What's Your Favorite Powder for Milsurps?

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What is your favorite powder for Misurp's? I have tried doing searches of the site and either I'm daft or the the search feature is having trouble understanding me. I have picked up several 1lb. jars of powder to start experimenting with but I was wondering what your favorite powder is. Is there any one or two powders that are considered the most universal for Milsurp use?
I want to load for 303, 7x57, 8mm, 8x56R, 8mm Lebel, 6x55 and maybe a few others down the road.
I have currently picked up 1 pounder's of IMR 4895, 4320, 4350, 7828, Hodgson BL-C2, and H414. I definitely want to find some Red Dot so I can try that Harris load.
 
You have: IMR 4895, 4320, 4350, 7828, BLC-(2), and H414. You're well covered for the 303, 7x57, 8X57, 8x56R, 8mm Lebel, and 6.5x55. If you're a Hodgdon man, all I can think of that you might be missing is Varget, 4831 and maybe IMR4064. I would spend a few months loading with what you've got and then expand your powder choices.
 
A number of those powders would work. Unless you are trying to super tune a load for each caliber/rifle, it would be good to use the same powder for all those calibers.

Of those powders, if I had to use just one, I would use the 4350 or the H414. It would work in the 6.5x55 and all the other calibers. Second and third choice would be 4320 and 4895.

Trick is to find the powder, in quantity.

For all my casual milsurp loading I use H335, but I use a slower powder (4831) for 6.5x55. I use H335 because it works and I happen to have a lot of it on hand. I used 16 pounds of it last week loading some 223 ammo.
 
16ibs. WOW! I can't imagine. Here I was thinking of splurging and picking picking up 4 or 5 more pounds of the consensus powder. I can see it will be while before I'm able to run with the big dogs.
 
For 303B, 308, 30-06, 8x57, and 150gr bullets for 7.62x54R I use H4895 or Benchmark.
For 6.5x55 and 174-180+gr bullets in 7.62x54R I use H4831.

I shoot a lot of cast bullets in milsurps in which case I use Unique, Blue Dot, Trail Boss, 800X, and sometimes lighter loads of H4895.
 
Left over powder from the Battleship New Jersey, and killing mosquitoes with the muzzle flash. (sorry I forgot to use a magnum primer)

flash_zpsjfiq2can.jpg
 
PCB said:
16ibs. WOW! I can't imagine. Here I was thinking of splurging and picking picking up 4 or 5 more pounds of the consensus powder. I can see it will be while before I'm able to run with the big dogs.
Click to expand...

It is best to buy a 8 pound jug, so that your powder is all the same lot number. Depending on how fast you use it, you might want to re-package it in smaller jugs - like 1.5l juice jugs.

My powder comes in 45 or 60 pound drums, and I repackage it in 16 pound water jugs and 8 pound powder jugs. A 16 pounder will only load 5,000 308s. That does not take long with a Dillon equipped with a case feeder.

IMG_1259.jpg
 
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You Sir, are my new hero
Ganderite said:
It is best to buy a 8 pound jug, so that your powder is all the same lot number. Depending on how fast you use it, you might want to re-package it in smaller jugs - like 1.5l juice jugs.

My powder comes in 45 or 60 pound drums, and I repackage it in 16 pound water jugs and 8 pound powder jugs. A 16 pounder will only load 5,000 308s. That does not take long with a Dillon equipped with a case feeder.
Click to expand...
 
Used Varget in my milsurps with good results. Have some H4895 now, still trying to find a pound or two of H4350. It's unobtainium.
 
Isn't about the rifle. It's about the cartridge. Doesn't matter if it's a milsurp or a commercial hunting rifle.
However, IMR4895 will cover most of those. IMR4064 or H4895(close but not the same thing) will do too.
8mm Lebel Rifle is the oddest cartridge you have. No data in manuals.
Chuck Hawks says, "Cartridges of the World suggests that 49 grains of IMR 4895 powder behind a 170 grain, .323" bullet produces a MV of 2570 fps and ME of 2500 ft. lbs."
Cartridges of the World is a good book for reloaders to have. So is Cartridge Conversions.
 
I've reloaded for all your calibers plus a few other less common military rifles. I've tried most of the medium burning rate powders. Either 4895 will work fine but I've settled on 4064. I just seem to get better accuracy. Downside is it doesn't meter as well as short grained powders. Have used up 40lbs since I started loading in 1979. I'm mostly a cast bullet guy now and use faster powders like 4198 and 2400.
 
Thanks Folks, I appreciate the opinions.
To Sunray,I referred to loads for "milsurps" knowing that it is all about the cartridge. I just thought that by linking my question to loading for military surplus rifles, it would help you understand the type of loads we will be creating.
8mm Lebel is not the biggest problem that we will have for our reloading. I just bought a Siamese Mauser and a Portuguese Kroptschek.
Old Ranger, I may need help learning how to cast bullets for these old calibers.
 
Years ago I was in the reloading room of a local shooter who was in his middle '70's, and he showed me his powder storage locker. He must have had at least 40+ different propellants in the locker, most of them he couldn't remember why he bought them in the first place. As a result I only use Red Dot, Unique, W231 & IMR 4895 for the 13 calibers I reload for, including .223, .308, .30-06, .303, 6.5x55mm, .32-40, .38-55, .45-70.
 
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