03-24-2011, 02:21 AM
MM:
I like Coolbarrel's recipe for starting simply with powders that will work across a range of calibers. I've burnt a bunch of 231 in .45 acp and 9mm over the years and it works ok for the general blasting ammo with my cast lead bullets. I haven't used nearly as much 748 but what I have as been great in 5.56 and ok in .308. Remember, though, that by limiting yourself to one powder for all your rifle calibers, you are compromising performance for simplicity. There is really no substitute for looking at a bunch of reloading data for the caliber you are interested in and seeing which powder comes close to the performance you are looking for. I try to match the powder's burn rate with the case capacity and bullet weight. For instance, in 5.56, I load 55 gr. bullets w/AA2230 and 69 and 77 gr. bullets with AA2520. In .308, I load 125 gr. hunting bullets with AA2015, the 150 gr. hunting bullets with H335 or AA2460, and the 168 and 175 targets with 2520. In .243, I have been going with IMR 4064 for lighter bullets and IMR4831 or H4831 for heavier. For 120 gr. class bullets in Grendel, I use 2520 and for the 100 gr. class, 2460. I've been reloading .223 and .308 for 25 years now and only three for the grendel. The AA powders were fairly new on the market when I started using them. I haven't tried any of the newer powders because what I had was working pretty well for me but I'm retired now and may have some more time for experimentation.
Hope this helps a little,
regards,
pkcorc30
I like Coolbarrel's recipe for starting simply with powders that will work across a range of calibers. I've burnt a bunch of 231 in .45 acp and 9mm over the years and it works ok for the general blasting ammo with my cast lead bullets. I haven't used nearly as much 748 but what I have as been great in 5.56 and ok in .308. Remember, though, that by limiting yourself to one powder for all your rifle calibers, you are compromising performance for simplicity. There is really no substitute for looking at a bunch of reloading data for the caliber you are interested in and seeing which powder comes close to the performance you are looking for. I try to match the powder's burn rate with the case capacity and bullet weight. For instance, in 5.56, I load 55 gr. bullets w/AA2230 and 69 and 77 gr. bullets with AA2520. In .308, I load 125 gr. hunting bullets with AA2015, the 150 gr. hunting bullets with H335 or AA2460, and the 168 and 175 targets with 2520. In .243, I have been going with IMR 4064 for lighter bullets and IMR4831 or H4831 for heavier. For 120 gr. class bullets in Grendel, I use 2520 and for the 100 gr. class, 2460. I've been reloading .223 and .308 for 25 years now and only three for the grendel. The AA powders were fairly new on the market when I started using them. I haven't tried any of the newer powders because what I had was working pretty well for me but I'm retired now and may have some more time for experimentation.
Hope this helps a little,
regards,
pkcorc30