Limited choice on powder, stocking up ?

[greywuuf]

There is Finaly a small amount of powder available localy, and I am thinking on laying in a supply. I shoot a lot of things but I am going to concentrate on my cast boolit guns for right now, leaving .357 mag in both revolver and levergun, .45 Colt for same, .358 winnie and the 7mm-08, hmmm, also .308 and 45-70.

So the problem is.... There are #2 of bullseye, more power pistol than I can afford. (one pound cans) and a couple #8 jugs of longshot, price per pound is nearly the same. What do I choose?

[osteodoc08]

Honestly, none of the above. If you want about as well an all round 2 powder combo for what you have listed.

Varget

2400

[AlaskanGuy]

I like unique as my all arounder... 2400 also, or 3031...

[greywuuf]

Anything other than I have listed does not apply as I Can Not get it!

[runfiverun]

bullseye.
it will "work" in the rifle calibers with cast long enough to wait for something else.

power pistol would possibly be a decent choice also but I haven't seen it or worked with it and have no idea where it falls in burn rate so I can't make a recommendation.

[jmort]

Unique and Blue Dot for me.

[ultramag]

To answer the question within the parameters given I'd go with Bullseye.

[greywuuf]

I should probably throw out everything but the two pistol calibers, as I don't really cast for nor shoot the others that much, and I have several assorted pounds of various apropriate stuff for them,

Given the three choices do any of them work through a spectrum of loads and bullet weights in say .38 special, .357, and .45. I guess I am looking to volume feed the pistol caliber carbines for now. I was on the hunt for B.E. because I had heard it was good for mouse farts in the .357....... I have not looked but do not recall seeing Longshot loads for handguns, but I think it might be applicable......and I only mention it because of the 3 I could get a big jug of it.

[osteodoc08]

Powder is coming online. Buy some to try out but I wouldn't go "hoarding" a substandard product for the purpose at hand . Be patient and get by and when Varget/2400 comes available give it a try. If satisfactory, then drop some coin on a "supply".

My go to for the most part are 231 as it covers mild to 80% pistol loadings. 2400 or 296/H110 depending on what's available. Leve revolution, varget and cfe223 with a little 4350 thrown in. That's what's on my shelf for te most part. I've got 3 9oz cans of TB to play with. I've inherited a big jug of blue Dot and will start to see what the fuss is about with it.

[osteodoc08]

Longshot is good for top end 40sw/10mm loadings.

Just chrony'd my Glock with a 200gr XTP with 8gr of Longshot. It clocked 1100fps with less than 20 std dev. 15+1 rounds of low level 41 mag performance is comforting in the woods. Waiting on an opportunity to try it on some hogs.

[Kenner]

My Cowboy Shooting in my 38's is done with 3 grns of Bullseye. My 45 colt 44 mag and 45 ACP use 3.5 grns of Bullesye. People say it stinks though. Smells like burnt Hickory seeds in the morning!

[TXGunNut]

Stock up on BE for now and keep an eye out for other powders you normally use, they're headed your way. Just have to be patient. My LGS ordered in 8#'s of some of my favorite powders, a couple of other favorites showed up @ Cabelas and I still had a decent stock of a few others. BP is no problem to get but I laid in a couple year's supply of that as well. Powder plants are cranking it out, the cans of IMR4895 I bought a few weeks apart are from different lots....now if I could just score some Federal LR Match primers!

[greywuuf]

I guess at 3.5 grains a shot, I am looking at 2000 rounds a can, guess I will go buy the BE ......

[rattletrap1970]

I was told many years ago by the guy who taught me how to reload that with two powders you can reload just about any common cartridge. Bullseye and IMR-4895. In my experiance I've tried a lot more and I've added Unique, and SR-4759. But I have lots of others I play with.

[dragon813gt]

Out of those choices Bullseye. But it wouldn't be high on my list of choices if others were available.

[Beerd]

greywuuf,

don't know where you are located but it sounds like it's time for you to take a roadtrip.
'course dropping $100 on gas to save $8.95 on powder and primers may not make sense to some.

to your original question, get a jug of bullseye.
..

[dbosman]

Of your listed options, Bullseye is the only good choice.
Save your spare coins for the next time you travel out of town, or find some reloading buddies to share the shipping and hazmat fee.

[greywuuf]

Thanks Guys, i really have a situation here that most of you are not fathoming, I live in the second largest city in the state, the first largest is 6 hours away and is is in worse shape powder wise than i am , to ship anything here requires not only a haz mat ( usually 2 or 3 since it also goes through a foreign country ) and MUST be sent by way of freight forwarder, so at LEAST another $100 bucks for anything up to several hundred pounds ... so a single Box of primers..... 100+ dollars shipping pallet of powder same thing... only I do not currently know of anyone to split that much powder with and I do not know of anyone that HAS that much powder to sell.

That being said, I have seen only one to two cans of ANY powder at a time here for the last 6-8 months, and you have to be the first to pick it up ..... So when I saw multiple cans and better yet an 8pounder! I thought I would check and see if it was usefull to me. I guess i will get the bulls eye ( I have been wanting to work on some cat sneeze for the .357 rifle ) and wait and HOPE that something better comes along.

[Larry Gibson]

To answer the question within the parameters given I'd go with Bullseye.

+1. Bullseye will work very well for low end target, plinking and small game loads in all of your cartridges. It will also give very good 38 SPL loads in the 357 and 44 SPL loads in the 44 Magnum.....all with cast bullets of course.

The other 2 powders aren't going to give you much more and Bullseye is a proven performer in such loads.

Larry Gibson

[Driver man]

Buy what Bullseye you can afford and then some more. Prices are going up and there is a world wide drive to make buying ammo and components harder. Powder and primers is like money in the bank.

[starmac]

It sounds like you are in fairbanks. lokl Sportsmans got in unique this week even in the big jugs, but it's gone now. Ya gotta be fast when they get it.
Lats week frontier had a lot of unique, 4350 and 4759, I checked today and nothing. They have for the last couple of months been getting some in, usually every other week on wendsays. Sportsmans usually gets theirs on either tuesday or thursdays.