Powder - ball vs. stick

[PhillipM]

There are some new IMR powders with an SC suffix, which means short cut. I'm going to get around to experimenting with 8208

[nf1e]

Shots on a 20 dot target at 100 yds. using .308 in M14 type scoped rifle the end of last month. BL-C 2 with 168 gr smk and 210M primers work great. Every shot to the left has been attributed to a hitch in the equipment. I stuck a new unitized gas cylinder on the rifle the night before the shoot and neglected to polish the front band where it contacts the tensioner. Correction has been made and next weekend improvements should be noted.



This is a plot of the hits on the 1" targets for development purposes. Looks like I need to raise the elevation 1 click.



This is my current precision M-14. Bula Defense XM21 with Bula med weight NM Barrel. Almost all parts are Bula. Scope is MK4 LRT 8.5 - 25 all sitting in a JAE gen 3 stock.



Semper Fi
Art

[S.A. Boggs]

There are some new IMR powders with an SC suffix, which means short cut. I'm going to get around to experimenting with 8208

30 years ago IMR=8208 was surplus and I bought many an 8lb keg for $48 @ the Columbus, Ohio gun show. If I remember right it was pulldown from 5.56 tracer. Sure wish powder was available and reasonable now.
Sam

[Merc]

Many military rifles have a rate of twist that is a bit fast for boat tail bullets and these rifles shoot better with flat based bullets. The M1 Garand used a 1 in 10 twist and the M14 used a 1 in 12 twist which would work better with the boat tail. I have heard some say oh my rifle likes boat tails and maybe it does but the vast majority don't.

I knew there had to be a reason. I'm happy to be able to shoot these old rifles with a respectable degree of accuracy. They are a link to history and they impress me every time I take them to the range.

[jjrothWA]

Have used both stick (4895IMR) & both BLC@ & WW748 (ball) for M1, M1A,& ar15, for over the course NMC and hunting. Have had no problem withloads.
Switched to the ball powder for ease of measuring through RCBS powder measure.

[PhillipM]

Have used both stick (4895IMR) & both BLC@ & WW748 (ball) for M1, M1A,& ar15, for over the course NMC and hunting. Have had no problem withloads.
Switched to the ball powder for ease of measuring through RCBS powder measure.

I'll give it that. I've loaded a bunch of what is supposed to be BLC (2) , surplus WCC 746, and it measures perfectly down to less than a tenth of a grain.

[PhillipM]

30 years ago IMR=8208 was surplus and I bought many an 8lb keg for $48 @ the Columbus, Ohio gun show. If I remember right it was pulldown from 5.56 tracer. Sure wish powder was available and reasonable now.
Sam

You just taught me something I did not know. Thank you!

[psteinmayer]

What makes these called "M2 Match loads"? Is it the bullet weight (similar to USGI M2 AP)?

Sorry Para, that is just how I refer to them... didn't mean to confuse no one. I started with M2 Ball cases (Lake City 68). The Match is because I am using the Nosler Match bullets and I'm shooting them in matches. I should have said "My Match Loads" and left the M2 out of it.

[Ken in Iowa]

30 years ago IMR=8208 was surplus and I bought many an 8lb keg for $48 @ the Columbus, Ohio gun show. If I remember right it was pulldown from 5.56 tracer. Sure wish powder was available and reasonable now.
Sam

IMR8208 was developed by DuPont in the mid-1960s to resolve the shortcomings of the Olin WC846 ball powder in use with 5.56 ammo at the time. It was truly an American success story. By the late 1960s, Olin finally sorted out the issues and the cheaper WC844 emerged as the standard 5.56 powder. 8208 was discontinued and surplused.

One or two lots of surplus 8208 became quite popular with the benchrest crowd. If memory serves, it was sold through Thunderbird Cartridge Company as TCC322. The small, short grain size was quite a revelation in that it metered very well- a great attribute to high speed factory loading and reloaders alike!

When the surplus powder was used up, Hodgdon was approached to start production of a replacement. ADI in Australia was tapped to develope and produce a modernized version incorporating the same attributes of Varget such as temperature insensitivity. IMR8208XBR was the result.

Loading data from Hodgdon shows the versatility of this powder which is slightly faster than 4895. Its slower burning cousins are Varget and H4350.

[Ken in Iowa]

Stick powders were used from the very beginning of the 30-06. By WW2 the standard powder was IMR4895 a stick powder still used today by reloaders for their 30-06 ammo used in M1 Garands. IMR 4895 was the standard till the military switched production of the 30-06 to ball powders during Viet Nam.

Ummm, Winchester used ball powder in WWII to load 303 and 30/06 ammunition. Hodgdon sold some surplus powder after the war as Ball C and 380 respectively. The modern newly manufactured commercial versions are BLC2 and H380.