Powder, bullet, primer ?s

[Engine4]

Before I buy supplies, I wanted to get opinions on brands. Are any better then others? Any to stay away from?

 

[noylj]

You don't last long if you make bad products. Lots of opinions, but they all "work." Believe me, the market will not let a bad produce last long and liability is a big thing.
Primers: US are probably better than Russian, but that is about it. I have no real preference between Winchester, CCI, Remington, and Federal (though I hate Federal packaging).
Bullets: What do you want?
Jacketed: All the Big Names are good (but too expensive for me to shoot), but I buy from Zero and Precision Delta. Montana Gold are great, but they have been increasing in price almost to Hornady/Speer/Sierra levels.
Coated lead: I buy from Precision Bullets
Cast lead: I buy from mastercastbullets.com, Missouri Bullets, and Penn Bullets
Plated: I don't buy.
Powder: all depends on what you are shooting and what your gun likes. They all are excellent. Some may be "cleaner" in some loadings, but as far as accuracy goes, it depends a lot on your gun. Look in your manuals (you have several, right?) and look for those since you have data for them.
General powders for pistols: 231/HP38, AA5, Unique, Universal.
9x19: Power Pistol, Silhouette, True Blue
.40S&W: AA5 for light to mid-range. Silhouette for general.
.45 Auto: 231/HP38, Bullseye, Red Dot, AA2
Pistol powders that many love and I don't: TiteGroup, Clays, N310.

 

[byf43]

Sorry. That's a "loaded" question.

What caliber(s)?????????

Everyone is going to have their favorites, depending on caliber being reloaded.

Personally, I have gotten very good to excellent results from Winchester primers and Federal primers.

I like Winchester and Federal brass, depending on what I'm loading, however, Remington has also given me good results.


I (well, my firearms) like Sierra, Hornady and Nosler bullets. Cast Performance bullets (aka/ Boolits) work extremely well in my .45-70 rifles.

Powders????? Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many to list.

 

[Uncle Duke]

Before I buy supplies, I wanted to get opinions on brands. Are any better then others? Any to stay away from?

What cartridge or cartridges are you loading?

 

[iH8DemLibz]

^^^This.^^^

I will tell you a combination that has never worked in several rifle calibers. .243, .30-06, .30-40, etc.

H380 combined with standard CCI rifle primers.

I can pull the trigger and eat a sammich before a BOOM occurs. Hammer strike. Primer pops. Delayed Ignition. Then BOOM. You can actually hear the sequence take place.

Switching to H414 and standard Winchester rifle primers solved the problem in all calibers.


EShell gets all the credit for helping me figure that one out.

 

[BUFF7MM]

I prefer Hornady bullets for about everything I load with the exception of what I cast for my pistols, nothing wrong with the rest that's just what I like. Powders, like others have said too many to list. I'm partial to Remington, Federal, or Winchester primers, I've used CCI, and I'm sure the others are fine also.

 

[Engine4]

Thanks for the info! I'll be loading .308, 30.06, 9mm, 38, 357 to start with. I've got 5 or 6 thick manuals to dive into. Just cleared out a space in the basement & will be making my bench this week.

 

[JettaRed]

A relatively new pistol powder from Alliant is BE-86. It meters well and is very consistent. Great for 9mm.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[drive_accord_ingly]

Thanks for the info! I'll be loading .308, 30.06, 9mm, 38, 357 to start with. I've got 5 or 6 thick manuals to dive into. Just cleared out a space in the basement & will be making my bench this week.

.308. I like the Sierra matchkings in 168 grains and 175 grains. There are many many pages of discussion so enjoy the research. These bullets are exceptionally accurate out to medium ranges. I shoot em out of my PSS's. Can't say enough good things about em.

30-06. I use the military FMJ in 147 grains over some 4895. The odd-six packs a punch and this load tries to to duplicate the military loading for Garands and the like service rifles, which is what I use. Anything heavier is hard on the op rod and action.

For the 9 mm, I like the bulk Remy 115 and 124 grain FMJ over some Winchester 231. 231 is medium burning and consistent. And it smells good and burns clean. The .38 Spl I like some bullseye under some light wadcutters. Good for accuracy and, presuming you are shooting them through a revolver, you don't have to worry about the bullsye being less clean.

 

[Pinecone]

All the brands are good. It depends on what you want to shoot, pricing, and brand loyalty.

For .308, what gun? For an M1A, H4895 with a Sierra Match King 168 grain and any standard or match primer. I would not use Federal for semi auot due to softer primer cups and the possibility of a slam fire.

For a .308 bolt gun, Varget and the 175 grain Sierra Match King is a super combo.

RL-15, IMR 4895 and IMR 4064 are also good powders for .308.

For .30-06, again what type of gun? Garands need to use specific powders. IMR 4064 is GRAT. H or IMR 4895 is also good.

For 9mm, I like WW231/HP38 (same powder different labels). I don't load .38/.357.

 

[Pinecone]

30-06. I use the military FMJ in 147 grains over some 4895. The odd-six packs a punch and this load tries to to duplicate the military loading for Garands and the like service rifles, which is what I use. Anything heavier is hard on the op rod and action.

Bullet weight is not the issue, the powder is. Military ammo used to be 173 grains.

For match, guys shoot 168 or 175 Sierra Match Kings with no problem.

The current darling for Garand seems to be IMR 4064.

 

[Engine4]

My 30.06 is a remy 700 bolt.

 

[BigDaddy]

Two observations:
1) After reloading through multiple primer and powder shortages, it's hard to be picky.

