Cool_Moo5e
Active Member
thank you, take it TAC is probably the budget stuff?
thank you, take it TAC is probably the budget stuff?
I can't think of any powders I'd call "budget". TAC works great. It just happens to be cheaper.thank you, take it TAC is probably the budget stuff?
so far I like the CFE223 powder I reloaded 20 rounds to the 3200FPS mark they hit where my red dot was so I will stick with my 26.6-27 grain load for that with my 55gr FMJ now just looking for a cheaper reload for taking care of problem animals with my 40gr HPBTs which if my books right I can just use 24.3 gr of powder and that will get me above the velocity I already have set up for my FMJs but then again I also have to take 20 rounds of it and make sure my gun agrees.I can't think of any powders I'd call "budget". TAC works great. It just happens to be cheaper.
The CFE stuff is all "copper fouling eliminator". I can't really speak to much difference in copper buildup between it and other powders. I guess it is somewhat less. All of the CFE (pistol, black, 223) work extremely well for me. For a ball powder, generally very accurate, and you can get near top velocities for the rifle cartridges it is good for. For CFE pistol it is more of a medium powder, so not top velocities, but most loadings you can squeeze a few dozen fps over the faster powders and when loaded warm, burns pretty clean. And the pressure builds a lot slower on it, so you are a lot safer pushing things hard.
Anyway, I love me my CFE223, but it isn't always the best tool for the job. I have not personally used TAC, but reading plenty of reviews and looking at load data, it generally works well.
For me, personally, it is about time saved. And picking up a new powder that I need to work up loads for is not worth it unless I am picking up a lot of it. I suppose if I was just picking it up for plinking ammo that would be fine. Still sometime to work up a load, but that is probably one ladder and range session to know I have a safe load and something that shoots decent in my gun(s) I am loading for and then load a bunch. Hunting and match loads, it is often 2-4 range sessions and ladders because I am dialing it in for the best combination of charge weight and COAL, and possibly primer too.
I love to shoot, but if I have to use up 40-80 rounds of powder, bullets, and primers, and 4-8hrs of loading and range sessions to get a load dialed in, that is a lot of time and expense if I was getting, say, 2 pounds of powder. Now if my range was out my backdoor...
Or again, just something plinking where you are talking 20 rounds and maybe an hour and a half or two hours to load it up and take it to the range to test...
Anyway, just my thoughts on the matter. I am not so hard up that $30 price difference on a jug of 8# is a deciding factor for me when I'd be shooting more than $30 worth of components just to dial in a new load (let alone loads plural). Now if that is what I have a hankering for, then the cost isn't a factor. I do like picking up new powders sometimes just to expand my options that I have load data in my personal reloading book for.