Powder choice?

[Shopdog]

Still have a decent supply of IMR4350.That and 85g Sierra BT's were all my '68 R700 saw for a long time.

 

[ATH]

Reloder 26 is the speed powder for many and very stable if you stay under 84F. I ran a Berger 105 over 3,400fps before I hit pressure in a 243 WIN with it.

Generally I look at reviews for temp stability and overall performance. Also match up against what I already have in stock and try to align across rounds to minimize total number of powders I must stock.

For 243 specifically, Re26 is the fastest I have seen, also good results with Re23 and Re22, with Re22 being the one I have thousands of rounds of experience. I don't see the temp instability some report but will migrate to 23 or 26 once my stock and current barrels are gone.

But I will say, be VERY CAREFUL about trusting specific loads or speeds reported on the internet. I have a 243 ACKLEY and hit max working pressure at 3280 in a 24" barrel. I did fire a single test round which registered 3300+ and had to replace the ejector spring afterwards. Re22 works are 3200 in this rifle. 105gr AMAX. I won't call someone getting 2400 from a straight 243 a liar, there are fast barrels out there, but it seems like an extreme outlier.

 

[Wedgy]

Generally I look at reviews for temp stability and overall performance. Also match up against what I already have in stock and try to align across rounds to minimize total number of powders I must stock.

For 243 specifically, Re26 is the fastest I have seen, also good results with Re23 and Re22, with Re22 being the one I have thousands of rounds of experience. I don't see the temp instability some report but will migrate to 23 or 26 once my stock and current barrels are gone.

But I will say, be VERY CAREFUL about trusting specific loads or speeds reported on the internet. I have a 243 ACKLEY and hit max working pressure at 3280 in a 24" barrel. I did fire a single test round which registered 3300+ and had to replace the ejector spring afterwards. Re22 works are 3200 in this rifle. 105gr AMAX. I won't call someone getting 2400 from a straight 243 a liar, there are fast barrels out there, but it seems like an extreme outlier.

I am a big .243 fan and was going to build an AI version but then stumbled on Reloder 26 and saw no need. Yes you can get those velocities. Guys have pushed a 140 from a 6.5 Creed to nearly 3,000fps with it. The threads on the Hide don't seem to work anymore but if one isn't up to date on RL26 I will say they are uninformed. I don't push those speeds in a 20 shot string as the barrel will be glowing hot but it's deadly for hunting.
There are still plenty of thread on here, Accurate Shooter, and other forums.
https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/chronograph-speeds-not-working-out-for-drop.167934/

 

[jimbires]

it's been awhile since I played with a 243 . when I was loading for one, IMR7828sc was not on the market yet . I used IMR7828 the problem being it was a highly compressed load . I just looked at quickload for this . with all the new powders available today , Wedgy gave what would be my first choice powder for a 243 shooting 100 gr Hornady bullets , RL26 .

RL26 ..................99.7% case fill ........................3096 FPS 22" bbl excellent choice
N560 ..................102.2% .................................3063 FPS ...... hard to get local
IMR7828ssc ...........101%...................................3054 FPS
RL22 ....................102.5% ................................3043 FPS #10 on powder list
these powders all reached the max 60191 PSI .

I gotta get to work . if you want I'll add the other couple powders mentioned to the list when I get time .

 

[jimbires]

I just glanced through and wrote down the other powders that were mentioned in this thread.



these are not in any order .
RL19 .......................99.3% ..........................................3004FPS
H4831sc ..................100.5% ........................................2976FPS
IMR4831 ...................99.1% ........................................2967FPS
IMR4451 ...................91.0% .........................................2936FPS
varget .......................88.8%.........................................2924FPS
CFE223 ......................80.7%.........................................2960FPS
H4350.........................96.8%.........................................2948 FPS
IMR4350......................95%...........................................2947 FPS
RL16 ...........................96.5%........................................3009 FPS
all powders listed above reached the max PSI of 60191 .

these two powders did not reach max PSI of 60191
RL23............................105%....................3019FPS.................60156 PSI
H1000..........................105%...................2823FPS...................48625 PSI

 

[jimbires]

I want to mention too . the 243 , 260 , 7mm-08 , 308 , are all 308 parent cartridges . the powder choices will change from one to another . meaning a great powder for a 243 , is not necessarily a good choice for one of the other cartridges . the cartridge and bullet weight will need to be considered for the powder choice .

 

[Capt RB]

When H4350 was scarce I started running 100V because it was everywhere. It performs very well with 87's in the 243 and ai version. 3320 with butter smooth extraction. I tried 105 amaxs and ran up over 3200 easily as well. It is scalpel accurate with the 87's. The 8tw would shoot the 105's .6-.8moa but the 10tw didn't do so well Never really got them stable.
4451 and 4955 promise to be really temp stable and the little bit if work I have done with 4955 has shown it to be very stable 8fps in 40 degrees from cold to hot(8-48ish degrees) It is only 30 rounds so not an exhaustive test by a long shot. I still have 10 loaded for when I can see 65+degree temps. Snowing right now so not soon enough

 

[Legionnaire]

Not to hijack the thread, but does Quick Load include the various Ackley cartridges, especially the .243 AI and .260 AI? I've been thinking about buying it ...

 

[jimbires]

Not to hijack the thread, but does Quick Load include the various Ackley cartridges, especially the .243 AI and .260 AI? I've been thinking about buying it ...

I have 243AI . I do not have 260AI .

 

[Legionnaire]

Thanks. Are you running version 3.9?

 

[jimbires]

Thanks. Are you running version 3.9?

mine still says 3.5 .
I purchased my last update 12/23/16 . I'm sure there has to be a newer version out by now .

I've been using it since 2009 . I think it's well worth the money . the original cost kind of makes a guy think " is it worth it " , but updates are about $20 .so once you buy it , it's reasonable to update it . I wouldn't want to be without it .

 

[Legionnaire]

Thanks again. Just placed my order.

 

[FEENIX]

Experience leads to favorite go to powders. Then if they don't work well you go to the drawing board.

Steve

+1! There is no substitute for real world experience. My goal is the best compromise between velocity and accuracy that is suitable with Montana's environment (temp sensitivity). H4831SC has been my go to powder for most of my reloading. Sometimes even those not noted for temp stability performs well; I have been using RL-17 in my .300 WSM and 215 Berger with very good result for the last 3 hunting seasons.

 

[MtPockets]

Is there any difference between H4831 regular and the Short Cut version? Would I need to adjust my load one way or the other?
And is I4831 close enough to use H4831 load data? I have both, just wondered what the difference was?