One powder for .243, .270, and .308

Hi all

Great responses ... and thanks for the great powder suggestions.
Over the holidays I picked up some RL-15 and some RL-17 that were on sale.
I guess I’m back to narrowing in on 2 powders instead of 1!

Looking forward to giving them a go.
 
I use Varget for .223, .308, .303, .30-06, and 8mm Mauser. I'd recommend you give it a shot too. It suits a broad spectrum of cartridges.

I'm also thinking of trying BL-C2 at some point. But I've got good loads for everything with Varget.
 
H4895 is my choice. Took this road because of it's ease to download for young/recoil sensitive sports shooters and hunters.
 
Both the .243 and .270 need significantly slower powder than the .308, so there will be a big compromise if you want to use only one powder. You could use RL26 as your slow powder and choose something else for the .308. That way you will be using the full potential of all of your chamberings with 2 powders.
 
Varget or IMR 4166 may do the best as a powder for all 3 cartidges, but will give less than ideal velocity with the 243/270

Hodgdon shows decent speeds with Win760 in the 308 with 155gr, and it would give more speed in the 270/243
 
Revwildman said:
Hi all,

I have a question that perhaps can't be answered ... but here's my attempt to try and streamline my reloading powders: Is it possible to find ONE powder for the following three calibers: .243, .270, .308?
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ABSOLUTELY your question can be answered. It's dead easy to answer actually. You could answer it for yourself in a few minutes better than any of us can.

The answer is yes, you can use a powder in the H4895 / Varget burn range that will definitely work in all three cartridges. H4895 is known as the "universal" powder for very good reason - it works pretty well in a large variety of cartridges. That's because it (and Varget) are more or less in the middle of the burn range for non magnum rifle powder. Something in the middle will go up or down in application better than a powder at either extreme of burn rate will, of course.

The problem you have though is that both .243 and .270 Win will benefit from powders significantly slower than what's best for the .308 in the bullet weights you list. You're going to be leaving a lot of performance on the table using something in H4895/Varget range in .243 and .270, and vice versa for the .308. You really need something slower for the .243/.270, like roughly around the H4831 range.

So the better answer to me is that if you want to streamline your reloading powders, find three that go from CFE BLK to H4831 in burn speed. With the cartridges you list if you had H4198, H4895 and H4831 you'd be totally covered for every bullet weight in all of those cartridges, and many many other cartridges. If my goal was streamlined powder choices, I'd buy an eight pound jug of each and be done with it.

You will never, ever ever go wrong having H4895/Varget on hand. It's like having AA batteries around. You cannot go wrong having lots of either around, you will 100% eventually use it in something.

The REAL answer to me is that you can look online or in a reloading manual and easily answer your own question from manufacturer data. Doesn't take too long to cross reference powders to see what will work where. You can even automatically sort by cartridge/powder/bullet weight on the Hodgdon site.
 
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LolaPP said:
ABSOLUTELY your question can be answered. It's dead easy to answer actually. You could answer it for yourself in a few minutes better than any of us can.

...

The REAL answer to me is that you can look online or in a reloading manual and easily answer your own question from manufacturer data. Doesn't take too long to cross reference powders to see what will work where. You can even automatically sort by cartridge/powder/bullet weight on the Hodgdon site.
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Or you can post on a friendly website like this and interact with people who have decades of experience...
 
1899 said:
Or you can post on a friendly website like this and interact with people who have decades of experience...
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Which may be of vastly varying and uncertain quality. Or relevance.

I didn't say you can't do both, but you'd be better off forming your own answer through knowledge. Posting here is optional.
 
LolaPP said:
Which may be of vastly varying and uncertain quality. Or relevance.

I didn't say you can't do both, but you'd be better off forming your own answer through knowledge. Posting here is optional.
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You miss the point - some people like the interaction. It's more fun than google and we are social animals. Perhaps you noticed the caveat under this particular forum - "For Reference ONLY. Always refer to factory data and never deviate from factory recommended specifications". I've met quite a few nice people from this forum.

And once you've been on here for more than a month you will learn who actually has a lot of high quality, relevant information.

In the end you are right though - posting here IS optional.
 
1899 said:
You miss the point - some people like the interaction. It's more fun than google and we are social animals. Perhaps you noticed the caveat under this particular forum - "For Reference ONLY. Always refer to factory data and never deviate from factory recommended specifications". I've met quite a few nice people from this forum.

And once you've been on here for more than a month you will learn who actually has a lot of high quality, relevant information.

In the end you are right though - posting here IS optional.
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And again, I didn't say you shouldn't or can't do both. Indeed, I also provided a rather fulsome answer to the OPs question. I'm unsure what your point is.

Since he didn't mention it, I have no idea if the OP is flipping through published data or not. Hence my suggestion to go have a look at it. I think that's a pretty good suggestion that will help him out not only here but in the future. You're free to disagree and believe he should only be asking here.
 
Hi LolaPP

Thanks for your suggestion to use H4895/Varget. Others have mentioned Varget too.

You also mention others powders too ... thank you.

I do find it very helpful to ask ... and receive feedback on powder suggestions from others. I’ve only been reloading for a few years ... and always looking to learn from others.

Thanks!
 
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