Imr 8208

[shotman]

Anyone tried it? looks to be a one powder for all. If so They could quit making everything else:confused:

[mike in co]

Anyone tried it? looks to be a one powder for all. If so They could quit making everything else:confused:

it was done at the request of benchrest shooters....requested for many years in a row,,,they always said no. a member said he would fund the project, and they said yes.
he paid for the first lot, and collected names of those of us that would buy x number of 8# jugs.
i was on a waiting list for over a year.
in the end hodgdon kept the powder and decided to go public with it..i assume he got his money back, but then it was a mad scramble to get distributors to create waiting lists for a product that was not out.

the powder is suppose to be a copy of a imr mil powder from the 60's. the oem 8208 was an excellent br powder in 6ppc. there were two reasons. first it had the right burn/energy for the application. second, br shooters, at the time, threw charges, not weighed them. this powder is THE MOST CONSITANT STICK POWDER I HAVE EVER THROWN. it will easily do plus or minus 0.05, while most stick powders to 0.2.
the problem is the NEW POWDER is longer than the oem and only meters around 0.1.
my firm belief is that the magic of the oem powder was its ability to throw consistantly.

as the weather has been cool only limited testing has been done. we need to see how it does in warmer weather, how it handles temp and humidity changes.

generically it shoots well in cool temps.

mike in co

[AZ-Stew]

Who has some? I checked the usual suspects (Cabelas, Midway, Midsouth, Powder Valley, Graffs) yesterday and all are on backorder.

Regards,

Stew

[felix]

Early BR reports show the new powder to be very slightly slow as compared to the first distributed lot of surplus years ago. Chances are the new powder was made with a tad amount of extra moisture not intended to be released just yet. Folks are TOO impatient. ... felix

[mike in co]

Who has some? I checked the usual suspects (Cabelas, Midway, Midsouth, Powder Valley, Graffs) yesterday and all are on backorder.

Regards,

Stew



lol...i bought 8 8 lb jugs..for me and my friends.( i also have 4 lots of the oem 8208)

by the time the second order was placed there were already people yellling they could not get it.

i was not kidding when i said there was a waiting list a year plus before it came out.

they would not make this powder..."because the market was too small" and we bought them out in less than 2 months......

they did testing on this powder in the us and down under. they were quite impressed.


some time management just does not listen......

mike in co

[leadman]

Saw that they do not recommend using the same data for the new as the old.

[AZ-Stew]

Lots o' info in this years' Hodgdon Annual Manual. Three articles about the powder and a bunch of load data.

The history of the powder and its current iteration are thoroughly discussed by Jim Carmichael, writer and bench rest shooter.

I want to get my hands on some to try in my AR varminter with heavy bullets. I'll probably take it for a spin in a couple of my bolt rifles, too. It sounds very promising.

Regards,

Stew

[Houndog]

I will concur with most everything Mike said. Jim Carmichel is a very good friend and he obtained enough 8208 to shoot several matches with and test before it was released. While this is a VERY good powder it IS NOT the same as old IMR 8208! It is different in it's physical properties. We tested it at Jim's balistics lab and it's slightly slower than the original lots of 8208 we have and has a slightly different pressure curve. It's also a product of ADI, an Austrailian powder manufacturer, instead of General Dynamics, the current owner of the IMR powder facilities. One thing it is consistant in is it's burn rate in wide swings in temp and humidity! I shot some matches with the test lot in mid summer and never did have to change my load. I'm sure Mike will attest to how unique that is!

As far as it's use in the AR 15, it will certainly get the job done but I think you would be better served using either Accurate 2230 ( what I use) or Hodgdon H335, just from the angle of availability and cost. I did like it in the 6PPC, but went back to Benchmark for competition. Benchmark has the same temp/humidity advantages as the new 8208, a whole bunch easier to get, and has just a tad slower burn rate. I don't shoot the absolute upper load window like most benchrest shooters do, so it's easier to develop a good load using several different powder combinations.

FWIW: There is a drive underway to get General Dynamics to make some of the original IMR 8208. Nobody knows if it will be successful, but I for one certainly hope so. I'm like Mike and think it's the best powder ever made for the PPC, especially in it's original form! We can only hope!

[shotman]

well thanks I found out is one of the things Like has been going on in last few years put the info out and 2 years later you can get it
Lets see the Kel tec the judge the ???? you know