if you could only ever have 3 powders...

[waco]

if you could only ever have 3 powders on hand, what would they be?
for me, it would be
Unique
IMR4198
Varget
this would cover all of my needs the best
.45acp
9mm
.38 spl
.22-250
.308
.45-70
.44mag
.221 Fireball
what would you pick if you could only have three.:?:

[Gunslinger]

I would choose:

H110 for my magnum loads.

Vv N320 for .38 special and 9mm.

Vv N135 for .30-06 and 30-30 Winchester.

[Andy_P]

Unique

SR-4759

IMR-4064

That would adequately cover all my handgun, cast boolit and jacketed rifle "needs". Of course I wouldn't be happy, as those choices pretty much rule out magnum rifle loads (I don't "need" them, but "want" them).

[putteral]

I only shoot pistols, .45, 9mm and .380.
My favorite 3 for them are Titegroup, AA#5 and HP38(231). I have tried a lot of others but these work the best for me.
:castmine:

[rhead]

Unique

2400

3031

I would miss H4350 but would not have to quit shooting anything.

[SCIBUL]

For me it would be :
Vectan A0 ou Vihta n320 (handguns powder, all bullets),
Vihtavuori N 120 (rifle cast boolits),
Vihtavuori N 150 (rifle jacketed bullets)

[smilie=f: And if I could add another it would be the Vihta N110 for magnum pistol and quiet rifle boolits !

But... Hey I have the four [smilie=l:

[243winxb]

Alliant Unique and IMR4895

[3006guns]

Same as rhead.......emphasis on the 3031. I learned a long time ago by studying loading manuals that 3031 can be used on virtually all rifle cartridges in some fashion.

[qajaq59]

Same as rhead.......emphasis on the 3031. I learned a long time ago by studying loading manuals that 3031 can be used on virtually all rifle cartridges in some fashion. I agree.

[Marvin S]

Unique, A5744,4895.

[Echo]

I'm with 243winxb - I have no magnum rifles, and these two would serve my needs.

Or.

4895, 2400, and 231. That way, I would be more flexible in my pistol loading.

[scb]

Unique, 4895, 4831

[TCLouis]

Bullseye, Unique, 3031

[Jaybird62]

Varget, IMR 4895, Unique

[Shiloh]

Bullseye, 4759, 4895.

The three powders I have a reasonable supply of. Unique or AA #5, as well as something a little slower for heavier rifle. But we can only have three

Shiloh

[imashooter2]

Varget
2400
Bullseye

I currently load for .32 ACP, .32 S&W Long, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .45 ACP, .223 Rem and .30/30 Win. But if I should expand in the future, the Bullseye and 2400 cover pistols pretty well and 2400 and Varget will take care of a pretty broad range of rifles.

[Shuz]

2400,4064,wc860

[Tim357]

Unique, 2400, IMR3031

[sundog]

Green Dot, 2400, 4064

[SWIAFB]

Unique, 4895, and
2F Goex ya got to feed the front stuffers too.

[krag35]

Unique, XMR2015, 2F

[Ole]

WW231, Alliant 2400, Hodgdon Varget

[fallout4x4]

because im new at this and havent experimented much my choices right now are 700x, 3031 and 2f

[Nate1778]

Hp38, Red Dot, 4064

[autofix4u]

Universal clays, H110/wc820, and H4831................But I would have a hard time without AA5744 & H335.

[Dan Cash]

Reloader 15, Reloader 19 and GOEX 2F. Pistols would all be BP cartridge arms. A .44 mag has considerable authority when stoked with 38 grains of 2F or 3F.

[Humbo]

Vihtavuori N110, Vihtavuori N350 and Norma MRP2.

[RNyogi]

Unique
IMR 4350
IMR 3031

[Heavy lead]

Alliant R-22
H-4895
Unique

[AZ-Stew]

IMR 7625 (handgun and shotgun), H-335, H4831SC

Regards,

Stew

[adkpete]

I think I would go with:
Unique
2400
And some flavor of 4895.

[zxcvbob]

Bullseye, AA#7, and 4895. (but I also really like Red Dot, Unique, and 2400)

[Calehedron]

Bullseye, 2400, and Unique

[Jim]

I find it interesting how often 4895 shows up.

[c3d4b2]

If i could only remember the Jim Carmichel quote......

Something along the lines of Rifle powder, pistol powder and face powder...... :smile:

[StarMetal]

2FG, 3FG, and 4FG [smilie=1:

Joe

[wallenba]

Unique, SR 4759 and Win 231

[qajaq59]

2FG, 3FG, and 4FG 2 points Star lol

[MtGun44]

Unique

2400

4895

Bill

[2ndAmendmentNut]

Black Powder 2fg, Varget, Blue Dot.

