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Miracle Powders

dtknowlesdtknowles Member Posts: 810 ✭✭✭✭
edited May 2006 in Perry Shooter Competition Shooting and Reloading Forum
I have been out of the loop for about 10 years and now I back and there are a lot of new powders. Do these new powders offer significant advantages?

I have been informed that I should be using Little Gun in my .22 Hornet rifle. What about my 30-06 and 7.62 x 39 mm rifles and my 9 mm and .357 pistols.

Tim
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Comments

  • sandwarriorsandwarrior Member Posts: 5,453 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    dtknowles,

    Since you've been gone an back, Hodgdon bought IMR, there are three newer companies. Ramshot, AA was bought out or bought out someone. Vihtavouri is getting bigger, I use that a lot.

    Anyhow, the biggest claim to fame is that they are being made much less temperature sensitive. I used to get 400 fps difference from -10 deg. up to +80 deg. with 4895. Hodgdons new line of extreme powders is supposed to cut way down on this. Although I still see about 100 fps from +20 up to +80. "Position sensitive" powders for the most part are being replaced by lower volume cases. Other than that there have been slower powders for magnums and better powders for small-medium volume cases. Which all leads to bigger selections. -good luck

    dtknowles,

    Sorry I was so general with my earlier statements. For your .22 Hornet my choice is XMR2015. For your 30-06 I recommend VVN150 for the lighter pills and VVN160 for the heavier pills. I don't do a lot of variation with pistol loads so I won't recommend anything there. I use Bullseye for both my .40 and my .45..thats old stuff though.
    I got to thinking though what an odd statement this was, but I have felt kind of the same way. Every new powder or a new round or some combination of the two and I have been pioneering my own way through it. But I have been steadily at it for the last ten years. Anyhoo, there has been a lot of good guidance here on this forum. Anytime you have a specific question regarding the loads of any of the above mentioned and someone here has loaded it. Again, -good luck
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  • dtknowlesdtknowles Member Posts: 810 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks, I guess there is no free lunch. I was hoping for a few hundred extra feet per second. Less temperature sensitivity is not to be ignored, actually means I can load a little hotter and not worry about the hot days.

    Tim
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  • RCrosbyRCrosby Member Posts: 3,808 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    dt,
    Lil'Gun is definately worth a try in your Hornet.
    they claim lower pressures; I can't attest to that, but I've had fantastic success with the following recipe:
    13 grains Lil,Gun, 40 Grain V-Max, Small pistol primers and WW brass.
    Enjoy.
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  • dtknowlesdtknowles Member Posts: 810 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I will get a pound of Lil Gun as soon as I use up my pound of IMR4227. The Hornet sips powder. I wish I could get the big jugs of powder because the price per pound is lower but I could never use it up.

    Tim
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  • HighballHighball Member Posts: 15,755
    edited November -1
    One can get 33-35 gr bullets for the Hornet..that bump up the speeds quite a bit. A friend of mine reported great results...I got the bullets...now need to get time to try them...
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  • dtknowlesdtknowles Member Posts: 810 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I just won an auction for 200 Hornady V-Max 35 gr. bullets for the 22 hornet. I have been working on a spread sheet with all the loads for the hornet I have found. Using the spread sheet it look to me like H110 is the best powder for light bullets in the hornet. LIL GUN is a close second and like a previous poster indicated the LIL GUN produces almost the same velocity but at a lower pressure.

    Tim
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  • dtknowlesdtknowles Member Posts: 810 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    SandWarrior, I did not notice your edit at first. Thanks for the more specific recommendations. I am going to be working on a spread sheet of 30-06 loads soon.

    Tim
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  • jonkjonk Member Posts: 10,121
    edited November -1
    For the 30-06, it is still hard to beat 4895.
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  • tatercatstatercats Member Posts: 711 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    i use IMR4227 in my hornet and it shoots very well

    i trim to length and fill the case flush, and cap it with a 35gr. Vmax-and use small pistol primers (its alot of powder, but the NO.1 can take it)

    what are you shooting it out of?
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  • dtknowlesdtknowles Member Posts: 810 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    My Hornet is a Ruger #3 but I got rid of the barrel band, recontured the forend, bedded it on just the receiver and extension and floated it away from the barrel. A case full of 4227 is not too much with a 40 gr. bullet so clearly OK with a 35 gr. bullet(all normal loading precautions observed) :-). 110, 296, Lil Gun are all also require compressed loads for max. load with the really light bullets and all are potentially higher max. velocity than 4227. A pound of 4227 is good for over 500 rounds and I have only loaded a couple hundred for the hornet so far. Two hundred rounds of factory and a couple hundred of reloads thru the gun so far. I have a bunch of load development left. If I get a really accurate load with 4227 I may stick with it but I might try H110 or Lil Gun if I run out of powder before I get a load I want to stick with. I bought a bunch of 35 gr. V-Max bullets but now wish I got 40 gr. V-Max. Trajectory and energy are better and available powders also work better with the slightly heavier bullet.

    Tim
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  • claudehillclaudehill Member Posts: 5 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Lil Gun in the Hornet 12-13 grains
    H4895 not IMR4895 same cartridges
    Varget in all 22-30 Cal Rifles
    Universal Clays replaced Unique in almost all pistols
    Longshot in the 40 S&W with light bullets FAAASSSSTTTTT......

    Still using 3031 and 4064 in many standard rifle loads.

    Hate Magnum and IMP cartridges.

    Claude in TN

    Started with loading the 243 in 1958........
    Still at it.....
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