shooting you will not get the best velocity. (4895 would be good for the lighter bullets in the 6.5x55 like the 85gr. Sierra HP).

Personally I like 4064 as a medium burning powder and I use it for many chamberings.
 
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