[Landric]

2400, HS-6, and H4198

[Oldtimer]

Ditto mine with Imashooter2 Bullseye, 2400, Varget

[Marvin S]

Forgot the black make mine 3F

[softpoint]

Herco, 2400, 3031

[Nora]

Unique
IMR 4350
IMR 3031

Ya, what he said.

Nora

[theperfessor]

Bullseye or 231; Unique; 2400

This is for handguns only.

[Char-Gar]

Bullseye, Unique and 2400

In order of others if I could add

1. 3031
2. 4759
3. WC872

[Tracy]

Red Dot
2400
IMR4895

[oksmle]

Unique
4350
3F

[stubshaft]

Unique
296
3031

[Beekeeper]

red dot,herco,and IMR 4895


Jim

[Bullshop Junior]

IMR, Alliant, Hodgdons and not necessarily in that order.

[grages]

Bullseye, 2400, and Unique

This is also my current selection

[41MagGuy]

Unique, Win748, Goex 2f

[dromia]

For me it would be :
Vectan A0 ou Vihta n320 (handguns powder, all bullets),
Vihtavuori N 120 (rifle cast boolits),
Vihtavuori N 150 (rifle jacketed bullets)

[smilie=f: And if I could add another it would be the Vihta N110 for magnum pistol and quiet rifle boolits !

But... Hey I have the four [smilie=l:

I concur the three Vihtavuori powders would be my choice, N150 is also good for high velocity cast boolit loads as well.

I stock most brands of powders but Vihtavuori is usually my powder of choice nowadays. I usually by it in 7and a 1/2lb kegs, its cheaper per lb that way.

I used to use Vectan a lot but unfortunately we don't have reliable supply in the UK.

I have 5lbs left of Vihtavuori N331 which is a deadringer for Alliant Unique but haven't seen that around for a while.

Can you get that in France SCIBUL?

[snake jenkins]

Only 3 powders would hurt but IF I had to I would settle for :
Pistol/Revolver: Unique, 2400, HP38
Rifle: IMR 4895, Reloader 22, 3031
Shotgun: Clays, Universal Clays, Red Dot

[sniper]

Unique, 4895, 4831

Yup; for me, too!:)

[oscarflytyer]

4350 - 300 Win Mag/284/Milsurp

Unique - 44 Sp/Mag, maybe 45 acp

2400 - 44 Mag hvy

might trade the 2400 for Bullseye for 45 acp and use the Unique for 44 mag... but... And of COURSE this leaves out the shotguns!!!

[Trey45]

Unique
H110
4895

[Lead Fred]

IMR 4895 for everything light
IMR 4350 for everything heavy

H of either can be subbed if IMR isnt available. But I have lots of both, so Im not worried

Ball C lot 2 for FTX

IMR 4895 can be subbed

[psychicrhino]

So, I realize this thread is 7 years old but it helped me make some choices on a powder order I wanted to place ahead of the election. I printed it out and did a tally. Here are the appx. results:

58 members posted their answers
48 powders were mentioned

Unique was #1 with 28 votes

IMR 4895 and 2400 tied for #2 (each w 18 votes)

IMR 3031 earned #3 (9 votes)

Bullseye #4 (8 votes)

2F Goex surprised me at #5 with (7 votes)

Varget and HP38 (231) tied up #6 (6 votes each)

Ultimately this led me to do a lod of reading on the top powders, load charts for the calibers I own and made me look at comparable powders by burn rate and load data. Ultimately, price and availability of bulk pricing/sale pricing etc drove my order but. Those are the results for those that come after.

[vintagesportsman]

Alliant 2400, IMR 4198 and Imr 4350

[buckshotshoey]

Hodgdon Universal....9MM, 38 special, 12 gauge, 20 gauge. From what i understand, it is a close substitute for Unique.

Varget.... .223, .243. 45-70

Pyrodex... .50 cal ML, and in a pinch, the 45-70

And thats just for the calibers i own. These powders will be suitable for many more calibers and cartridges.

[Landy]

H4831
H4895
Unique

[Oklahoma Rebel]

[Same as rhead.......emphasis on the 3031. I learned a long time ago by studying loading manuals that 3031 can be used on virtually all rifle cartridges in some fashion.

Can the same be said about 4895?, I have been looking for a little slower powder than 4198 for use in my 45-70, 7.62x54, and possibly a few others, 30-06,30-30, and am looking for a good powder for all of them. the reason for wanting to change from imr 4198 is to see if I can get better accuracy with a slower powder. but I also like the quicker stuff because it uses less per charge. any help would be appreciated, Travis

[waco]

I cant believe someone dug this thread up.

I think I would change my powders now.....

Unique still for sure.
H4895 for it's versatility.
And 2400 maybe?.....

