Are most powders equally "accurate"?

[No Fear in Accuracy]

With a little research you can generally limit your loads to about two powders in a caliber. I always go to the temperature insensitive first. I keep 8 lb jugs of varget h4198 h4350 H1000 H4831SC IMR 4166 and now RL17 and 26. I have smaller lots of lesser powders that are not my mainstays. I have a metal powder locker for powder and primers.

If you are working up a load for a gun that is going to be shot a lot it is important to keep the same lot. Changing lots requires shooting the new lot over a chrono to check speed and tune.

QL cannot account for lot variance until you go in and make manual adjustment but it is a research tool.

I wondered if the store ordered a truck load of powders from the manufactories, does it mean that the powders are the same lots? (meaning that they create powders and shipped on the same day).

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Nope,

Yep!

+3.

 

[Methow Packer]

Question. If you have several one pound cans of the same powder say H1000, does it make sense to combine them all into a larger lot for better consistency ? Similar idea to different lots of a paint color etc. Maybe less chance of variances in velocity swings ?

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Question. If you have several one pound cans of the same powder say H1000, does it make sense to combine them all into a larger lot for better consistency ? Similar idea to different lots of a paint color etc. Maybe less chance of variances in velocity swings ?

Yup. Mix em all up and treat it as one big lot.

 

[deerhunter61]

Yup. Mix em all up and treat it as one big lot.

Just be careful..

 

[65WSM]

Quickload can help you choose a powder that fills the case and produces the kind of velocity that long range hunting is based on.

The second thing that I would point out is that the powder suppliers: Hodgdon, VihtaVuori, Norma, Western and Alliant do not set out to supply us with bad stuff. I believe that the "new" powders are typically more consistent, cleaner burning and less temperature sensitive than the older powders. The suppliers try to improve each time they go to chemists at the manufacturers.

They do have failures like the Alliant 4000MR which was less than the Nitrocheme counterparts produced Switzerland by the same chemists R-17 and R-26.

I would look first at what is new. Try the "Enduron" series from Hodgdon. Vihta Vuori's N-570 sold out fast when it was splashed on the market. When they make some more try it in overbore long range cartridges. Norma's newest are 217 and URP. Alliants R-26 is amazing in the velocity it produces.

Listen to what our handloading suppliers say.

It is not a "long range" powder but Western brought out LT-32 as a new run of the most accurate powder in history. I like it in the 6mm PPC with 65gr Bullets.

Hodgdon says that IMR 8208 XBR is the most accurate powder that they have ever seen. I have found it excellent in the .17 Remington .20PPC and .204 Ruger.

IMR-4166 (Canada) is new and has the same burn rate as Varget (Australia). 4166 produces much more velocity for me. I haven't shot enough to tell if it is more accurate but I will say it looks close.