[cwink]

Does anyone see the bennefit of using ball powder like H380 over cylinder shaped powder like IMR 4895?

I used the RCBS Uniflow Powder dropper and notice that sometimes it gets hung up while using 4895, but not when I am using H38. I am sure this is because it is cutting a single sliver of powder. It just seems like you would get a more exact measure using Ball or is that small a difference not that big of a deal.

 

[Beladran]

i like ball personally but stick powder has been in my arsenal for many years and will never go away

 

[Reloader]

Ball powder seems to me to throw more consistently than rod shaped. I always measure rod powder for each throw because of that shearing effect, not so with ball powder.

 

[SubGunFan]

If you are going to use a stick powder with a powder measure, I recommend the RCBS Uniflow (or Lyman & Hornady rotary types) because you are cutting some of the pieces. Slide type powder measures don't function well with stick powders.

I prefer ball powder because it meters so well (easy).

.

 

[nonnieselman]

My RCBS Chargemaster 1050 throws Ball powder better than Extruded powder. .

 

[Caleb C]

I agree with all of the above. I've found that H380 is exteamly consistent through my RCBS uniflow but other bulkier powders are not. That's not to say that it's the best though. Sometimes it's best to take your time and weigh each charge if that's what your rifle likes

 

[PhillipM]

Does anyone see the bennefit of using ball powder like H380 over cylinder shaped powder like IMR 4895?

I used the RCBS Uniflow Powder dropper and notice that sometimes it gets hung up while using 4895, but not when I am using H38. I am sure this is because it is cutting a single sliver of powder. It just seems like you would get a more exact measure using Ball or is that small a difference not that big of a deal.

What cartridge are you loading? If it's a .30-06 for deer hunting you will never know the difference. If it's .223 for benchrest, it could make all the difference in the world. H380, and most ball powders are double based and with hot loads some say they burn out barrels faster. IMR 4895 is single based and in my opinion burns cleaner than ball powders, reducing the amount of cleaning necessary.

Try weighing your thrown powders and see how much variation you have.

H380 was named for 38 grains of powder in a .22-250. http://www.reloadbench.com/gloss/hh380.html

 

[cwink]

Does anyone see the bennefit of using ball powder like H380 over cylinder shaped powder like IMR 4895?

I used the RCBS Uniflow Powder dropper and notice that sometimes it gets hung up while using 4895, but not when I am using H38. I am sure this is because it is cutting a single sliver of powder. It just seems like you would get a more exact measure using Ball or is that small a difference not that big of a deal.

What cartridge are you loading? If it's a .30-06 for deer hunting you will never know the difference. If it's .223 for benchrest, it could make all the difference in the world. H380, and most ball powders are double based and with hot loads some say they burn out barrels faster. IMR 4895 is single based and in my opinion burns cleaner than ball powders, reducing the amount of cleaning necessary.

Try weighing your thrown powders and see how much variation you have.

H380 was named for 38 grains of powder in a .22-250. http://www.reloadbench.com/gloss/hh380.html

I load for the 223,22-250,6mm Rem, 7mm-08, 30-06 and 358 Win... I have been using H380 in the 22 cals and IMR 4895 in the larger calibers. I haven't really experienced with different powders, and I mostly load for deer hunting.