H4895 for it's versatility.

[Texas by God]

Unique, H335, and IMR 4350 but I would sorely miss Bullseye, 296, H414, and RL-22!

[Digital Dan]

1.5 fg; 3fg; 2400

[mozeppa]

h110...2400...red dot...bullseye...tight group...#5

my 3 choices .....and my wife's 3

did we cheat?

[aarolar]

Unique
2400
3031

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[GhostHawk]

Red Dot, 3031 and IMR 4895 here. Although I normally shoot almost exclusively Red Dot.

It does work even in my old Yugo SKS, it just turns it into a straight pull bolt like the K31 swiss.

Not so bad.

[sigep1764]

PB, Red Dot, and Red Dots little brother Promo. I have yet to start reloading for rifles, but im sure Red Dot and Promo will be used for that as well for light loads.

[robg]

True blue,tac and most of all 2400.

[RedRiver]

Accurate #5

CFE223

Varget

I reload for 5 pistol calibers and 5 rifle. I guess I could go without the CFE223 as Varget would work. But that stuff feeds so nice and it is really clean.

[montanamike]

Unique, h110, h335

[ShooterAZ]

Bullseye, 2400, IMR7828

[telebasher]

Bullseye, IMR 4064, HS-6 which I have replaced Unique with.

[Strtspdlx]

I am currently running unique primarily, h322 and aa#7 I have a lot to try but these are the most easily obtained in my area

[dragon813gt]

W231/HP-38
W296/H110
W748

Amusing because it's all I used for years. I would need a slower rifle powder for the 375 H&H but I could make W748 work. Having to many powders creates to much work. Don't get me wrong, I love shooting. But chasing accurate loads for the same w/ ten different powders is time consuming. Add in more guns and you see where this is going.

[bandsmoyer]

Unique
2400
reddot

[Djones]

Another vote for Unique, 2400 and 3031

[Pmg]

unique win 748 and win 231

[marlin39a]

HP-38, CFE-223, and H4895. All Hodgdon.

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

Unique, h110, h335 Finally, the CORRECT ANSWER!:drinks:

[OnHoPr]

You know, I don't get these types of poles or threads unless it is just for a pancake house bs session. For example, if you have a little 32 auto and a 500 S&W along with a 410, 20, and 10ga what powder would you use to feed that spectrum of weaponry,? just Unique. Well, that sure does take the MAG out of the 44, 500, and 10 ga. Then you go to the next level spectrum of firearms like the 222 rem, 30-30, 308, and 25-06 which something like 4895 could possibly feed. But, if you had a 300 WM or 7mm STW you sure are taking the mag away from them with it. Then you have to feed your smoke pole and ROA. So, you might be able to feed the different spectrums of firearms with actually how many powders to get any where from the 32 auto to 378 Weatherby centerfires to function along with the 410 to 10 ga along with the BP firearms? 4, 6, 10???

[dragon813gt]

Not everyone loads for a broad spectrum of cartridges. If you stay away from magnum handguns and rifles it's easy to use only a few powders.

[waco]

It's just a question I dreamed up 7 years ago.......long before you were a member here.

Don't read too much into it.

It's just for fun.

Waco

[OnHoPr]

Well, in that case and just to be a little different I will pick four instead of three. 4756, ahh 4895 is pretty good, 4350, and PDex Select for the smoke pole for the pancake house bs session. Don't get a ruler for my knuckles.

[waco]

Don't get a ruler for your knuckles? I don't follow?

[g17]

Bullseye, Unique, 2400

[dragon813gt]

There is another thread about choosing four powders. But I think it's on another forum.

[Morgan61]

H335
Varget
BL-C2 or LVR

[Petrol & Powder]

I had to give this one some thought.

IMR 4895 for rifle. DONE

WSF is my shotgun powder for 12 & 20 gauge target loads and it doubles as a pistol powder for 9mm. I can make it work in some other semi-auto cartridges. That's two.

That leaves me with one powder to do everything else and here's were it gets tough.
I burn more ww231 than anything else but that is mostly in 38 Special. H110 is good for magnum loads but not much else. I have to consider Bullseye & Unique but they have their limits.
Unique seems like the best "all around" but ww231 meters better. CFE Pistol shows promise as well.

Arrrrrrrgggg, ........OK I'll say ww231 and give up on the magnums.

[B. Lumpkin]

Bullseye, Unique, IMR 4064.

[dromia]

I think what such threads as these do show is just how well we are provided for when it comes to propellants.

There is no right or wrong answers just an interesting list of peoples choices. If this is not someone's thing then there is no compulsion to read it or participate in the thread.

No need to denigrate it if it doesn't suit your modus operandi, plenty of other threads around to suit all tastes.

[thedave1164]

Bullseye, 2400 and Varget