Essential Powders?

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Redlich

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Hello all,

I'm new to reloading, and when I say new I mean I have used other people's equipment for a few rounds, then I bought my own equipment, and now it's time to stock up on components and make some real use of my investment. I'm hoping to reload the following calibers:

-5.56 nato for practice at the range (not worried about being competitive yet)
-.308 win, also for practice at the range, also not worried about competition

7mm-08, 8mm mauser, 30-06, and 300 win mag all for hunting with limited range time, just to develop loads when necessary and to sight in/confirm zero.

So I know what calibers I'm going to reload and I know what I'm using them for, but I need POWDER! :)

I realize that choosing powders that are ideal for accuracy is usually specific to each rifle, and that sometimes it's a ford/chev issue in choosing similar powders. But what powders would you (in your opinion) consider "essential" powders that every rifle reloader should have in his cabinet? I know that one powder cannot do everything, but surely there are a few powders that can form the building blocks of a reloader's component stockpile.

Having done some research comparing some powders that seem to work fairly efficiently in various calibers, I've narrowed it down to two that I think could work together to cover most of the bases, as a starting point:

Hodgdon H4895 and Hodgdon H4350

My thinking was that H4895 works well for most of the calibers and is very similar to Varget (which was also on the short list), but that it works a little better than Varget in shorter barrels such as those on my hunting rifles. H4350 will handle situations that need a bit of a slower powder, such as in the 300 win mag running 180gr bullets, or the 30-06 with a heavy load.

Are these decent choices to start loading with, if competition is out of the picture? I'm looking for reasonable starting points, not 0.5moa groups yet. I just need to shoot more and I figure that perfecting loads for specific rifles can come after more trigger time, if I can find powders that can give decent performance in the meantime. Are there any other powders that you would consider even more "versatile" or "essential", or is a third or even fourth powder needed for applications that I hadn't thought of? Let me know! :)

Thanks in advance for any input! I really want to put some orders down for components and get my hands dirty.

Red
 
if your having only two powders it would be varget and h4350/imr 4350. the 4350's work well in 3006 and 300 probably in your 8mm too. i would be tempted to try reloader 19 as well. varget is excelent in heavier 223 loads and anything 308/7 08. if going for lighter bullets in the 223 try reloader 10. soon you will be like most of us 50 or 60 lbs of powder in your cabinet.
 
H4895 or IMR 4895
IMR 4064
Varget
BL-C(2)
W748

I have other powders but these are what I use the most in bottleneck cartridges like you have mentioned. I would start with any of the 4895s if I had to try just one first. Something like IMR 4350 might be more versatile for your .300 Win Mag though.
 
Hodgdon extreme powders are a good choice. Without looking up all the cartridges, I would guess Varget (.223, .308, 7mm08), and H4831sc (300 mag, 30-06). Not sure about the 8mm Mauser, but one or the other should work. In general you want to use a powder that just fills the case to the neck with the optimum load, or is even slightly compressed. And generally slower powder takes more space.

Here is a good powder burn rate chart which puts the various choices into perspective for speed.

Lapua Powder Burn Rate Chart
 
Redlich said:
Hello all,

...

Having done some research comparing some powders that seem to work fairly efficiently in various calibers, I've narrowed it down to two that I think could work together to cover most of the bases, as a starting point:

Hodgdon H4895 and Hodgdon H4350

My thinking was that H4895 works well for most of the calibers and is very similar to Varget (which was also on the short list), but that it works a little better than Varget in shorter barrels such as those on my hunting rifles. H4350 will handle situations that need a bit of a slower powder, such as in the 300 win mag running 180gr bullets, or the 30-06 with a heavy load
....

Red
Click to expand...

You've done good research, with the mentioned calibers, I'd go with the two powders you say, also for the reasons you say.
 
chappy said:
soon you will be like most of us 50 or 60 lbs of powder in your cabinet.
Click to expand...

You stay the #### out of my cabinet!:eek:

Seriously, my essential powders are those that work well in each of my rifles. And I see no reason to limit myself to just 1 or 2 powders. Why? Why not get all you can out of each of your rifles? Got no room for 5 or 6 cans of powder if that's what you need?:confused:
 
Oh I'm sure I'll have a dozen different powders stockpiled to the roof someday, but I figure that you've got to start somewhere, so I was just looking for a couple as a starting point to learn the basics, and this way if I buy a couple pounds of a well rounded powder, I know that I'll use it SOMEWHERE even if it's not the best in any single rifle that I own right now. I just didn't want to go out and buy 10 different powders, only to learn that 8 of them were obscure and niche ones that I might never use.

I really appreciate all the input, it's been very useful! Now to actually buy some...
 
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