Powder Discussion

[alamo5000]

As soon as I start back to work again (IE steady income) the first thing I am going to do is stock up on reloading supplies.

Since I have been somewhat out of the loop for 6 months I am not sure of the availability of things, but I plan to spend a thousand to $1,500 bucks to keep me in the supplies for a while. Maybe more than that depending on what I find.

Of course I reload pistols and other things but I am looking for something more specific for a specific type of load.

What I am looking for is a ball powder that is cheap and good for my SBR loads. I plan to buy a few #8 jugs of whatever I buy as well as probably 8000 75 grain projectiles and primers. I have to figure out how much of each so that it will be pretty even amounts.

I am thinking 75 gr Hornaday bullets because #1 it's cheaper than 77 grain Nosler but still is good on the terminal front (it's on the approved list)... so if I get out shooting pigs with my SBR it could be better than just a 55gr plinker. I just have a thing for heavier rounds. I am up in the air on that still but the main thing is to have a single load that I like and then I can go into mass production. Part of the reason it has to be ball powder is because the machines I will use can churn out pretty consistent loads with it. Plus extreme accuracy is not the primary concern here.

Lately I have been using up an old bottle of BLC-2 that was given to me and that works out great but I am wondering about other options out there.

So far BLC-2 has been alright. But I am also considering H335 or anything else anyone can recommend. I have tried Winchester 748 but they don't have a load listed for 75 grain or 77 grain bullets with it.

And while we are at it, I am getting pretty damn sick of Varget. I still have a bunch of it (probably 5 pounds) but that stuff is NEVER in stock. I am considering buying a few kegs of RE15 if I can find those.... but both of those are extruded (stick) powder and they pretty much suck on a powder measure. If I can find a ball powder that can replace Varget I would be killing two birds with one stone.

Of course I am going to use up that varget that I have eventually but if I can find a good ball powder then I can get 2 or 3 times the amount of reloading done without losing much accuracy. For that rifle I am very particular... 24.3 grains of varget and a 69 grain SMK but I am willing and open to try other things.

If I can find one ball powder that can do it all I will just buy 4 or 5 #8 jugs and be done with it for a while.