Good all-round powder

ten ring

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Bear with me fellow reloaders, for I am new at this. What would you good folks consider a good around rifle powder? I'll be reloading .243, .308 and .30.06 mostly, but since I just acquired a new rifle in .204 ruger, I be rolling for that as well. I can understand that I'll probably have to use a different powder for the .204, but I don't want a whole pile of different powders kicking around.
Thanks for reading my post and health and happiness to all!
Morley
 
Well, with the .204 Ruger, you'll be stretching the scale a bit...
Let's say that for the three previous calibers you could do well with something like BL-C2, with average loadings. But remember that a Jack-of-All-Trades rarely gets the top results.
PP.
 
Varget covers a lot of bases but you should try a few different types of powders to see what gives you the best results for various load combinations.
 
Varget is a fine powder for .308, has applications in .30-06 and .243, not sure about .204 but my guess is you'd want something a little faster...

But as K98 says you're really missing out on half the fun of reloading: trying new things! The velocity and accuracy you can achieve by matching a load to your rifle is absolutely worth the small incremental cost of an add'l pound of powder.

My suggestion is to start slow: get Varget for the .243 and .308, and RL-19 or IMR 4350 for the '06. That way you can do some load development and compare how two powders work in your '06, and have the best all-around powder for the .308, and for certain bullet weights in the .243.

I assume you've already got a manual or three, good scale, etc?
 
.... My vote goes to the IMR 4895. Versatile, meters well, and in the loads/calibers I use, there's no danger of a "double charge" slipping by! ( For me, I got a large can of it years ago, and it's still going strong, so currently, no need to try other Powders ) .... David K. ....
 
I use Hodgson 4895 for 308 and 30-06 with Hornady 165 gr sst's. Cannot comment on 243. I tried BL-C2 and H4350 both ok but my rifles showed a little better accuracy with 4895.. Buy a 4 pack trial box. Comes with 4 types of powder 1/4 lb each. That way you don't end up with half lb of a powder you may not use again. The box I origionally bought had H414, h4350,h4895 and the fourth was either varget or blc2 cannot remember. It is usually the same price as a regular lb of powder.
 
.204 and varget

is just fine, actally, super accurate in my usings of it, just a little slower on the fps... but very consistant, with the 39gr bks.... around 28.1-.2 grains...gives 3700 fps.
 
IMR4320 was stellar in our 308 for 165 and 180gr. I'd also try 4895 or 3031.
Being new to reloading you will go through a pound in a short time. get a couple different ones and see what works for you. THen you can settle it down to one powder if you want.
 
Confused!

Well, I presume you are just a bit more confused now, than when you wrote your request for information.
It has been mentioned here, but the truth is a 'one powder fix' will not be optimum for your original three calibres mentioned. A heavily necked down cartridge, like the 243, requires a very slow powder for best performance. With 100 grain bullets an ideal powder is H4831. Better yet, but most likely not obtainable, is Norma 205. Not only will these powders give optimum velocity, but they tend to be very accurate.
4350 is maybe the best all around powder for the 30-06, but in bullets of 200 or 220 grains, again the best is the H4831 class. Years ago Jack O'Connor wrote that he had been playing around with 4831 and 220 grain bullets in the 30-06. He came up with a "wow" load of 4831 that not only gave far more power than factory 220s, but he said it was so accurate that he used all of his supply of 220 bullets, just marveling at their accuracy. I tried his load and my 30-06 never shot more accurate with any load, than it did with the heavy 220 load!
4831 is also about as good in the 30-06 with a 180 bullet, as any other powder. However, fill a 308 case with 4831 and it will probably go "Woof!"
The 308 requires a faster powder. Shortly after the 308 came out, the gun writers of the day, decided H335 was about ideal. They also stated that with the 308 it was hard for a handloader to equal factory ammunition velocities! The factory loads may have been heavier at that time, than they are now.
Yes, one powder will make all three calibres go bang, but won't be best for them.
 
Thanks for the advice one and all!! I am going to pick up one of the combo packs and go from there. Like you good people suggest, the fun is in the experimenting.
Take care and good shooting!
Morley
 
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