2) Experimentation is part of the fun but you can also drive yourself nuts if you get too many combinations of powder, bullet weight, bullet manufacturer and primer manufacturer

3) The Nanny state of MD limits you to 5# of powder, per fire code laws.

 

[drive_accord_ingly]

Bullet weight is not the issue, the powder is. Military ammo used to be 173 grains.

For match, guys shoot 168 or 175 Sierra Match Kings with no problem.

The current darling for Garand seems to be IMR 4064.

There is also the issue of the longer boolets and the powder charge getting compressed.

I have not tried the 4064. Will look into it. Thx.

 

[byf43]

All the brands are good. It depends on what you want to shoot, pricing, and brand loyalty.

For .308, what gun? For an M1A, H4895 with a Sierra Match King 168 grain and any standard or match primer. I would not use Federal for semi auot due to softer primer cups and the possibility of a slam fire.

For a .308 bolt gun, Varget and the 175 grain Sierra Match King is a super combo.

RL-15, IMR 4896 and IMR 4064 are also good powders for .308.

For .30-06, again what type of gun? Garands need to use specific powders. IMR 4064 is GRAT. H or IMR 4895 is also good.

For 9mm, I like WW231/HP38 (same powder different labels). I don't load .38/.357.

Possible typo????????








OP:

As for IMR-4064 for the M1A and M1 Garand, there are better powders suited for them, due to the port pressures.
4064 is at the upper edge of the pressure curve for the gas guns, unless you have an adjustable 'plug'.
"I" don't use 4064 in my gas guns, due to this.


H-4895 and W-748 work well in both M1A and M1 Garand (as well as for the AR-15 in .223/5.56x45mm). H-335 is fantastic in the AR, also.
Be sure to follow loading data when working up loads.

 

[drive_accord_ingly]

There are two flavors of 4895, one is military, the other is commercial. They are very similar. But not the same. You can do the research as there is plenty out there written on the subject.

Also, +1 on the 748. Good stuff to run in gas guns.

 

[trickg]

Two observations:
1) After reloading through multiple primer and powder shortages, it's hard to be picky.

2) Experimentation is part of the fun but you can also drive yourself nuts if you get too many combinations of powder, bullet weight, bullet manufacturer and primer manufacturer

3) The Nanny state of MD limits you to 5# of powder, per fire code laws.

Post of the day right there, especially in regard to #2.

On #3, unless I'm mistaken (and I could be) the law is actually worded as being 5 lbs per person so in a pinch you can claim that any occupant of the dwelling old enough to buy powder can have 5 lbs.

 

[BUFF7MM]

Possible typo???????? .

Impossible, Mr. Perfect is never wrong.

 

[Rockzilla]

Bullet weight is not the issue, the powder is. Military ammo used to be 173 grains.

For match, guys shoot 168 or 175 Sierra Match Kings with no problem.

The current darling for Garand seems to be IMR 4064.

"Mexican Match" ammo pull the 173, replace with 168 SMK in the ole days
works rather well.

let's see here...hmmmm...

M1A.
IMR-4895...CCI-200... Sierra 168 MK or Lapua 155-175gr Scenar, Scenar L
LC Match Brass

Bolt 700 Action Bartlein Barrel .308
IMR-4064..CCI-200... Lapua 175 Scenar L or Berger
Lapua Brass

30-06 M1 Garand NM
IMR-4064...IMR-4895...CCI-200..Lapua or Sierra 155-175
LC Brass

Bolt Win Mdl 70
IMR-4064...CCI-200...any bullet...Rem or Win brass

.38spl.
Bullseye...CCI-500..148-WC..158-SWC.....Win brass

.357
H110..WW-630(discontinued)..CCI-550...Speer..Hornady..Sierra JHP or RN... Win brass

9mm
HP-38/W-231...CCI-500...RMR bullets.."blue bullets"...WCC brass, or range brass..


-Rock

 

[alucard0822]

Thanks for the info! I'll be loading .308, 30.06, 9mm, 38, 357 to start with. I've got 5 or 6 thick manuals to dive into. Just cleared out a space in the basement & will be making my bench this week.

Everyone has their favorites, and a lot comes down to where you buy from. I use Hodgdon and Alliant powders with CCI primers, pretty much what my local shops carry, don't load enough to make a big hazmat charge for an online order worth it. Brass is mostly pickups from factory ammo, and starline. As far as handgun bullets, Hornady XTPs are my favorite, plentiful and accurate, can be pushed fast as you want, also use a lot of Hornady HAP bullets, basically an XTP without a scored jacket, usually pick them up on blem sales at Midway. To save money with light and moderate loads I use plated bullets with low-mid range jacketed data and they shoot well enough. For Rifles, Hornady FMJ for good plinking loads, Sierra Match kings for good target loads, and SST for good hunting loads, might use cheaper FMJ if I get a deal on them for plinking 5.56 and 30cal loads.


I typically use bullseye for light to moderate 38 and 357 under a 158gr plated, very accurate load and very forgiving of minor variations. In 357 I load H110 under an XTP when I want full power in 357 and other magnum revolver calibers.

In 9mm I have used HS6 under 124 and 147gr plated bullets almost exclusively, but have had good luck with the new CFE powder. XTPs under power pistol is my preffered heavy load for most auto calibers.

in 308 and 30-06 most of my loads are H4895 under a 150gr Hornady FMJ, cheap, shoot well out of my M1 and M1As, and not shabby out of my other Milsurp and civvie rifles. Use H4895 under a 168gr SMK for match loads in both calibers, and under 150gr SSTs for hunting loads. Could load hotter, or use a different powder for most of my rifles, but a little better velocity isn't worth not being able to use them in my M1/M14 actions, and it has been an extremely accurate powder for me.